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xothique — Russian Doll Mask
Published: 2008-02-11 17:35:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 5551; Favourites: 30; Downloads: 863
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Description
Another commission - a mask based on a traditional Russian doll, made for a live roleplay event.My customer asked for the mouth to be cut away to allow the wearer to speak clearly, and drink (using a straw) without removing the mask. I was lucky enough to see this mask in play, and it looked extremely creepy and effective when worn, far more than I had anticipated while making it.
Papier-mache.
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Comments: 39
Oh wow! I wouldn't have guessed that it is made from papier-mache too
it looks so much like porcelain and realy a lot like babushka!
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How did you make it so smooth and glossy? It looks more like ceramics rather than paper
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I think the colours and the glossy final really enhance this mask!
It has the potential to be both creepy and sweet, truely an unforgettable mask to see.
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Thank you! It was both creepy and sweet, and the person wearing it moved like a silent automaton, and never spoke... which made it very scary.
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Nice! It's great when the performance of the wearer complements the mask!
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Don't know if this has been mentioned, but it's very similar to a mask in the movie, The Strangers. It was very creepy in it too. Maybe it's where they got the idea, from the Russian motif. In any case this is better, i.e. movie was atrocious . Well done!
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Ooh, that's interesting! I've not seen that movie, but thank you!
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wow this is really beautiful. Ive only come across this because Im looking into doing a stop motion video just for fun and Im looking up paper mache since hey, I figure I have everything in my house already. anyway, I never knew paper mache could look like this. I thought it was porcelain. do you prefer paper mache over other sculpting medium for any beneficial reasons? I only just now got into your gallery and I think I saw most of them were paper mache. anyway I ask that question because I always thought paper mache was used for cheap school projects and things like that.
anyway yeah, I like this so much. Im off to romp through the rest of your gallery now.
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Hello!
I first started experimenting with papier-mache because it is one of the most traditional mask-making materials. It is light, and surprisingly strong. Once you have a couple of layers of paper welded together with glue, you might as well be working with a thin wooden sculpture - which is basically what it is, I suppose. It is very versatile, it is easy to obtain the raw materials. Traditionally papier-mache has been used to make many things, even furniture! It is a very underestimated medium - probably because everyone remembers their disastrous attempts with it at school. I know I do!
Turning used paper into art is also a fantastic way to recycle.
To achieve this ultra-smooth finish takes a great deal of patience and a LOT of sanding.
Thank you - it's good to be asked about a subject that I enjoy. I'm pleased that you like my work! Good luck with your stop-motion video.
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You are most welcome!
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yea i want one bad
i'd wear it around town
fun fun
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So people would notice him and slowly inch away, would they? That sounds great. Lucky you for being able to see your creation "at work." This is a truly wonderful and beautiful mask. It always amazes me how so many people feel that only masks oozing latex blood, guts and thunder are scary. Those types of masks are just way to much overkill and not a bit scary, at least to me. By using color, shape and expression, an extremely skilled mask maker, such as you, can make ANY mask look frightening, happy, evil, insane, angelic or any other emotion you want it to emote. Excellent work, Maestro.
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Thank you so much! It is always magical seeing a mask transformed by the wearer, and it has to be said that as much of the skill comes from the actor as from the mask-maker.
I tend to agree with you about some of the latex horror masks being over-done. Good horror doesn't show the monster, as they say. One of the creepiest and most effective masks I ever saw was one of those plain white plastic masks that you can get from most costume shops. It had been sprayed with metallic black car paint, and was worn beneath a long black hooded cloak. The overall effect of black expressionless face beneath black robes was stunning. And very scary - far more so than if the person had been wearing a horror mask.
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Magnificent. I thought that was porcelin at first. It was neat to read about the technique you used. I would have loved to have seen this mask in use.
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That sounds like a good time to me
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Thank you!
Part of the effectiveness was that the person wearing the costume would just stand on the edge of a room, completely still, like a mannequin. And eventually people would become aware that he was there and slowly move away.
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How do you get them so even with papier mache? Both the symmetry of the piece and the actual finish are really neat. Obviously it's never been an issue, but when I've used papier mache it always ends up a bit wrinkly...
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This was made by pressing paper into a plaster mould, so quite a lot of the creases can be smoothed out by pressing really hard on the first layer of paper. Then it is coated with gesso and sanded, and this process is repeated, the thin layers of gesso building up until the finish is as smooth as porcelain. This can take up to a week, because each time the gesso is added, the mask goes quite soft and has to dry out completely to keep its shape. And then finally the crackle glaze and varnish help to smooth the top finish.
Also - I admit that I spent a long long time getting this one just right as it was a commission, so I got a little over-obsessive about how doll-like I could make it.
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Ahh I see. I made my last mask (for A level) using layers of gesso and tissue paper so it was bonelike, it worked out really well. My art teacher used to obsess over gesso constantly and hoarde it in his storage cupboard...
You definitely have to let the layers dry though, otherwise they tend to go soggy or even worse, mouldy! It's very interesting to hear your technique though
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Also - bonelike sounds interesting. If you have any photos of your mask, it would be good to see it. Only if you feel like sharing, of course.
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Well I've got photographs but they're at home rather than uni. It was a project beginning with observational drawings of ram skulls, so I took that and merged it with a bird skull and made a mask from it. It looked nowhere near as professional as yours 
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Well, it sounds rather stunning. Skull shapes make really effective masks, and ram skulls in particular look quite frightening with the horns. (You've just reminded me that I want to make a bone crow mask at some point...)
Any opportunity to scare your teachers can only be a good thing - it keeps them on their toes!
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I made the horns by wrapping the actual horns in clingfilm and papier maching over that. It was much fun 
A bone crow mask? Can't wait to see it! I'd recommend buying an actual skull to study rather than pictures, but you probably know this already
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I've done horns in a similar way - using clay rather than a real horn to model over. The structure comes out really solid doesn't it?
I agree about teachers deserving a fright. My old art teacher was such a laid-back remnant of the 60's hippy movement, that he wouldn't have jumped even if someone had lit a rocket under him. :d
As for the skull bit, this is a bit morbid, but last year next-door's cat left a dead magpie on my lawn. Poor thing.
So I've put it into the compost heap and am waiting for nature to do its work. Not looking forward to salvaging it, particularly, but I should eventually have a crow-like skull for reference.
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lol lit a rocket under him
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I totally mis-read that as 'a dead baby cow', and did a double-take. ~giggling~
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I'd be a bit more than surprised if he dragged a calf to my doorstep!
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I should think so too! Monster cat!
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Ah, mouldy papier-mache. Yes, I remember having lots of problems with this when I first started out. Not pleasant.
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No, they just go all bendy and smelly. Not pleasant at all.
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