Making Masks or How to Start an Obsession

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I am taking a class in a couple weeks with master cane artist Carol Simmons. I thought I would get back into some cane making to freshen up before class. My mistake was pulling out my current canes and spotting a mask push mold I hadn't used in ages.

I convinced myself I would just make a mask and get it over with. If you are a bead maker, you know that’s how we con ourselves. Just one more this, one more that.

The first mask I made is the one on the bottom and then 3 more of the smaller ones. Then, I remembered I had another island mask mold and well, my experiments just took off. I pulled out the mica powders, the pan pastels, the Genesis heat set artist oils, the inka gold metallic paints, the sharpee coloring pens, crystals, gold glitter, gold leaf, watercolors.

Yeah, I was in a frenzy state. It was like having a bag of Kettle salt and pepper chips and claiming I would eat just a handful. Usually, I roll the bag up, clip it, and put it away. And I still end up eating the whole bag in one day.

That about describes my poly clay habits too. Except I don’t usually put things away. Instead I work my table until there is about an inch of space left for me to work. Then, I scrape stuff away with my blade to create another inch. And when I have about 5 inches of scrap and tools scattered here and there and I can’t find a damn thing and bits of clay are getting on my pieces, THEN I clean up. Sound familiar? ha ha.

Here’s some more pictures of the collection.

Push It! Face Molds and Mica and other pretty things

I had the face mold sitting in my drawer for some time now.  I never felt ready for it.  It might have been I was working a lot in bright colors and it just didn't go with the palettes. 

Two nights ago, just for the hell of it, I mixed almost equal portions of Premo gold and Premo black and came up with a wonderful metallic bronze color.  I needed something cool to do with it.  Out came the face mold.  I thought at first I would just make a cabachon and use it in a bead embroidery project.

But, I have no discipline.  I decided to make beads with the left over clay and then I just couldn't let it sit there, or worse yet, put it in a drawer for later use, or even worse, sell it!  I figured I could always make another but you know there is no guarantee it would be as cool.

Once I committed, I was all in.  Here is the result.