Masks

Done for Sunday Scribblings.

Adventures in attempted mask-making, knowing nothing of what I was doing but having fun in the process....

This attempt to make a mask mold of my face (and my subsequent mask attempt) probably date back to 2000 or 2001. First I bent wire mesh around my face. Then I filled the impression with modeling paste mixed with gloss gel to keep the paste from cracking as it dried. (A quick check shows that the newer modeling pastes claim not to crack when applied in thick layers.)

I covered the mesh with Vaseline to keep the mixture from sticking. Though crude, I thought this impression was pretty cool.

I then tried building a mask on top of the mold, using paper pulp mixed with gesso and using the mold's contours as a shaping guide. That didn't give me much in the way of results, so I instead used the mold as a visual guide while I built up a three-dimensional face on a surface covered with wax paper. Pretty soon I just took off on my own.



This is my first face sculpture, a bit worse for travel and storage wear. To the painted paper pulp/gesso mix I attached pigeon feathers, acorn cap "earrings" (it's since lost one), and washed hair gathered from brushes. I never found a use for this piece -- until now.

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