Hi,

I would have thought that as long as you are happy with the mould then any mask will serve as the base.  When I have made masks in the past I have used modrock (plaster impregnated bandage) but the principle should word for both that and PM.

I personally would layer strips of newspaper and fine paste (wallpaper paste suits well as it tends to mix up very smoothly. 

make sure that your form has a release covering, I tend to use petroleum jelly as it is cheap and covers all the crevices.  I understand that plastic film, ie food / cling film works.

layer about 5-7 layers of PM over the form and allow to dry thoroughly.  Once hard paint a thin layer of PVA over it. I got this tip from Dopapier, a big thanks to him, it allows your form to retain its shape. 

I would then build up the shape of your kabuki face with pulp.  Allow to dry and sand down where appropriate.  Finish with a layer of gesso, this can either be rabbitskin size and ground chalk mix, which is the traditional gesso.  Or I have experimented with a mix of half water, half pva and plaster of paris.  This does give a good finish and is very sandable.  The only draw back is that you can only work on small bits at a time as the hardener in the plaster of paris makes it unworkable very quickly.  The upside is that it dries on your piece quickly and can be sanded within a few hours.

Finally paint, I use acrylic, and then varnish to stop chipping.
I hope this helps, The others may have other suggestions. Best of luck and we look forward to seeing the pictures.

Charlotte

Sorry, PVA is the UK shorthand for white glue.  The liquid plastic adhesive that dries clear.  It can be used as a variety of things, primer, sealant or adhesive, it will even serve as gloss "varnish" (particularly useful with children's projects as it washes off / peels off their hands).

Re: PM sticking to your mask.  I suspect that will depend upon what your mask is made of.  I would think that you will have to glue a base over it first.  I know that a number of the PM artists on this site have used plastic bottles as the base for a piece but I think that the bottle is completely encased.  Which could be the answer, if you cover all of the mask with 1-2 layers of PM and then layer some more to the front before using the paper pulp to build up any features you need it should work.

What do others think?

Best of luck,
Charlotte

If you mean you need it by Sunday the 18th, two days from now, I don't see how you could get it finished in time.  It's the drying time that is the killer.

Your best bet for adhesive that dries pretty fast is methylcellulose wallpaper paste.  There are other kinds made from flour, and the vinyl kind, neither of which would be very suitable.  Make it quite thin, about the consistency of eggwhite, not thick.

Get ready several pieces of paper about the size of your outstretched hand, apply a thin layer of adhesive with a brush all over one piece at a time and press it onto your mask.  All you really need first is a base layer to attach more PM to.  Cover the whole mask, and make sure that your paper goes around all the edges and is pressed onto the inside of the mask.  One good, overlapped layer all over should be enough.  Put it in front of a fan and get dried as fast as you can.

As soon as it's dry (it won't feel clammy), coat it with a layer of PVA (white) craft glue, or spray with a couple of coats of shellac (real is best, but synthetic will do).  When it's dry, start building up your mask as you want.  You will need to use strip layering, as I don't think you've got time for pulp to dry.

If you need some areas built up heavily, crumple up some aluminum foil and shape it just like you need it, and attach to base with strips of paper and your adhesive.

If you haven't got a fan for drying it, you'd best borrow one, or it may stay damp for a week.

Since time is your enemy with this project, you don't want to build up thick layers of anything:  no thick glue, no thick pulp, no thick, multiple layers of paper.  All of those take too long to dry.

When the piece is dry, you can sand it, gesso it, and paint it.

Better start now.

p.s.  Since this has a plastic base under it, you CANNOT put it in the oven to dry.  The plastic will melt and become distorted, taking your damp PM with it.  Also, heating plastic produces toxic fumes.

Sue

Well I bought some quick drying wallpaper paste and some water to water it down a bit but I wanted to ask about the quickdrying paste. I saw some in the store that said it would dry in a half hour, could I use paste like that for my mask? It would be great to finish it in one day.

Actually it isn't looking too bad. I mean if i can just apply gesso after and sand to smooth than this could work. I will post some before and after pics. I had make a negative with the mask for it to work because the paste wouldn't stick. About the gesso, how many coats do people usually use? I have 3 layers of PM right now and want 2 more before my gesso but after I have no idea how to apply or even sand the gesso.

Hello everyone. The mask went really well and I just wanted to say thank you and I would like to post pictures but I have no idea where to.