As the title says, I have an emergency mask project commissioned by a tweet peep who is also a fellow SCA-dian.
She needs it by the 6th.
She's in Kansas.
For anyone else, this could be a one way trip to Crazy Town. Fortunately for me, I have season passes.
So, the beginning has been slow. We had to put up shelves in my room so that I actually had space to work, which we did and it's wonderful. Of course, it took me two hours to actually get things put on the shelves because just when I'd get a shelf arranged, I'd decide that maybe it would be better if that stuff was on that shelf over there... Yeah, two hours of being OCD doesn't get things done.
So does being sucked in on a video game. Yeah, I lost a helluva a lot of time there. I apologize, Zoe, but fear not, things are right on track.
Except, of course, as I've been warned, nothing is drying. The humidity is sucking something fierce right now. So, for now, I have said mask base sitting in front of a space heater, which is also taking some of that dampness out of my room. I've got two layers on the base. I'm hoping that will be enough. If not, the next layer will dry in the oven. I just didn't want the base to dry so fast that it shrank, but I think that's mostly a paper pulp issue, which is why I started with a base of paper strips. Definitely less shrinkage.
This has also caused me to mentally write a letter to myself in my head:
She needs it by the 6th.
She's in Kansas.
For anyone else, this could be a one way trip to Crazy Town. Fortunately for me, I have season passes.
So, the beginning has been slow. We had to put up shelves in my room so that I actually had space to work, which we did and it's wonderful. Of course, it took me two hours to actually get things put on the shelves because just when I'd get a shelf arranged, I'd decide that maybe it would be better if that stuff was on that shelf over there... Yeah, two hours of being OCD doesn't get things done.
So does being sucked in on a video game. Yeah, I lost a helluva a lot of time there. I apologize, Zoe, but fear not, things are right on track.
Except, of course, as I've been warned, nothing is drying. The humidity is sucking something fierce right now. So, for now, I have said mask base sitting in front of a space heater, which is also taking some of that dampness out of my room. I've got two layers on the base. I'm hoping that will be enough. If not, the next layer will dry in the oven. I just didn't want the base to dry so fast that it shrank, but I think that's mostly a paper pulp issue, which is why I started with a base of paper strips. Definitely less shrinkage.
This has also caused me to mentally write a letter to myself in my head:
Dear Me,
So, remember when you stated that you were going to make a bunch of mask blanks to make moments like these a little easier? Yeah. I hate you, too.
Love,
Me
Well, it's my own fault, but I hope that doesn't kill too much time. Good thing is the strips usually dry pretty fast when we don't have the humidity of a swamp. It's the paper pulp that has me worried.
I think my oven and I are about to get very lovey dovey here soon.
Ah, yes, love the smell of cooking paper mache in the evening...
____________________
It's a penguin mask. I am going for a crested type of look, but well, we'll see. The last time I had to work with feathers nearly ended in tears. They definitely ended up all over my house. Damn cats.
I think my oven and I are about to get very lovey dovey here soon.
Ah, yes, love the smell of cooking paper mache in the evening...
____________________
It's a penguin mask. I am going for a crested type of look, but well, we'll see. The last time I had to work with feathers nearly ended in tears. They definitely ended up all over my house. Damn cats.
I can't wait to see what you come up with! I just finished a down-to-the-wire commission, myself, also with drying issues (but with acrylic paint, not paper mache). With hubby's help, I rigged up an ingenious but slightly scary drying method involving our portable air conditioner (unvented, so the heat that would have been vented wasn't), a small closed room, and an inverted aquarium (to keep the dust off). Acrylic paint usually needs a week to dry in normal conditions, and it was rainy. I only had a week to let the paint dry, then varnish, then photograph, before the client needed it for a V-day gift. I finished in the nick of time.
... only to find out that they're not giving the gift until Mother's Day anyway. >_< Oh well. At least it's finished, the client loves it, and I can move on to other things.
So I've been playing Neverwinter Nights all week. :-D I figured my Muse needed a vacation after that. She doesn't like hard-and-fast deadlines so much.