Decorative Mask for Halloween-Photos

Lift mask.

I'm posting some of pictures of my Halloween work on Wednesdays through the end of October.
This type of mask is called a lift mask.  A lift mask is a mask that uses another mask as the base for the mold.  In this case, the mask was a three quarter size full face mask that was used as a wall decoration.  The face on the original mask was a normal looking face.  I added exaggerated features by building up the nose and chin, changing the shape of the mouth, and enlarging the eye area to create a mask that looked completely different from the original.  The mask underneath only serves as a solid base on which to build a new mask.

Original mask.

The original mask, purchased at a thrift store, was covered with plastic wrap to protect it from moisture from the papier mache.  Next I covered the plastic wrap with aluminum foil. The foil was covered completely with masking tape.  All of this was followed by a layer of papier mache on top of the foil.  Once that layer was dry, the mask was removed from the base and a layer of papier mache was added onto the foil on the underside.

Once the papier mache layer on the underside of the foil was dry, I began to add bits of foil and tape to build up the features.  I think I put four layers of papier mache on each side of the mask to make sure that it was sturdy enough to hang as a decoration.  Then it was painted.  I use acrylic paints.  They give it a very different look from the poster paint or tempra paint that is usually used on papier mache.