Progress on mask

 Made a bunch of progress on my mask today - going to make a 'death' mask as a test, but with the potential to use it in performance art later, I guess... 

I've improvised a method of creating rough shapes by folding and bunching kitchen roll, then soaking it in diluted PVA glue, and apply it as a sort of 'fillet' to start building up the features in a patchwork of sausages, triangles, squares... When it all gets too messy, I apply a big patch of glue-soaked kitchen roll over the top, and start again ;)

It's funny, I've added a huge amount to the mask above, but it's hard to see - but so much paper mache that I actually thought firstly that it might all just spontaneously fall off again under its own weight, and secondly that it might NEVER fully dry out... In the end I devised a quite good strategy of putting it in the oven at 70C for fifteen mins at a time (sorry planet) and then taking it out to refine and smooth and adjust as it dries. 

The approach above is a bit weird, and is creating a fairly uneven surface (despite all my loving caresses as it dries), but is a way I can visualise the shape, and secondly allows me to work slowly, correcting and building-up as I go - I can sort of 'block out' shapes, let the set a bit, squint at them, and then add more and more fine detail.

Next steps are 

1. Wait to 2027 for it to dry out (or maybe Thursday) 
2. Critically examine what I have and add some (hopefully small) fillers e.g to flatten the middle of the brows, maybe better define the eyes, and level out (and up) the cheeks
3. Apply a layer of newspaper to help smooth it and hold it all together
4. Apply a layer of wood filer to hopefully fill the holes and create a sandable surface
5. Carefully sand to try to get the smoothest surface I can
6. Apply silver leaf and washes to simulate corrosion