Masks: The Adventure Continues

Because I have ADHD and a zillion ideas at once, I not only have Set in progress, but the Anubis and Thoth masks as well.

The Anubis mask is very similar to Set.  There was less of a gallon-jug armature and more foam board and screen.  I used the plaster-treated gauze to build up the primary shape.  Notice that the Anubis snout is more canid in shape and slant.

Meanwhile, Set has had his second coat of Celluclay, and I have trimmed the edges of the mask.  The edges of the mask have been finished with the plaster coated gauze.

Thoth has the head of an ibis, which has posed a very interesting conundrum in puppet/mask making.  Modeling articulation from a toy dragon my daughter got at the Renaissance Faire, I procured 1/4"heavy gauge wire and 3/8" clear plastic tubing.  The wire moves freely through the tubing and can be twisted to make the head turn. I

stuck one end of the wire into a styrofoam ball to help stabilize it once it's in the "head".


Using a quart plastic container, I fashioned a head.  The beak is made from jointed foam board, which has been stuck into the spout.  The styrofoam ball assemblage has been affixed inside.    While the first coat of papier mache was drying, I packed on the modeling for Anubis, building up the nose and cheeks.  At the very bottom of the nose is a piece of screen, intended to help with breathing.

I began coating Set with reddish brown ultra suede, which looked great except for the inevitable seams between pieces of fabric.  Because I have ADHD I could not stand to cover the whole thing and then figure out what to do about the seams:  I had to work that out first.  I ended up using acrylic gel medium to affix pieces of paper towel over the seams (like decoupage).  I Then started painting over them.  The result of this was most satisfactory.

The next projects will be making more modeling on Thoth's head and finishing Set's covering.  I expect it will talke Anubis at least two days to dry!

Set Mask Update: The Plaster is Applied

Forging ahead:

Having had dinner and taken my life into my hands while walking the dogs ('icy" does NOT begin to describe walking conditions out there!) I repaired to the basement with a bowl of water and some prepared papier mache gauze.

First I had to trim up the screen.  One of the real advantages of using this plastic screen is that you are not risking life and limb when  you work with it:  the last time I made a mask I used metal screen and bled profusely over the mask--which is, according to my costuming friends, necessary in order to ensure costume success.

I also ran an extra piece of foam board across the top of the mask to keep the ears from doing anything stupid like tilting inwards, and cut out part of the handle that had remained up to this point.

Cutting the gauze into strips, I started covering the mask.  At some point I noticed that the ears were too short, so I added length to the ears and covered over them.  I've left openings for the eyes that are large:  these will not only allow wide vision but also ventilation.

If there is an issue with vision after the plaster has dried, I will be able to cut through the plaster and screen to make the mask work.   But that will have to wait till tomorrow, when the plaster has completely dried.

You might wonder about the flat top of the mask:  no worries!  All Egyptian gods wore headdresses, and Set here will be no exception.  I might glue half a styrofoam ball to the front to help shape the "forehead" but otherwise this should be fine.  I gave some thought to opening up the top but I'm not sure how that would work.

Tomorrow:  check fit and eyes, and then another coat of plaster.

Onward!

Shaping Set: A Mask Project Part 1

Gods for Modern Times:  Sutekh
by Sophia Kelly Shultz

Popular literature--and some modern cults--portray the ancient Egyptian god Set (also known as Set, Sutekh or Typhon) as "evil."  After all, he murdered and dismembered his brother Osiris:  how much more dastardly can you get?  Why, he probably has tea with Osama bin Laden on a regular basis!

A little research reveals this to be a very simplistic description of an enormously complex deity who represented not evil, but something that the ancient Egyptians found to be far more terrifying:  chaos.  Set represented the chaos of storms, of the untamed desert, and of change.  Chaos was BAD.  It was one step away from the thing that they found most terrifying:  oblivion.

The ancient Egyptians did not, for the most part, love Set, but they accepted him as part of their cosmology because he provided the thing which the Egyptians valued above everything--balance.  The Egyptians were a very practical people:  you can't have good without evil; you can't have order without chaos.

I am in charge of Body Tribal, which will be held the second weekend of August at Four Quarters Farm  www.4qf.org  , and the theme this year is the Egyptian netherworld.   I'm sure there is a way to stage the dramas I have in mind without masks, but I can't envision acting out a judgement scene or the Osirian drama without animal-headed gods.

This is the first part of a blog about making a mask of the god Set.

It was supposed to be a blog about making a mask of the god Anubis, but that plan went south when I realized that with the exception of the ears the mask looked more like Set than Anubis.  Finally, I caved in and changed the ears.  So, this is in fact the first part of a blog about making a mask of the god Set.

I had found a website that suggested using a gallon jug as an armature for a mask.  I liked this idea, so I started with this shape.  I cut away much of the bottle, leaving the top and handle intact.


I tried gluing the foam board ears to this shape but was unsuccessful, so instead I punched holes into the center of the handle and around the perimeter of the remaining jug shape, then cut sections of nylon screen and laced wire through them and into the holes in the jug handle.

 I then punched holes matching those in the jug into the ears and threaded wire through them and into the jug.  It was at this point that I realized that the ears were too high, so I had to unthread the wire, move the holes, and re-thread the wire.  Very exciting.

Archaeologists have no clue what sort of animal Set was.  He had square-tipped ears and a tail that forked at the end:  suggestions have included everything from aardvarks to giraffes.  It is simpler to refer to him as "the Set animal" or "Typhonian beast".  On the left you can see one square-tipped ear mounted on the jug-armature.

Of course, the jug handle is not nearly long enough for a mask that covers an adult human's face.  I cast about the basement for something tubular, and when nothing was readily apparent, I took a scrap of foam board (I'm an artist; I have lots) and scored it on one side (right).  Now the normally rigid foam board will curl around nicely to form a snout.

Looks like a gas mask!

I next sliced the screen right at the handle level and lifted it up so that I could wire the snout to it.  I glued the snout together and am now waiting for the glue to set (nice pun, huh?) so that I can continue on.  I may have to shorten the snout, but that will be easy enough once the glue has set.

As you see, this is not your "Halloween mask for beginners" mask.  Tomorrow it may even begin to look like something!