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I cast a paper mache' head on a Styrofoam head, then removed the head from the mold. I had to take the cast piece off in three pieces, which I put back together and added more layers of paper mache'. The next step was to build up the facial features, which took several days. That brings us up to today's blog post. Readers can go to my blog and view previous posts to see the step-by-step pictures of the process.
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My first color mixing attempt was a little darker and had more sienna in it than I wanted. That was okay because this was only the base coat. I mixed a second color adding some pinkish white. The mixture looked dark when it was wet, but dried lighter than I had anticipated. I spent a few minutes debating whether to give the paint a third try, but ultimately decided to work with what I had. It was not that far off, and I was worried about making things worse instead of better. Besides, I was using up quite a bit of paint in the process.
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I spent some time debating on the eye lashes and eyebrows. I had originally considered purchasing a set of false eyelashes and cutting them down to fit the project. I decided against that because it might look odd to have eyelashes, but painted on eyebrows. So I ended up painting on the eyelashes and eyebrows as well. The eyebrows were the real nemesis. I would paint one and the other would be off. I'd correct that and then the other would look wrong. The eyebrows were too light or too dark. I think I must have painted in the eyebrows about four or five times. That is when the reserved flesh color really came in handy. Finally, I had to decide whether it was time to fish or cut bait on them. When I had them to a point that they were good enough I decided to quit, even if they were not how I wanted them to look.
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Readers might notice that the head does not have any ears. I did not add them to this project because the planned the hairstyle will cover the area. The styrofoam head I used as a base did not have ears. I would have had to build them on after I removed the head from the mold. The cut to remove the cast piece from the head would have sliced through the ears, making for a difficult rejoining of the sections. Once the hair is on, you will not notice that they are missing.
The doll looks a little strange being totally bald. Her hair will not be added until later in the project. Readers may remember that while creating the sun bonnets for my scarecrow centerpiece I made one that was too large for that project. At the moment that bonnet is covering the bald head of my doll. It is a little large, but I could see it working in a project of similar size. Perhaps at some point I will make a doll head centerpiece that features that bonnet. It is not what I had in mind for this project.
One little curiosity came up on this project. You might notice it in the last photo. The cast head is about half an inch shorter than the head it was cast upon. The face is a little broader that can be accounted for by a few strips of paper mache'. You might wonder how this might have come about. It is because in the process of removing and re-attaching the pieces of the head. As I mentioned earlier in the project, the paper mache' pieces tend to bow inward or outward when removed from the mold. Flexing the pieces to make them line up again changed the shape of the head. The head is rounder rather than narrower. It is not a game changer for the piece, just something that made me take notice.
Readers might remember that one of my goals for the year was to try to create a Halloween piece each month. That might have been a bit a bit ambitious. I finished January's piece at the beginning of February. I have been working a my February piece, but I suspect that it will carry over into March. It is good to have a quick project to work on while carrying on a long term project. It keeps me from getting bored with the piece. My next blog post will be about my February Halloween piece. Check back on next Sunday afternoon for that blog post.
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