Mi Renaissance Festival 2009 - First 2 Weekends

I can't seem to go without bringing my camera along so I decided to share some highlights. I'm sure more will follow as the weeks progress!

Dragon Mask - Step 7 - It's Finished!!

Well, here's the finished mask. I hope you all enjoyed seeing the progress.

Dragon Mask - Step 6

I've started adding feathers!



Finished Mask

Dragon Mask - Step 5

Now that the painting is complete, the support for the feathers is added.



Step 6

Dragon Mask - Step 4

At this point I finally got the paint job the way I had envisioned.




Step 5

Dragon Mask - Step 3 Image

At this point I've gotten the base color darkened up nicely and I'm starting work on the scale painting. The materials next to the mask are things I'm considering incorporating into the final.



Step 4

Dragon Mask - Step 2 Images

Here's the first coat of paint. The whole thing is way too bright but everything needs a starting point right?




Step3

Dragon Mask - Step 1 Image

Originally, I was going to post a series of images detailing the process of this mask after it was complete. I've since decided that I may as well break up the posting.

I generally don't rush through making a mask, but I have to admit the sheer amount of time I spent thinking about this one before I even began was extreme. I'm pretty sure it counts in months and not days. Because this was such a departure to the masks I've done in the past I had to work out how I wanted it to conform to the face, how wide the bridge of the nose could be, where the eyes would be placed and how I was planning to decorate it - all before I even began!

The first step was to create a form I could use to drape the paper mache over. I used a cheap air day clay mounted on a giant easter egg of all things. (For anyone wondering, the easter egg has roughly the same size and over shape as the human face.) It worked well, although once I finally got my paper mache shaped the form I used broke. :(

The image below is what the paper mache mask looked like after it had been removed from the form and lightly sanded.



Step 2

Blog Customization

I've been playing around with customizing this blog for most of the day so far. I finally have 3 columns like I wanted and now I'm trying to decide on a name I like. As soon as I get that squared away, I'll finish up the header graphic and post it.

In other news, I realized that I neglected to post the last mask that was finished. This was made for my sister who liked another that I had done in a similar style. (see post below) Enjoy!

Another Stream of Consciousness Post

I spent most of the day driving around looking for garage sales in the rain. A lot of people commented on the miserable day. While I did get wet, I thought the day went rather well.

I finally managed to get part of a costume I'm making dyed black to my satisfaction so I can finally continue on with that project. Thanks go to wench-wares.com for the wonderful top, earrings, fan and matching feathers I'll be using in the mask.

When the mask I'm making for the aforementioned costume is complete, I'll be posting a sequence of images detailing it's progression.

Current projects I'm thinking about and dabbling with include:
dragon belly dance costume (see above)
2 other masks in progress
updating my various websites
making new t-shirt designs for my store