Hello, Children, parents, Bobbledy fanatics! It’s Tilly again!
I know that you know that Halloween is dangerously near. Less than a month ago, however, we were still receiving days full of sunny breezes that ruffled green treetops. Such summery weather called me to the beach. With my swimsuit on and towel in tow, I drove to the Atlantic coast. As I lay in the sun in Lewes, Delaware, my skin browning and my toes becoming sandier, I got an idea. Somehow, through all that sunshine and wave crashing I knew that Halloween was coming and I had to do something about it. That’s when I drew this:
One reason people go to the beach is to relax. And one reason people relax is to clear their minds. That is just what happened to my mind that day at the beach, and that is how I got the idea to make masks for Halloween.
Masks can transform a person. When you put on a mask with horns and fangs you’ll suddenly be snarling at your sister and chasing her down the hall. If you wear a mask embellished with fine lace and dashes of glitter you’ll be prancing around on your tippy-toes granting wishes.
The masks I’m making aren’t finished yet, but so far they look like a mix of goofy and scary creatures. Maybe if you blended Kermit the Frog with a monster from Where the Wild Things Are it would look like one of my masks.
I am lucky enough to have two desks where I can paint my masks. One desk is for painting the initial, solid color. This is the more messy part.
After I paint the masks a solid color, I lay them on the floor to dry before adding any details.
When the paint is dry, I take the mask to the less messy table where I paint details such as eyes and horns.
And here are the three masks I have started adding details to.
If you made a mask, would you wear it to scare someone, or to trick someone, or to do a dance in, or to hide from someone, or to gain super powers, or what?
Here’s the drawing prompt for this week: Draw someone wearing a mask. Maybe it’s you, or your mom, or your neighbor, or a whole bunch of people wearing masks. Then, tell us why they are wearing those masks. Is there is an occasion for them, or not? If you need help getting ideas, put on a mask before you draw!
When you’re done with your drawing, scan it or take a picture of it and send it to Matthew so he can post it next Tuesday for everyone to see.
Hi Tilly — Could you please tell me how you make the initial mask shape?
Hello Miss Laura,
The main structure of the mask is made from Papier-mâché.
The mixture:
Mix glue, water, flour, and strips of newspaper. I did not measure, but I can tell you that you want it between runny and pasty. Let the strips soak for 5 minutes. 15 minutes is too long. After that much time the strips will fall apart when you pick them up.
The layers:
Each mask has 3 layers: 2 newspaper strip layers, one horizontal and one vertical, and one layer of ripped up magazine paper. This third layer of magazine paper is ripped up in squares, not strips, and it is not soaked. I glued on the magazine squares. It provides a stronger, outer shell. Lastly, I brushed on a layer of glue for extra reinforcement.
I placed each strip onto the balloon one at a time. Each strip should be wiped down to remove excess liquid. For this, use 2 fingers, like a par of finger scissors. The strips should not be dripping wet when they are applied to the balloon. If they are, the mask will take too long to dry and it may develop mold.
I covered the area of the inflated balloon that I thought would be a good mask size, and then I added more to the perimeter just in case. It’s easy to trim it down with scissors later when the mask is dry.
The features:
For the features such as eyes and mouths, I used the same Papier-mâché mixture with shredded paper instead of strips. I mashed it up thoroughly adding flour, glue and water as needed to get it to a consistency that I could mold into shapes. This takes a lot of mixing with your hands. When I applied my shapes to the mask they just stuck on. I did not use additional glue to make them stick.
Drying:
I let the mask structure dry before I put the features on, but I don’t think you necessarily need to wait. The mask took over a day to dry and the features took more like 2 days. However, it may take less time if you don’t any of it too wet. Some of mine were too wet. When it is dry, the balloon will probably have shriveled down and there may be some strips flaking off. To fix this, I simply glued the strips back into place.
Warning:
If you leave a bucket of extra Papier-mâché mixtures lying around over night, it will stink the next day. Yuck!
I hope that makes sense and wasn’t too long for you. Maybe all I needed to tell you was “Papier-mâché”. In any case, it’s an easy process, but it may take a lot longer than you expect. You won’t know what it’s like until you try it!