The mask
I spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks, and especially this weekend, working on my daughter's Halloween mask.
I use my own private medium to make masks and the like. I don't know anybody else who makes stuff this way. Mostly, the mask is made of paper packing tape, the kind you moisten to activate the glue. Very old-fashioned stuff. I sometimes start with a layer of paper-bag paper, and start adding layers of tape to it as I form it.
It's vaguely similar to papier-mache; I sometimes call it "taper-mache". I find it an interesting, rather meditative, slow medium. You can only put on a certain amount of tape at a time, otherwise the work gets soggy and loses its definite shape. So after each layer or extension, you let it dry for a few hours. When you begin a new section, it's like sketching; it starts with a few tentative scraps of paper and strips of tape. Then it gradually gets filled in and firmed up. It's very forgiving; all mistakes can be corrected. At worst, you might have to cut a piece off and re-do it, but usually you can just soak it and ease it into a new shape.
This year I managed to get the mask started in time (a couple of weeks lead-time provides ample opportunity for procrastination), and it came out really well. It's a whole-head thing, a fantastical creature of indeterminate nature, vaguely donkey-like with a snout and big ears, but with a unicorn-like horn. The girl took possession yesterday after I declared it done, and painted it green with yellow dots; the horn is yellow and the insides of the ears are purple.
As I type this, she's out trick-or-treating in it with her posse. I hope it goes over well.
I use my own private medium to make masks and the like. I don't know anybody else who makes stuff this way. Mostly, the mask is made of paper packing tape, the kind you moisten to activate the glue. Very old-fashioned stuff. I sometimes start with a layer of paper-bag paper, and start adding layers of tape to it as I form it.
It's vaguely similar to papier-mache; I sometimes call it "taper-mache". I find it an interesting, rather meditative, slow medium. You can only put on a certain amount of tape at a time, otherwise the work gets soggy and loses its definite shape. So after each layer or extension, you let it dry for a few hours. When you begin a new section, it's like sketching; it starts with a few tentative scraps of paper and strips of tape. Then it gradually gets filled in and firmed up. It's very forgiving; all mistakes can be corrected. At worst, you might have to cut a piece off and re-do it, but usually you can just soak it and ease it into a new shape.
This year I managed to get the mask started in time (a couple of weeks lead-time provides ample opportunity for procrastination), and it came out really well. It's a whole-head thing, a fantastical creature of indeterminate nature, vaguely donkey-like with a snout and big ears, but with a unicorn-like horn. The girl took possession yesterday after I declared it done, and painted it green with yellow dots; the horn is yellow and the insides of the ears are purple.
As I type this, she's out trick-or-treating in it with her posse. I hope it goes over well.