Further adventures in the land of paper mache casting...

Hmmm, I still don't have a working title for my piece for the RA Summer Show... Which is odd... Often the title comes around the same time as the idea. I'm not going to try to force it, I guess. Working titles are usually odd and/or descriptive, and actually "Waiting Place" was called "Where you from submission" for most of it's life ;)

I've been doing further experiments to bottom out the technique for the paper mache, and then try to bottom out the aesthetics of how I will display the piece... "Bottom out" is such a silicon valley phrase... "Once we bottom this out, I know a great steak place in the Sunnyvale Heritage District that does local beers"...

Paper Mache - the text: build in or apply later

With regards to technique, I tried covering the first mask in a layer of written-on paper, to see if I could just apply the letter to the face at the end - doing so has some big pros as it makes it easier to see exactly what text is going where, and what is covering what. The layer went on really well:

However, it did cover a lot of the finer details. It also 'wetted' the lower layers enough to cause the mask to 'sink' slightly. 

In parallel, I've finished a new mask, this time starting with 2 layers of written/printed paper, then a layer of newspaper, then a layer of writing paper. For this mask, I used the technique of rubbing undiluted PVA into patches of paper with my fingers, then carefully applying it to the inside of the mould and rubbing it down to expel the air/excess glue, plus iron out any creases that form (even with using smaller pieces for more curved areas, there are inevitably a few creases). 

I allowed the first two layers 24 hours to dry each, and then allowed top two layers 24 hours together. I discovered that it's ok to lightly mark the first layer to make it easier to see where the second layer hasn't covered (otherwise it's a bit 'painting a white wall with white paint'). 

Demoulding this morning went well save the tip of the nose becoming dislodged, at which point I discovered that the tip was still wet since it can't really dry once it's trapped between the silicone and the layer above. Thankfully I was able to smooth it down, and a few hours later the whole thing was dry and really rigid (although i suspect it will continue to further cure and harden for another couple of days yet):

I was amazed by how well the detail came out, and how smooth the surface looks. 

The major con with this approach is that you have to work 'upside down' - the first layer in will be the surface and you won't see what it really looks like until afterwards. However, I think the pros of not having distortion and not loosing detail really outweigh this. 

Once the surface was dry, I did use a pencil to just slightly darken the creases on the eyes and mouth. I'm struck by how much the colour/surface design of the paper affects how you 'read' the face e.g. the lines of vertical printing on the top lip give the immediate impression of skeletal teeth. Something to try to design for when building up the face later...

How to display the piece

I really like the piece as it is, and I might just display it flat as it is... But I also feel it doesn't look very 'finished' so I've been experimenting with some ways to display it. Firstly I used a manikin head I have to see what adding a full head might look like:

I really like it, but I don't THINK it adds enough to justify the significant effort required to do this for real.

Having done some research, the typical way to display a mask like this is what I have come to call the "head on a stick aesthetic". As you can guess, I have some reservations about it. I did try it (making myself a simple stand from some wood I had lying around):

I don't HATE it as much as I thought I would, but it still feels a bit forced to me. I might still come back to it, but I do like the idea of lying the head down, so I tried various ways of making a 'hood' to give the mask a bit more mass and form:

It's a bit weird, but I actually kinda like it! I am tempted to try combining the 'hood' with the 'head on a stick'... Decisions decisions... 

I also popped to Hobbycraft and bought a couple of posies of fake daisies - I must have looked so cute coming out grasping them in my huge hand ;) I tried playing a few on the hood (above), plus making a simple 'crown':

I kinda like it, although it again pushes the idea of the mask as 'dead' rather than sleeping innocently... Dunno. It's hard ;)

I have two weeks left (eek). I've asked the amazing volunteers to start their letters, and I need to nail the question of how to display the finished thing...