Just For Fun

One more post about this mask! I couldn't help it...

This'll be a short one, I just wanted to post the finished product next to the original mask:

Success!

So after about 12-15 hours of work (and over 24 in total) on this mask, it is finally finished in time for makeup class tomorrow! I am not one to pat myself on the back (I usually take a big ol' swing), but this one came out AWESOME. Definitely exceeded my own expectations...

I'm gonna skip to the pictures and give you a few details in a minute, because if I don't, I may piddle-

 

This is the finished mask! All of the creases and edges were blended using a combination of:

1) Zap-a-Gap Krazy glue, intended to fill gaps

2) A papier mache mix made of 1 part water and 2 parts elmer's white glue. This came in VERY handy in filling gaps, covering any areas where new clay was applied to fill gaps, and concealing edges.

3) The paint itself. Thank God the brown was very thick and could be used to blend a lot.

Overall, there are still some rough edges and creases, but I like the effect they give the mask- afterall, Caliban is no looker.

Next to the rendering.

 Close-up of the eyes. They look even better in person... big ol' swing...

Close-up of the chin. Some fixing was done around the edges using new clay, zap-a-gap, AND the elmer's... lots of work, but it paid off. The lips have a translucent orange on them. Unfortunately, it didn't show up much in this picture...

And there you have it! I'm very proud of this one. The effort was definitely worth the end product, and thank the lord for that snow day! Never could have done this in one night...

Hope I'll have more stuff to show soon. What's the next big project??? My hands are itching to do something else...

<3

Peace

Krazy Faces

Let me tell you one thing about making masks- all of the fun stops when you start gluing the pieces together. The finished product is looking great, but my hands are COVERED in Krazy glue.

The other dilemma I had when I woke up to find my pieces dry, was that they had also shrunk a lot more than I had anticipated. I had assumed that they would shrink a little, but the cheek bones didn't even fit in their original places. After a bit of tweaking, though, I adjusted them to their closest fit, and I will fix the rest when I start painting. Overall, though, it's looking awesome... was there ever a doubt? =P

A few pictures-

 

The original concept drawing. I couldn't take a picture yesterday since the pieces were drying on my notebook. The drawing was made using a process I learned in class- reading the play and writing down character attributes (ie: wide, shadowy, fearful, dramatic, scheming, etc.). Then you write alongside those attributes objects that physicalize that attribute. Using those objects, you start to draw the character, seeing how those objects inspire you, including the shapes, textures, and colors of the face.

 

The mask glued together.

 

The mask next to the concept drawing.

The mask is drying now, so hopefully in an hour or two I'll be able to start working on some of the final gluing elements and the painting. I've decided to make a sort of papier mache gloss to cover some of the more fragile looking areas, and also to fill in some of the places where shrinkage made the pieces less close to the skin of the mask. I may also use it to blend edges so that when I start painting it will look a bit more seamless.

For now, though, it's shower time...

<3

Peace

"Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here"

During the snowstorm today, between getting some french toast at the diner and watching Jurassic Park, I put a few long hours into the Caliban mask for Stage Makeup... and I have to say, it looks pretty awesome so far.

I would say it's about halfway done- My main goal today was to draw out the patterns for the changes on the plain white mask and then make the "prosthetic" pieces that would change the face to the shape I wanted. The pieces were made from a white air-drying clay I happened to find in the University bookstore, and It worked pretty well with the project. My only complaint is that it seems to have cracked a little in the drying process, but the cracks were easily repaired/filled with krazy glue. I'm sure I'll be able to make them reasonably invisible in the painting process. Either way, my design allows for cracks and wrinkles, so who knows? It may be a blessing in disguise.

I have a few pictures to show right now, accompanied by slight explanations-

This is the original white mask with the preliminary design drawn onto the face so that I could sculpt the clay directly onto the mask. I then planned to allow the pieces to begin drying, and about halfway through, remove them from the mask to dry fully. I will then glue them into place before the painting process.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't have the forethought to take pictures while the pieces were on the mask drying, but as the pieces came off, I labeled them and placed them in their respective places on the original concept drawing. This is a picture of all the pieces laid upside down on the drawing. Some sections are made in several pieces like the eyes and nose that will be pieced together tomorrow. The lips are also in three separate pieces, which might be slightly more apparent in the next picture.

This is a pretty good depiction of what the pieces will look like once they're on the mask. They consist of two brow bones, under-eye bags/wrinkles, the bridge of the nose, both nostrils, creases at the mouth (not pictured), exaggerated cheek bones, wide jaw bones, two upper-lip extensions, a plumped bottom lip, and a pointed chin. Painting will involve shadowing several areas like the cheeks, chin, temples, and eyes.

Joan Rivers Before surgery.

Just a closeup on the detailing on the eyes and nose. The pieces are laying on the original drawing.

Closeup of the lips and chin. You can see in this picture the separation between the two pieces of the upper lip.

I'm really excited to piece it all together tomorrow! Don't know if I'll make it through the night. This project has definitely sparked the part of me that was always interested in making prosthetic makeup pieces. It's a lot of work, but I've loved every second so far. Painting will be fun, I'm sure. I really can't wait to see how this turns out =) 

I also have planned to make stringy hair with white yarn... not sure if I'll go through with this part though. It seems like that might be overkill. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

OH. And, unfortunately, I will not have the time to work on it tomorrow that I had hoped to have, considering Montclair State University is one of the only institutions that isn't closed tomorrow, opting rather to have a delayed opening. Remember when we had those in High School? Exactly.

Anyway, here's to hard work paying off (hopefully), awesome results, and the ladies who lunch.

<3

Peace

Making Faces in the Snow

The weather channel is saying bad things for my area tomorrow, as in 12-24 inches of snow and 40-some-odd mph winds... I think it's safe to say that I will be staying home. However, Montclair State University has already started backtracking on their "winter weather" cancellations, so who knows... I may be shedding tears in acting class tomorrow anyway. This school is infamous for remaining open, even in a declared state of emergency. Apparently, my school was founded by the American Postal Service... which would explain why everything gets done so late and aggressively.

On a lighter note, plans for the cabaret I mentioned earlier are already underway, however tentatively. Ideas are floating around, and I can't wait to hear some of my roomies' thoughts. At the very least, I know we're all serious about doing it, and actually committing time to make it good. I will definitely keep everyone posted about the details. After all, what good is sitting alone in your room?

I have prepared for the winter weather in a number of ways:

1- The knitting needles are laid out and ready to work. Perhaps I'll continue working on Mom's VERY late Christmas/(now)birthday present, considering I'm still finding the money to buy a few more skeins of the wool for my sweater. I think I might have to start making specimen donations. Don't judge me, a check is a check.

2- There's definitely hot cocoa and mini marshmallows in the cupboard... they may not be mine, but when has that ever stopped me? In my apartment, I think the general sympathy is that if you can find it, you can eat it. Which is why we've started cutting holes in the floor and camouflaging them with the carpet in the living room.

3- For my stage makeup class (and I may have mentioned this project already) we have to make masks depicting either the character of Ariel or Caliban from Shakespeare's The Tempest. The project involved reading the play, writing character traits about our chosen character, and then physicalizing them in a drawing. Next, we're taking the drawing and turning it into a theatrical mask ala comedia dell'arte. I chose Caliban, and made a damn good drawing, if I may say so myself. Something about the grotesqueness, but the humor in his ugliness drew me to him- Paging Dr. Freud.

So I went to the campus bookstore tonight before I hit the gym (UGH) and bought $35 (UGH) worth of art supplies so that if I'm snowed in in my pajamas tomorrow, I can get some work done on a fun project. Luckily I had a gift card to the bookstore, so it was like spending fake money, but money none-the-less.

Anyway, as I said, I hit the gym, which means I STANK. Time to hit the showers, boys. Wish me luck- the neighbors upstairs tend to stomp and bang things when I start singing. And to think in 10 years they'll be paying a hundred bucks-a-ticket to hear it! Whatever, their loss =P

<3
Peace

Something Good

I know, I know... getting lazy. But I haven't forgotten you, oh tender world of blogspot! Just busy, is all...

A few notable things for this week-

1. I shaved my head again last night. SO nice to get rid of that extra weight- and way more manageable =) I know I just got the headshots done (trust me, it made my hands tremble with that little buzzer), but I couldn't help but want to do it. Something in me was really drawn to the idea, and part of me wonders if it wasn't an emotional reaction to life in general; you know the deal- emotional turmoil = need for change = the hair turns blue sort-of-thing. I'm not in any real kind of distress, but being single, not being cast this semester, and that damned acting class are really taking a toll on the ol' self-esteem. I guess there's a little Britney in all of us...

2. I had a really great day in my Performance Practicum today. My professor, Michael Rider, is a VERY smart, VERY funny, and VERY talented man, and the biggest Queen since Liberace. I love him to death; he kills me, I swear.

The point is, though, that he's the only teacher, with the exception of my voice teacher Peter Stewart, that makes me feel like I'm not a complete idiot. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't always pull his punches when he tells me which notes were flat (or which acting moments, for that matter), but he does it in such a way that it's also mentoring and nurturing. He explains himself, and assures me that I've got it, I'm just not getting it. And let me tell you- in a world where there are a thousand people ready to tear you to shreds over the outfit you wore, alone, not to mention what (and how) you're singing, it's nice to have someone at my back.

I sang "I Got Life" from HAIR, and Michael told me it was a good choice for me ("At least it's not a girl's song..." Bitch =P), especially since he doesn't see me let loose and just go crazy most of the time. He's told me many times that he's tired of seeing me come in wearing my tie and vest and singing the well-put-together songs. So today I gave him something messier, and it definitely paid off. Everyone had nice things to say, with only constructive criticism, and I ran it a second time with improvements- overall a very positive experience.

After class, though, my friends and I moseyed on over to Michael for the usual post-class hour-long discussion of brassy divas and gossip. Today we talked about some of the great cabaret performers, and how we as students should be not only studying them, but putting together our own cabarets. I've been wanting to do one for a long time, so I think I'm going to put one together with my roommates and see how it flies. I've been gunning to put together a cabaret called, "An Evening With Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin" where I play both Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin (trust me, my impressions are on my resume). I know what you're going to say, that you won't believe me, you'll think it strange... yeah, I'm done with that one.

Anyway, I'm feeling good today. I know I've got something to offer this disgustingly mean world of showbusiness, even if it's not much. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's mine, and I'm unique in so many ways. Embracing my individuality is sometimes hard for me, but when I do, it's always the thing that pays off. So here she is boys- ready or not, here comes mama.

Some lyrics of choice today:

(Picture Elaine Stritch singing these, you'll cry, I promise)

Perhaps I had a wicked childhood,
Perhaps I had a miserable youth.
But somewhere in my wicked,
Miserable past,
There must have been a moment of truth.

For here you are,
There you are
Loving me;
Whether or not you should.
So somewhere in my youth
Or Childhood,
I must have done something good.

Nothing comes from nothing-
Nothing ever could.
So somewhere in my youth or childhood,
I must have done something good.

<3
Peace

Come On In From the Outside

Today was a pretty terrible day, although I must say a lot of people had it worse.

The day started off with very little and very poor sleep, and I somehow managed to squirm out of bed to get to my acting class. Let me tell you, it was really worth getting out of my warm bed and my pajamas to go to YET another class where Jorge Cacheiro systematically humiliates you in front of your peers and then offers no consolation or useful criticism. Instead, somehow, acting class has turned into a forum for discussing the anecdotes he picks up on the sets of "Scrubs" and "The Wire". We get it, you love the wire. Now let's work on some acting technique, shall we?

As I left that class feeling broken once again and convinced that I was not cut out for this profession, I made my way over to my Religion class in Dickson Hall (yeah, I giggled too... especially because it's across the road from Morehead Hall... What????). As I walked, I texted my roommate Brittany, telling her just exactly what I thought of this lousy school and its useless professors... and stepped in a puddle that was anywhere between 3-4 hundred feet deep. That's a rough estimate, but I can gauge it tomorrow. It was a lot like the scene from Bruce Almighty, only if I'd walked back across it, I would not have walked on top of the water. Where are my Jesus powers, Jim Carey?

Anyway, I decided to skip Religion, went and sang for a bit, and then went to work where my boss, the Balrog, proceeded to have me change the labels in her planner. It was really a hoot, I'm apparently not playing this up enough for you. Parker Brothers is planning an adaptation... just wait.

Finally, I got home and had a chance to sit for a few minutes before I got dressed to go to the wake of a friend's mother. And thus, I have reached the point of my story-

Today was so unbelievably heartbreaking- to see someone in so much pain, someone who is usually so full of life and joy, and to know that there is nothing you can do to help is one of the most vulnerable and terrible feelings in the world. He is a very strong person, and I know that he will make it through all of this alright. I just wish more than anything that he didn't have to experience this.

His experience put a lot of things into perspective for me. In any context, these situations are extremely humbling. It is a reminder for those of us that are lucky to be together in this world that we have to appreciate each other as much as we possibly can. We have to strive to live life to its fullest extent and never allow ourselves to be broken... at least, irreparably.

I am very grateful for my life. I am lucky to have such close, beautiful friends, such loving family, a gorgeous nephew, and the opportunities and experiences that I've had. I don't take those things for granted, even for a minute, and even in my moments of doubt, anger, depression, and desperation.

Spread love. Spread joy. Tell people you love them. Do good. Strive to be your best.

<3
Peace