Happy 2014!

If you know me, you know that I don't really believe in New Years' resolutions.  I believe that we should be 'resolving' to be a better person than we were yesterday, every day.  Rather than making a grandiose list of things you want to do differently but probably aren't going to, I guarantee you'll make a much more significant difference by incorporating small goals into your everyday existence.

Case in point: my attempted "drawing a day" project that is ongoing.  It turned into something more like "a drawing a few times a week," but that's okay, and here's why.  If I flip through my Handbook, I can see improvement from one week to the next.  That's the goal, isn't it?

That said, one of my goals for the next... significant length of time is to tackle the largely intimidating project traditional Venetian mask making.  After researching the process extensively, my plan is to start with a small scale model and work my way up to creating wearable face masks as my technique improves.

See?  Got my supplies.  Nothing you can't buy at any art store, or even Amazon Prime.

Step 1: make mask positive for molding purposes out of oil-based clay.  The crappy factory made mask is just there as a three-dimensional reference that I don't have to worry about messing up.  My authentic Venetian jester isn't going anywhere near odd-smelling grease clay.
Step 2: use clay positive to cast plaster negative.
Step 3: use plaster negative to create "stuck paper" positive (noted as being different from paper mache)
Step 4: cut out eyes and nostrils; sand edges smooth.
Step 5: coat "stuck paper" positive with several layers of white acrylic paint
Step 6: decorate!