Revisiting Celluclay with Isabelle

First of all, I just have to get it out of my system... isn't Isabelle cute? She's so much bigger than the last time I posted her pics here.

Anyway. Isabelle has been coveting the new "Scrutinizing Eyes II" masks and has asked me repeatedly for one to paint. They take so long to make I hesitated to give her one, but then I figured it might be a good opportunity to try out some new casting methods I'd been thinking of. So for the first time in about eight years I cast masks with Celluclay, a commercial paper mache pulp.

Celluclay has one significant advantage of traditional glue and paper strip paper mache- it is about a thousand times quicker and easier to use. The glue and paper strip "Scrutinizing Eyes II" masks take 9 to 10 hours to cast and finish, but similar Celluclay masks takes about 3 to 4 hours to cast and finish. Theoretically, anyway, assuming the process results in a viable mask. Which in the past it hasn't.

There's been a number of reasons. First of all, I believed that Celluclay warps more easily than other kinds of paper mache. Now I'm not so sure that's true. Yes, some of the early masks I made with it did warp, but I've since learned things that could have prevented this. Such as, a paper mache mask that is not sealed properly will warp no matter what, and acrylic gesso does not seal anything, while Sculpt and Coat or diluted Weldbond PVA glue does. I've also learned that the shape of a mask will influence how it warps just as much as the materials it's made from, and some shapes just require special handling. (For more about this, see this post here: http://sanssoucistudios.blogspot.com/2007/06/mask-shape-and-warpage.html )

Another issue has been Celluclay's apparent inability to adhere to my detail coat of choice, a mixture made from Weldbond, Polyfilla and cheesecloth. (For more about my detail coats, see this post here: http://sanssoucistudios.blogspot.com/2007/04/yet-more-materials-experiments.html) But then came the big "duh" moment.. I was using actual glue- Weldbond, a kind of Elmer's on steroids- to adhere the paper strips to my detail coat, while I was relying on the dried powdered glue in the Celluclay mix to do the same job. I was comparing apples to oranges! What would happen if I used real glue?

So I cast two test masks. First I cast my detail coat into the mold and let it dry thoroughly. Then I thinned Weldbond with just enough water to make it mixable and added it to Celluclay, which I then used to fill the mold. Then I set it aside to dry, and waited, and waited. Then I remembered that Celluclay packed in thick layers in a rubber mold will NEVER dry. I put the mold under a fan and waited several days, and even then it only dried on the surface. When I finally demolded it, some of the surface of the mask stuck to the mold and pulled off. Paper mache generally doesn't stick to rubber molds, but it sure as heck will stick to a rubber mold better than it will to water! The damage was repairable, but it was still a hassle. Best to be avoided.

So for the next mask, I tried applying a layer of Weldbond over the detail coat, adding a THIN layer of Celluclay over that, letting it dry, and repeating this process about three times. I did not mix the Celluclay with anything other than water, as I didn't think I could handle the thin layers if they were too sticky. The mask dried fine in the mold, and none of it stuck to the rubber, but I did get a curious slight wrinkling effect on the surface. I suspect the Celluclay pulled at the detail coat and wrinkled it up as it dried. I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do about this yet, if I'm going to worry about it at all- it is fairly subtle, and I suspect I could sand a lot of it out if I were motivated.

So in the end the Celluclay did not warp any more than the paper strips did, and ultimately it did adhere well to the detail coat. The biggest downside of Celluclay that I now see is its weight. A Scrutinizing Eyes II mask made with paper strips weighs only one ounce, while a similar Celluclay mask weighs three. Just for comparison's sake, a fairly normal pair of prescription glasses weighs one ounce, while the great big huge honking Coke bottle pair you will never catch me wearing on this blog weighs two. Still, it's possible for certain well-balanced, helmet-type masks that are inclined to stay on of their own accord anyway, that the Celluclay could work quite well.

So the moral of the story is that Celluclay is once again a possibility. Stay tuned!

The First "Scrutinizing Eyes II" Masks

So when I haven't been busy being a full time cat tormented mommy, I have been busily casting and painting the new "Scrutinizing Eyes II" masks. I finally have a few to show here.











So much fun to paint!!

These guys are a major pain to cast. Though the mold is small and there isn't a lot of surface area for me to cover, it takes me a looooong time to get the paper down into all those nooks and crannies and around all those little bends at the edges. It's very slow, meticulous work. It takes me seven to nine hours just to finish a cast and get it ready to paint.

I made one major refinement to my method as I worked on these. I sealed the edges of the masks with... coffee filters. Since the fronts and backs of my masks are made out of two different kinds of material, I had originally been reluctant to seal the edges with anything but glue, as I had thought any material that would match and blend in with one side of the mask would not with the other. But coffee filters are a truly miraculous kind of paper. When coffee filter strips are applied in torn strips and smoothed down with thinned down glue, they just... vanish. If they're applied well, it's almost impossible to tell they're even there, no matter what surface they're applied to.

Thanks Creaturiste for the tip!!

"Scrutinizing Eyes II" Off to the Mold Maker

I have been working on this thing off and on for FIVE YEARS. I am so excited to get it done and have a mold made. I can hardly wait to cast up a bunch and paint them in fun colors!

A long time ago I read Karen Horney's "Neurosis and Human Growth" and brainstormed a series of masks based on the different types of neurosis she proposes. (Which are, for the record, narcissistic, perfectionistic, arrogant-vindicative, self-effacing,and resigned. In case you're interested, perfectionistic is my own particular brand.) From there, I played with the more general idea of anxiety caused by excessive self-examination and concern about the opinions of others. As in, OMG HELP THEY'RE LOOKING AT ME!!! From there, I made a Mardi Gras type mask, substituting the feathers with eyeballs.

I had imagined this to be a series of three masks, "Scrutinizing Eyes" (the mask pictured below for the open studio giveaway) being the first and this being the second. The third exists right now simply as sketches in my sketchbook. Hopefully I'll finish it in less than five years!

Thou Shalt Not Fuss!!!

The skies opened up, the angels sang hosannah and pronounced....

THOU SHALT NOT FUSS!!!!!!

Why this sudden revelation? Well, I took out the mask the "eyeball" mold was made from and compared it to my recent casts, and realized about NINETY PERCENT of what I had been filling in and sanding out as casting flaws were present on the original. The Weldbond/Polyfilla mix is picking up that minute a level of detail. I have posted a closeup pic of a raw Polyfilla/Weldbond mask above, showing just how tiny these flaws are, and by extension just how anal I can be.

I have decided that if I was OK with those little flaws on the original when I dropped the big bucks and sent it off to the moldmaker, that by dadgum I was going to be OK with those little flaws on the casts as well. I have made a solemn promise to myself that I will not fix any of them from now on.

Holy instant time savings, Batman!

Yet More Materials Experiments

I continue to cast dozens of "eyeball" masks using variations on the good ol' fashioned paper strip and glue method of papier mache. (I'm up to my eyeballs in eyeballs..) I have come to the conclusion that this is simply the lightest, strongest method there is. Forget paper pulp and those fancy schmancy modern casting resins. Not to mention there's a certain kind of alchemy in the transformation of plain paper, something we take so much for granted, into a work of art.

However, this is still a more labor intensive method than most, and in an effort to save time and keep my prices down I have been experimenting with different materials for the detail coat, the initial layer which picks up detail directly from the mold. I'm hoping to get a mask that needs very little touch up, to save time on sanding, filling, repairing blemishes, etc etc.

Specifically, I have been experimenting with the following detail coats: 1) the chiesatine/cotton fluff method, as mentioned below; 2) thinned Polyfilla, reinforced after finishing with a brushed on layer of thinned Weldbond; and 3) a mixture of Polyfilla and Weldbond. I apply these into the mold and back them with a layer of cheescloth, glue and Polyfilla, and two or three layers of craft paper strips and glue. These steps are pictured above.

After much hurling and smashing of masks on the ground I have come to the conclusion that all these materials are more or less equally strong, AS LONG AS THEY ARE KEPT AS THIN AS POSSIBLE. Anywhere they build up to any thickness becomes a weak point, paper strip backing or no. Given that, the material which is quickest and easiest to use becomes the most desireable. For whatever reason the Chiesatine method takes forever, and the straight Polyfilla is too prone to marring before it's coated with Weldbond, which leaves the Weldbond/Polyfilla mix as the current champion.

Briefly, how I make the detail coat.. I thin the Weldbond down to the consistency of cream, and then use it to mix the Polyfilla into a thin, lump free, brushable mix. I test it on the outside parts of the mold rubber until I'm sure it's a good texture. If it's too thick, it has a ridgy, meringue like texture which will make the applications of the other layers unnecessarily difficult. If it's too thin, it will run and pool in the deeper parts of the mold. The right thickness will have relatively little texture and will stick on the vertical surfaces of the mold without slumping or running. Again, this needs to be applied IN AS THIN A LAYER AS POSSIBLE. I don't worry if this layer is so thin that it's somewhat transparent and I can see the orange of the rubber mold through it! The subesquent layer of cheescloth, Polyfilla, and glue will fill in any thin spots nicely.

When I've done a few more masks and worked all the kinks out, I hope to post in more detail about the paper strip paper mache method. Until next time!

"Scrutinizing Eyes" Masks

Here are pics of the first few finished casts of what is officially known as the "Scrutinizing Eyes" mask. Unofficially, it's called "Paranoid Eyeballs". The gold mask is the finished "Chiesatine" paper mache mask that I posted pictures of earlier, raw and fresh from the mold.

I got to play alot with Golden Acrylics interference and iridescent colors painting these. Way, way, way too much fun!

It's important to me that the mask moves well with the wearer, and the shifting colors of the interference paints in particular add to the mask's sense of movement. Plus, I'm hoping that in some cases they can save me a little time (and thus, production costs) as they can give me depth and interest in the color of the mask without devoting hours and hours to layering, glazing, and shading.

"Chiesatine" Paper Mache

This is my first attempt at "Chiesatine" paper mache, otherwise informally known as cotton-fluff paper mache, fresh and raw from the mold. I owe a huge thank-you to Mathieu Rene, a maskmaker based in Montreal, for emailing back and forth with me about how to do this. (His blogs: www.maskmaking.blogspot.com and www.creaturiste.blogspot.com.)

I have avoided trying the more traditional paper-strip-and-glue methods of paper mache as I didn't think they could pick up the fine detail (gumlines, wrinkles, etc) in my masks. I also felt they would probably be too time consuming for someone who already sinks 20+ hours into each mask. But then I was having trouble finding a material strong enough for the "eyeball" mask shown above- those fragile eyebrows would break as soon as I dropped the mask, no matter what it was made of- so I thought I would give this method a try.

I have to say, I am very, very, very, very impressed- and I mean VERY IMPRESSED- with how strong this mask is. Trimming it was next to impossible. As in, the Exacto knife couldn't touch it. As in, the Dremel could hardly touch it. As in, I had to keep turning up the motor speed, and changing the bits, and turning off the Dremel so that the mask could cool down and not catch fire, etc. Mathieu has told me that I didn't need to use as strong a glue as I did (Weldbond, a kind of white glue on steroids) so for my next attempt I'm going to try some version of Elmer's. But in any case, this mask can survive being dropped on the floor!

I am also very pleased with the detail in the cast. The fluff really did pick up all the little lines and edges quite well. The cast was also very true- no pinholes, blisters, cracks, etc, so unlike the Paperclay casts it required next to nothing in the way of repair. So while this method *was* quite time-consuming, I'm thinking it may take no more time than the Paperclay method, and it will yield a superior mask. I may even come out ahead since the materials are so incredibly cheap.

So very briefly, here's how I did this. First I applied a layer of absorbent cotton, purchased in a roll in a medical supply store, into the mold. I pressed it in firmly with a wet brush, removed as much water as I could with a sponge, and then painted in a layer of diluted glue. After that layer had dried, I applied a layer of cheesecloth, coated that with a layer of diluted glue, and then after THAT layer had dried I applied two layers of torn Kraft paper and coated those with the diluted glue.

I have yet to try this in a large multi-part mold. The big molds do sometimes seem to follow different laws of nature than the smaller ones. We'll see what happens!