Masks and other Art

[Buster's Uncle]

And you probably remember a 3/4 horned bull on the Guernica model painted red.  I don't recall giving it away or being told it sold, and I think it was still around before the gallery, and I could ask Mylochka what she knows.

I've got all the parts for that, though I can't say I like working with those horns, but I could, with or without the bull-snout, on most any face or halfmask, were I sufficiently motivated.  It does come with the Picasso forehead bulge in the middle.

[Unorthodox]

Unfortunately, he’s decided to make me work.  He wants one done in my green man style.

Personally think any of those red ones would be better for the venue, but teenagers know best. 

(Alec has a masquerade ball coming up)

[Buster's Uncle]

[Unorthodox]

Not near as clean as your mache, but my finish method doesn't demand it on this. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Sure - that's the "bones" and you'll detail in something else atop that - what, exactly?

[Unorthodox]

Gotta do the horns but glueing moss to the rest. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Okay - do the horns in what?

[Unorthodox]

DAS is my go-to for finishing. 

Wal-mart was carrying an air dry clay that was softer and easier to work than DAS I loved, but it falls apart rather swiftly in weather (freezing destroys it).  That matters in my creations but not this. 

Would look good in air dry porcelain too. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Ooh, I've been remiss in reporting that the gallery we were in for a year, Valdese Heritage Art Center, has curled up and died.  Facebook post 8 April: "Sadly, we are closing our shop. Thank you for your loyal support!"  -Mylochka found out from me, and that's all we know, last I asked.

As I was saying a year-and-a-half ago, as we were on our way out, nobody in charge, no pop to the storefront, bad location, no publicity stunts/networking with other local creative types/institutions, and I believe they peed away the booth fee money on the -lame- town radio station, instead of peeing it away on the one in the -10 minutes drive away, but out of range of WSVM- county seat, where a lot more art patrons live.

I fell into a couple of different conversations with artists over there about the marketing problem before we left, and they seemed to have thought a lot of the same things - and intriguingly, the rich patron who provided the space specifically forbad any alterations to the green-and-white sign (like color that would have given it a little pop), turning on a light upstairs at night to illuminate the stained glass windows, and I assume that a banner sign across the storefront was right out.

That nobody in charge thing was really serious, too, especially with a few who thought they were making the rest miserable.

[Unorthodox]

Season finale of Sabrina season two is worth a watch for mask inspiration. 

Our local Halloween Expo didn't officially go belly up, but failed to put on a show last year after only one season. 

The Halloween in Summer festival is trying to move on without it's founders, so I'll be interested to see if it succeeds.  (I predict it will be fine)

Are there no other booth type things out there?  Those are like a dime a dozen around here these days.  plus every other weekend there's a boutique thing somewhere. 

[Buster's Uncle]

You're rock-throwing distance from major city SLC, though.

Outside Asheville and random tourist traps, this whole end of the state is a poor venue for art.  There's a little summer tourism locally, but very little, and no networking I'm aware of with those institutions ever took place.  I'm very nearly homebound, and Mylocka is incapacitated too much of the time, and nothing that takes driving an hour or more repeatedly is going to ever happen.

[Buster's Uncle]

-I've been thinking, BTW, about revisiting the college devil mask, as in, a new version with smaller horns that a mask can be pulled off the base in one piece...

[Unorthodox]

You're rock-throwing distance from major city SLC, though.

Outside Asheville and random tourist traps, this whole end of the state is a poor venue for art.  There's a little summer tourism locally, but very little, and no networking I'm aware of with those institutions ever took place.  I'm very nearly homebound, and Mylocka is incapacitated too much of the time, and nothing that takes driving an hour or more repeatedly is going to ever happen.

I think it has more to do with the LDS church more than the density.  Even out of the way cities have booth shops and arts festivals.  It's one of the more socially acceptable activities for LDS moms to make money at, since it's 'not a job' and they can stay at home parent. 

Just noticed I never posted a final above.  He ended up the only one going to the masquerade in a home-made mask. 



I'm really toying with redoing my own, in large part because of this Apoxy Clay, and I hate the spanish moss on it. 

[Buster's Uncle]

It's a pretty strong compliment, there, you know - it's sorta in Alec's teenager job description to find everything to do with Dad lame...

[Buster's Uncle]

So, the crone base that was one of the first things I made when I got into this nearly 20 years ago



is still AWOL with some other bases and whatnot that disappeared in the move home from Texas.  - But it hit me recently that this mask made off it



with the eye and nostrils plugged, is a serviceable excellent mold, being lined with latex for waterproofing, and I can cast a pretty good replacement base in plaster.  That's what I'm gearing up to work on first, maybe today...