Christine’s Paper Mache Mask

African Animals Pattern Set.
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Today’s guest post comes from Christine Majul. You’ll remember Christine from her contributions to our Practical Paper Mache project. Now, here’s her post:

I decided to take a break from my vessel and basket projects to put my spin on Halloween masks.  I was looking for an inspiration and I found a flat African based mask for children online and used it for my inspiration.

I used a folded piece of aluminum foil and made a form of my face. I cut out the form and made a rude outline on cardboard.  I used the make a simple mask tutorial to make the armature and shape.  I used folded paper and a plastic bag and duct tape to mold it to the cardboard.

I made a form for the eyes and the nose and put on top the armature and covered it with red cling wrap and started applying the strips of paper made with homemade flour recipe.

To make this dry faster I had to put this in the oven on warm and let it dry for a few hours.  That way, I could take it off the mold in a lot less time if I had let it dry naturally.  It is now cold and humid and drying would have taken a few weeks.  And, added a few more layers of paper strips to make it stronger and dried in the oven each time.

I used my inspiration mask to paint the face of the mask.

This mask does not hold a candle to the talents of Corey’s eight grade class, which are impressive and show a lot of creativity, but I had the fun and pleasure in making it.  I intend to add a few more embellishments to this mask and I hope to show off the really finished product.

Thank you, Christine!