MERRY CHRISTMAS!

BACK TO MASKS SOON!

December 15, 2015 


This may happen to you. You have made the form, added some details and covered your mask with layers of paper...

and you are NOT HAPPY WITH IT AT ALL!

It simply is not turning into the mental picture you imagined.

That's part of the process. You can keep adding to it. Stop and go do something else (I always have several projects going at once so I can switch), throw it in the trash, give it to someone else to finish, have a tantrum and yell "NOTHING I DO TURNS OUT RIGHT!"

Sure, you can do all of those things, but I recommend going to get a snack and taking a walk, or hugging your cat.

Dec. 15

Here is what is going on today. I am not happy with it at all!

I have built up the nose to my satisfaction and added some toothpicks for texture.

I used some crummy white paint.  The brand is Craftsmart.  I think it is from Walmart.  It is goopy and streaky and does not cover well.

I have had better results with leftover flat latex wall paint.  Any color will do because this is only a base coat.

Now I can examine my paper layers and see if I want to add any more to refine the edges or the surfaces.  Latex flat wall pint works well because it is easy to glue on top of it.





I think my final color will be a light brown that looks like wood or leather. Brown shoe polish rubbed over paint and polished produces a leather look with a nice sheen

I plan to add some curly wire for "hair" and probably some beads.

I have a vision that resembles this.

Note that I wrote 'resembles". I will have colors and beads and things sticking out but I will not reproduce this very same mask. That would not be creative at all.
Some people think being creative is doing the same thing another creative person can do. First of all, that is impossible since no two brains are alike.
Second, why do you want to make some thing exactly like some one else did?
Have  a chat with yourself about that.
There are plenty of mass produced things on the market if you want an exact copy of something.

One more thing... 

People often say to me "Oh I wish I was creative like you!

NO. YOU. DON'T.
 
I love being creative, but it is a blessing and a curse. I have had to learn to balance it. It keeps me awake so that I am often sleep deprived and I have very weird colorful dreams. My house is never, ever neat and tidy. I always have paint or glue sticking to me somewhere! People EXPECT me to be creative and ask me to do things. I have to say no a lot.
 

Ancestor mask Papua, New Guinea

DECEMBER 13, 2015 
   
MORE MASKS FROM PINTEREST

Wooden Mexican Mask

December 12, 2015

No  mask work today.
Playing outside.

Some more masks I discovered on Pinterest:

CHRISMOOSE

December 10, 2015

This is not a mask, but it is a recycled project I have been trying to finish for a while! 

My husband bought a grapevine reindeer at Kroger about 20 years ago.

I have tried to preserve it by adding more vines, and then recycled twine from hay bales, and finally fabric. He now looks bundled up for the winter. I will add blue and white light strings later.












Here is today's progress. I have added things to the plaster cast face which I will cover with paper. I can't decide whether it will have hair or spikes. I have added more to the cardboard mask to make the details stand out. I will continue to add paper to blend them in. I am thinking off adding wire curls when I began to decorate it.

Plastic mask with additions

The pig mask has turned out to be a real pain in the neck. Since the base surface ( ice cream carton) is slippery, everything has been difficult to attach. You can see that I have added to the jowls, the ears, and the eyes. I don't recommend ice cream cartons unless you cover them with a layer of paper first.

 Here is a new mask I began today. The found objects will get covered with paper.

raised details

Here you can see that I have been adding more materials to emphasize the raised details.

I used pipe cleaners to make the lips.

Leftover pattern tissue works well for details.

December 9, 2015
More masks I like from Pinterest.

I am adding these to help people who might wish to sign up for my workshops at the Clifton Forge School of the Arts April 2016.

Bali

paper mache

Mexico

paper mache

mini masks ( cardboard)

Yupik walrus mask (wood)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indonesian (wood)

 December 8, 2015

Masks I like from Pinterest

Bali

made from bottles

made from boxes

Guatemalan Rabbit mask

Bali ( wood)

Guatemalan Leopard mask

DECEMBER 4, 2015
Today's work

plaster cast today more newspaper

pig mask today

mini mask

December 4, 2015 Friday

Other kinds of mask making


I like to make masks that are not intended to be worn, but are decorative  instead. They hang on the wall and look cool. I have a collection of masks in 
the stairwell  that leads to my studio.  I have two authentic African masks, a Guro mask from Ivory Coast and a body mask which depicts a pregnant belly. 
These two African pieces were more likely made for sale than ritual use.  A 
third mask on my wall is a tiny  clay piece from Peru. The other masks are my 
creations, made from plaster, Paper Clay, or cardboard.


Paper Clay
Paperclay is a non-toxic modeling material that can be sculpted, molded or shaped, and air 
dries to a hard finish that can be carved, or sanded. I have baked it, but it is not necessary.

http://paperclay.com/  


LINKS ABOUT AFRICAN MASKS


http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2014/06/guro-gouro-people-artistic-mande-mask.html


http://masks.novica.com/ghanaian/bird/  

Cardboard Imitation African mask by me

Plaster cast tree spirit by me

Plaster cast tree spirit by me

December 3, 2015 later

Back side of mask with one layer of newspaper

Front of mask with one layer of tissue paper.

types of paper to use for paper mache

December 3, 2015
 
Soft thin paper works best for small paper mache projects because you want the paper to mold easily to your form. In the picture to the left you can see a phone book, newsprint and adding machine paper. 
Tissue paper is excellent for covering delicate areas where you do not want much bulk.

form for pig mask

This form uses part of an ice cream carton and some scrap Styrofoam. I used hot glue to attach the Styrofoam.


I can cut or break off the side pieces of Styrofoam to create the jowls and the mouth before I begin adding paper.

ice cream carton and Styrofoam

I started to attach the ears with paper strips from the adding machine roll.

I was only able to add the first layer of strips before everything started moving around and becoming sticky, so I set it aside and went back to work on the other mask.

Cardboard mask steps and progress

Step 1- cut out a shape

Step 2 Cut strips long enough for sides

Step 3 start taping

Step 4 Gradually bend and tape the curve

 

Step 5 tape both sides