Animal Plague Mask Construction

For this years Unicorn Art Show, I foolishly declared "no new work."  I came up with three new pieces - and here's what that entailed, from start to finish.

It always starts with cardboard.   Cardboard is a miraculous thing - 

durable (to a point), versatile, and free.  I used tape and a P135 handle stapler to build these structures, and get the basic size and features in place.

Here I begin draping lightweight paper, in this case, tissue paper, and layering it with wheat paste.

Wheat paste is usually concocted by adding flour and a little sugar to a pot of water and bringing it to a boil.  (Check out this recipe.)  I often add wood glue to it for maximum durability.  Once I have a smooth sturdy surface, I begin layering newsprint.  Tissue paper by itself is not good for building durable structures - but newsprint can achieve nearly a wood-like quality, and it can be archival if care is taken to avoid air pockets when layering.

I cut eye holes and used old tape rolls for the round features, and then layered over them, adding dozens of layers of newsprint, with small strips in differing directions each time.  I usually apply liberal amounts of wheat paste before setting them out to dry overnight so the paper absorbs the adhesive.  Once I've arrived at a point where the masks are structurally secure, I paint them with wheat paste mixed with plaster, and prepare to make larger additions.

As you can see, the areas surrounding the cardboard are very thick and dense with paper.
This cross-section is a result of sawing off a chunk of the mask which I then recovered with paper and wheat-paste.

I have long used Sculpey clay to construct additions, but here I also used 

paper clay, which is just paper, shredded and soaked in water.  I sculpted the horns for the bird and bunny masks with paper clay and wheat paste.

I intended these masks to be wearable, so I secured elastic netting to the inside each, using a broad "stitch" with holes drilled along the back edge.

The masks were designed to have lights inside them, but the installation view doesn't make that obvious at all.  These things are pretty spooky, properly lit.

The following photos courtesy of Benjamin Wuest:

I finished the pieces with Plaster and then white paint mixed with Polycrylic. 

 I was honored to judge this years show, it's always a blast.  But I'm switching gears toward printing and drawing again for a good long while.  Though clearly I never know where one of these immersive projects sneak up on me!