Masks and other Art

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, I showed Mylochka Johnny and the Devil -I only have two hands, and the Crone has a layer drying- and she pronounced them "cool", but only wanted to talk about world history stuff for the next hour+.   

[Buster's Uncle]

-But now she's given me material from an academic workshop on masks she once conducted to build a webpage around. 

A thing we agree on that the JKStudio site should do is brand our mask work as less Halloween costume stuff -though that, too- than snooty wall decoration.  A brief history and overview of the world cultural universality of masks, billed as by DR. Mylochka presented at such-and-such conference, is just the ticket.  I've also asked her to re-create the web pages that used to be on the department website for the two shows she produced/wrote/directed that I masked...

(A costume party mask, people who aren't Uno want to pay about $5.  A hoity-toidy ART mask for the wall runs more like $5,000.  We'll settle for $40...)

[Unorthodox]

I agree I come from a horribly skewed perspective.  I see pseudo vintage stuff being sold for $$$ all the time.  While, yes, I know a thousand people who pay that, that is a completely insignificant number in the scheme of things.

[Buster's Uncle]

For what you're talking about, I slap the conical horns on the Captain -he comes with a smirk- and add a goatee - the rest is painting the mask brick and detailing pencil mustache and said goatee in black.  I could paint that myself, and would probably have to.

Now I think I'll do at least one just to please you...

[Buster's Uncle]

A goatee appliance would be easy.  The nose is all wrong, though - leave it looking stupid, sorta the point, or fix?  Not near as easy.  Otherwise, pretty perfect, and a nice contrast to the serious Devil...

I could just do it on Mylochka or Johnny, but they got no smirk built in, and they're not based on a notorious devil man...

[Buster's Uncle]

Work on KitschDevil has commenced.



Serious Devil is sitting on a potholder because he's fresh from the oven.

[Buster's Uncle]

[Buster's Uncle]

[Buster's Uncle]

I did the fixes to Johnny, and did some minor modifications.  Now with the first layer of latex drying.





The camera's acting up.  The funny color is because it don't like off-brand batteries.  I turned off the flash and just took more shots.     Now I got crappy photos, and it just gave up on the second pair of Evereadys today...

[Buster's Uncle]

I think Crone's finished.



I shooped this yellow shot to a middlin' approximation.

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, the webcam is not a real satisfactory substitute, but at least I can report on what I'm up to.







This one tickles me a bit...

[Buster's Uncle]

[Buster's Uncle]

Walmart sux.  My wimminz were making a trip there anyway, and I had a $25 visa debit gift card from there, and I tagged along to score fresh Sculpey and latex from the craft supplies isle.  I left with a gallon of white glue for 10 bucks.  This is the first time I've been in the craft section of th' mart and not seen a large selection of Sculpey, Fimo, etc, that I recall.

The Joanne's in the same plaza had Sculpey in the 1.75 lb. box for what turned out to be slightly under ten bucks, a deal, so I got a hair over $5 left on the card towards latex next time I make it to Hobby Lobby.

(Never buy at a craft store what you can get anywhere else at substantially less markup.)

I'm sure I'll end up glad of the deal on all that glue...  I'll definitely be more generous with the white glue in the rest of the current batch of mache paste, and for a long time to come.

[Buster's Uncle]

Oh, and I meant to grouse just a little that everything recent but the Crone is in the early latexing stage - since the Crone was just-in-case from all the times I did want the original, I've nothing to do until at least Saturday but dab goo on four things every three hours or so, and wait for them to dry...    My hands want to create...

...Maybe start work on the Mars Face...

[Buster's Uncle]

We'll see if the camera don't do better for Duracell.



I actually took this to show the shallower white plaster Johnny in the background.  I cast that for Bustermas the same day after I did my own deeper one.  I had to fix that nose, too, Monday.  Since my own Johnny, drying, came out so well in one of the shots, just as well leave it in,  Both have customized lips -look carefully at the three shots I posted of the styrofoam original, and he didn't have any realistic definition, there.  That and changes to the noses in the course of fixing casting flaws make for a little original art to them.

Buster's gonna be 16 in five days.  With luck, my Johnny will be ready to knock her off a blank mask to paint, too.  She'll at least have the face - not the first plaster casting of mine she's painted...