This past week our schedules completely changed to allow for a workshop on mask making. We worked for about 3 hours per day for 5 days to create 2 copies of one mask design. The first day we chose a character to create (I picked Arlecchino) and sculpted our design out of clay. It was frustrating at times, but our teacher, Lino, was very helpful and made sure each design was functional, classic, and original at the same time. The next day we dripped a thick layer of plaster on top of the clay and let it dry. Then, we flipped the plaster over, dug out the clay, and began painting in 3 layers of fiberglass and latex. The final steps included popping the mask out of the plaster, cutting it out, and painting it.
It was a long but very rewarding process. It was scary at times not knowing how it would come out and whether the mask would work, but every did a really good job - they all look so professional!
I didn't take pictures of the process, but here are two pictures of the final steps:
The latex mask after it's been cut out. I designed my Arlecchino to be 'cat-based' (usually Arlecchino is cat, monkey, or dog based)
After he's been painted
