Due to lockdown I have limited supply of materials so instead of making 3 large scale heads I aim to make as much of one as possible then make smaller maquette of the others. I then realised, as Ive decided to make these interactive short videos it would be perfect to have as much to include in those videos as possible. So I decided to make the paper mache maquette of the heads into wearable masks as well.
I decided to start with the sad face. For my research and development masks I made a plaster cast of my face. I used this as a base to start paper macheing on top of, with a layer of tin foil over the cast to ensure the mask would be able to be removed after.
I put one layer of paper mache across the face as a base then started to build up the features with scrunched news paper in layers, using the clay model I made as reference:
I got to a stage I was happy with the sculpt so I let it dry and removed it from the form. I had intended to use fabric to make cartoon eyes but now I see it on the face it has so much expression with the wearers eyes showing.
Idea: make detachable eyes from fabric to see how it looks before covering eye holes completely. Could also be an effective aspect to feature in the videos. Surrealism is my arching theme so having the character remove its own cartoon style eyes to reveal realistic eyes would be adding to the style.
I cut around the jaw section and trimmed the excess around the mask.
I then paper mached over the raw edges.
To attach the jaw piece back to the mask I used cut strips of old bike inner tubes to make an elasticated jaw.
I put raw wood glue on the rubber to secure it to the mask, then paper mached over that for extra security, using pegs to secure it as it dried.
I made a boomerang of the mask at this stage for my instagram to example the movement:
Rhianna Yates- Maker Blog 