There's one moment in Venice that I remember very clearly: I tried on a gilded mask shaped like a crescent moon with a strikingly androgynous face. It was a beautiful mask, but it looked strange on someone with my height and build. I bought a Tarot jester instead, but I couldn't stop thinking about the Luna mask. Why don't I simply make a Luna mask of my own?
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| sculpture © Chromeheart Illustration |
I began with a small scale mock-up of my Luna to get a feel for the basic process. I'm a little nervous about this, being that I never had an interest in sculpture before recently discovering its function in mask-making. Little Luna is made out of Roma Plastilina no. 2, an oil-based clay that is often used for mold making.
The next step will be to pour a plaster negative of Little Luna. I've never used Plaster of Paris before either, so this is going to be a bit of an adventure.
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| © Chromeheart Illustration |
Truth be told, I'm having a blast with the Luna character. I did this little sketch earlier today, inspired by one of the more elaborate Luna e Sole masks I came across in my research. Ink: Private Reserve Black Cherry. I'm already in love with the color.
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| sketches © Chromeheart Illustration |
These are the preliminary sketches I did for my Luna mask, and some inspiration references from the Internet. I want my Luna's facial expression to be relaxed and dreamy, with an underlying intelligence and that slight smirk that almost seems to whisper, "I have a secret." Luna is a monarch of the night, of sleep and dreams, and the night is for secrets. The facial expression will be more distinct when I build the full scale mask.
