Autumn is probably my favorite time of year and is accompanied by my favorite holiday, Halloween! I celebrated this weekend by watching Garfield's Halloween while working on a mask for a great event being hosted by the Polymer Clay Smooshers. They are hosting a Masquerade Ball where they invite their members to submit a mask to be a part of the ball. Several of us joined towards the end of the event, so the guild leader, ColtPixy extended the deadline for us. I feel like I made it in just under the wire, as often happens with my deadlines :)
I have only started reading H.P. Lovecraft in the past year, though my boyfriend has been a fan of his work for a long time. When I first started reading Lovecraft's short stories, I wasn't sure what to expect. The underlying psychological horror in all of his stories is amazing, though some are much more entertaining for me than others. If you decide to read Lovecraft, I highly recommend reading his work in chronological order, since many of his stories will build on his earlier fiction.
So, when I was debating on what type of mask to submit to the guild's ball, I thought what a fun way to celebrate my enjoyment of Lovecraft's work than to try to craft a mask. Here are some raw photos before baking:
After many hours of sculpting, fixing, retexturing, I finally attempted to bake the piece. On the advice of a guild member, I used cornstarch to cover the piece to prevent the clay from burning. It worked wonderfully, though it took me an hour to just brush the cornstarch off of the finished product! :D
This is the finished product that I now have listed on my Artfire and Etsy shops. I carefully painted over the piece using a mixture of metallic yellows, greens and blacks to achieve a wonderful shimmer to the mask and add depth to the piece. I hope I was able to achieve it.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.
"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."
It is fabulous!!
ReplyDeleteNext time use baking soda. It is much easier to rinse off than corn starch. 2GoodClaymates taught me that.
What an amazing piece! Wow!
ReplyDeleteThat mask is BEYOND awesome! All hail Cthulhu!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I never thought about baking soda. Will definitely try that next time! I was covered in cornstarch by the time I was able to get all of it off :D
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your kind comments! I had so much fun making this piece!
Great mask, love the colors!!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing work! You are really talented. Love it!Your newest google follower through Facebook. Stop over and join my blog when you get a chance. Digna
ReplyDeletehttp://autumnbluesjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Sidenote: This piece was featured in a fabulous collection on Artfire, along with wonderful pieces from my fellow Smooshers! Take a peek :D
ReplyDeletehttp://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=5622