Anubis mask: Progress pictures

(To see the start of the project, see this post.)

Here is the mask base, all dry and resting on the original clay sculpture. To make the mask form, I used muslin mache - basically just paper mache but with cloth instead of paper and a slightly stronger glue formula. To make it extra sturdy, I coated the mask inside and out with a super-thick layer of Sobo brand glue (non-toxic and non-smelly) and then lined the edges with black duct tape. It is quite flexible and surprisingly strong — it took over an hour just to cut out one of the eye holes.

The ears are not attached yet — they're just there to see how they look proportionally. Anubis is a jackal god, so his ears are quite tall and narrow.

Gold satin glued over the right eye. This will later serve as the swirly markings around his eye.

The ears are also lined with the same gold satin. I cut up a plastic Arizona iced tea jug to form their basic shape — the jug's shape is also the source of the ears' curvature, as well as the droopy tips... which, while I didn't plan for them, I kind of like the way they look.

The head is mostly furred here. The ears still aren't attached, and the nose has not been added yet.
(The deer-crossing sign, by the way, was found lying in the woods near the local college. I didn't steal it off the road or anything.)

With the nose added! It was originally going to be black, either folded leather or Sculpey covered with that rubberized tool-dip stuff. But I was in a hurry, and thought the gold nose added to the stylized look of the head.

Next on the list:

• Figure out an effective way to attach the ears
• Finish (or perhaps scrap and re-start) constructing the lower jaw
• Fur the neck and the back of the head
• Paws and tail!
  

Behold the chaos!!

This is what my studio looks like right now:


I hope this gives you some idea of why I haven't been posting regularly. We'll be moving out of state in late October, and I have a lot of projects to finish and a lot of downsizing to do before then.

HOWEVER. In the interests of my sanity, I've decided to do the following:

• Dog profiles will happen on Fridays (if I have a new dog to post).
• Regular posts will happen at least once a week for now, to the extent that I can manage even that much. Please mind that much of my life currently resembles my studio. :)
• I've committed myself more firmly to posting more progress pictures of various projects. To that end, look for an image-heavy update on the Anubis mask later this week!
  

I'll get the hang of this blogging thing yet, I promise!

Fountain mural

My friend Cait Irwin was back in town a little while ago. Her excuse was to do a painting on the side of the van used for the Mobile Farmers' Market, but she also graced the patio of my favorite coffee shop, the Black Cat, with this delectable mural.



Cait is an incredible artist who works at the speed of light. She's written - and illustrated - a couple of books on depression (check them out here), and is currently occupied with painting murals, studying tattoo artistry, getting her official art business "Reality Impaired, LLC" going, and generally being awesome. She also has a cafepress store that you should check out, if not to buy something, then at least to enjoy the art.

Hand-embellished shirt

Check out this shirt my friend made for me. (OK, well, I provided the shirt, and she provided the art.) All this is freehand with a fabric pen:

Back, left side

Front, toward the bottom

Front detail

And even this spiffy little detail under the right-hand sleeve!

I'm really hoping to see her work on Etsy or something similar. But she's going back to Pakistan on Sunday and won't be back in the States until next year at the earliest, for grad school.

She says her creative process when she's doing a shirt is meditative and free of thought — her only chance to really relax sometimes, she says. And I can tell you from experience that it's a joy to watch her work!