Green Man Pumpkin - Part 4- Creating the Face

 Last week when I left off blogging, I had left off with showing the cutout where the face will be placed.  There was also a cutout on the bottom for a placement of a battery candle

or light to illuminate the pumpkin.  (I should not have to say this, but for everyone's safety, I will.  Do not use an open flame on an object made from paper.)  Today, I will be blogging about how the face is created.  

I did not want to have a regular pumpkin face because this is supposed to be an anthropomorphic pumpkin.  I want the face to resemble a human face as much as I can make it.  Once the face is made it will be covered with leaves.  The face and leaves will also be made from paper mâché.  The plan is for the pumpkin to be surrounded by leaves, fruits, nuts, and vegetable that would be part of an autumn harvest.

To recap from last week: the pumpkin initially had two circles drawn on it.  The larger outer circle marks the general placement for the face.  The inner circle was the cutting line.  This gives me about half an inch to hot glue the face to the pumpkin.  

To make the face, I started with a foam head that is available in just about any craft store or online.  I sketched out the area I planned to use for the face and covered it with a layer of masking tape.  

The nose is not very prominent on this foam mold, and layers of paper mâché tent to flatten the features.  During the time I was adding the tape, I also used some extra tape and cardboard to enhance the nose and give the area a little bit more prominence.  Also, once the face is covered with the paper mâché leaves, it will need a little extra clearance to be visible under the leaves.  

I did not want to over emphasize the lips very much because I may want to change the shape of the mouth's expression.  I just needed to have an idea of where it went for proper placement.  

Once I had it more or less built up, I covered the whole head with a product called Press and Seal a food storage product found in the grocery aisle.  This waterproofs the head so I can save it for multiple uses.  Also, the paper mâché will not stick to the Press and Seal and can be removed from the head easily.

After that, I added multiple layers of paper mâché on the area covered by masking tape.  In the photo on the right, you can see some of the black Sharpie line that I sketched onto the head to define the area I am using as a face.

The face was covered with six layers of paper mâché.  I only put on one layer at a time and allow it to dry before adding the next layer to help prevent mold.  

It is helpful to have a small sized aluminum pan or baking dish that the head will fit into fairly snuggly.  The head is rounded and wants to roll back and forth.  Placing the head in a snug pan helps to hold it in place when I add the paper mâché.  This saves time and aggravation.  If you don't have a pan of the right size, you would put some books in a plastic trash bags and place on each side of the head to brace it in place.  I am always in favor of using what you have rather than going out to buy something special.

Once all of the layers of paper mâché are dry, I pull the mask off the face mold.  The chin has a bit of an overhang and is a little difficult to get that part off the mold.  However, the face still has a little bit of flex to it and it will come off with a little persuasion.  

I found that the nose was still not large enough to accommodate a couple of layers of leaves, so I increased its height using some cardboard and tape.  All of this will need to be covered with layers of paper mâché.  That is still to come.  I would like to get to a point where everything is ready for the final layers of paper 
mâché before I get started with that. 

I made my first attempt at drawing on the eyes and mouth in this photo.  It needs some work. This is not going to be the final shape. It is very difficult to find the proper placement of the eyes.  Since the paper is not running in straight lines, even if you get the eyes in the proper place the optical illusion created by the disjointed lines makes them look wrong against the background.  

I plan for this face to have green painted glass eyes.  I will blog more on that segment when I get that far.  

I have some trouble getting my eyes to look the same size and shape.  My best recommendation for this is to get one eye as you want it, then trace around it and transfer the image to the other side.  It is important to cut the holes for the features larger than you want them to be.  Layer of paper mâché will decrease the size of the openings.

The mouth Is a little difficult as well. Not only do I have to plan for the shape of the lips, but I have to make room for some of the leaves that will be on the face as well.  

I cut out the features using a sharp craft knife.  The features have to be cut oversized because each cut edge will have layers of tape and paper mâché on top of it.  Before applying the tape, I put some white glue on my fingers and massage the glue into the cut edges.  The layers of paper mâché tend to want to fan out slightly in the cut area.  The paste and tape will help keep the layers from separating as much.

That is about it for today's blog.  Next week I hope to be blogging about painting the eyes and how they are mounted to the face. Or at least, have the rest of the features covered with their last layers of paper mâché.  Spring is here, and all the extra outdoor activities are eating into my crafting time.  After that, the blog will be about how to mount the face to the pumpkin.

I know some readers are wondering what is happening with my paper mâché carousel animals.  I am trying to work each project to a reasonable stopping point before switching back to the other project.  Once the face is attached to the green man, I will be transferring back to the carousel project.  

Check back next week for a new post.