Handsome Devil

Sculpturally, this mask compares in complexity with the "metal finish harlequin". There are many elements in play here.

The facial components of the mask include a relief-sculpted cheek plate, an elaborate ornamental head plate, and even the horns are textured through stamping.

As with all my masks the base for this one is paper mache and paper clay as well. The relief design on the cheek plates are stiffened cotton rope which was then slightly pulled apart and applied to the plates. The head plate is totally sculpted out of paper clay: coiled, pressed, and stamped, and inset with ruby red glass beads. The horns were sculpted out of paper mache, which once dried and hardened, were covered with a thin layer of paper clay, and then pressed with a stamp to create the design. (For all of my masks, I create my own stamps.)

The painting technique for this mask was multi-layered: I first painted everything a flat black, and then painted over that base coat with a flat, red acrylic. Then the surface was lightly sanded to reveal some of the black. As a final treatment, the relief surfaces were gone over with a metal finish paste in renaissance gold.

The handle, which is made of wood, received the same treatment. The oversized, oval pendant at the end of the handle is formed of paper mache, then broken bits of reflective black glass were embedded into a surface of quick drying cement. The cement base was then dyed red.

This mask has a very high gloss polyurethane finish (which made it somewhat difficult to photograph for me!)