There seems to be a revelation at every stage of mask construction. Today's was one of the most exciting: peeling the actual latex mask out of the plaster negative.
People were visibly delighted to meet their masks at last. Ryan let out a laugh like a new parent. Before long the studio was full of new characters--a Capitano and a Magnifico...
...and a Pantalone, a Pulcinella, and another Capitano.
We used scissors and rotor tools to trim off the excess latex and fiberglass. The eye sockets are really difficult. I'm not sure what sort of tool might make them easier. Possibly a really sharp X-acto, in combination with a face-shaped cutting mat. Not that face-shaped cutting mats actually exist, as far as I am aware.
The last step was priming the masks with some sort of lacquer, the genuine gommalacca made by dissolving beetle dung in alcohol. (Lino explained all that in Italian, complete with a diagram of the pooping beetle. I love commedia.) Tomorrow we paint. The first masks we'll be painting to look like leather; the second ones we can paint as we wish. On half an Arlecchino mask, Lino demonstrated using acrylics to accentuate the contours.
The other half of the mask is still brown. Beetle poop will do that.
1 comment:
How did I not know you're blogging this? Of course you're blogging! What kind of hole have I been in?!
Ooh, I'm so excited to hear what you've been up to!
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