Project 2: Design/Mask

Part 2: Summary of Mask

The mask I am creating is from the character Pantalone from the theatre style Commedia dell' Arte. The character Pantalone is one of the first characters to appear in commedia theatre and he is the most miserable second only to Magnifico. Pantalone is an old, grumpy man who walks around complaining, and the only time he is not whining or complaining is when he is talking about making money or sex. He is instantly recognizable on stage due to his stance because he is the oldest of the old and is hunched over with his head bent up so he can constantly walk around over viewing his workers and the status of his money. Pantalone is constantly thinking about sex and always gets excited when it comes up in conversation, and a great fact about him is he is completely weak which makes his sexual fetishes even funnier. If his hands are not being used at any point in time he has them over his two most prized possessions, his purse for his money and his genitals for his sexual fetishes. When not on his two great possessions Pantalone uses his hands considerably to make gestures for his words.

The mask construction began with some clay I bought from Wal-Mart. I got a large bowl of warm water and soaked the clay till I could bend it and form it easily. I formed the clay into one large mass and began forming into the figure to match the example I used from the Internet. Once I had the cheekbones, eyebrows, and eyes formed and attached another large mass of clay to the mass of clay to form the nose which is rather large for the character Pantalone. This part of the project was by far the hardest to accomplish. After I was through forming the clay I inserted the clay into the oven for several hours to speed up the drying process. Once the clay model was finally dry I allowed it too cool off before I began the next step. Instead of using the old school method of paper mache by dipping strips of paper into a paste substance I bought a product called Celluclay from Hobby Lobby which is a powdered down form of paper mache and all you have to do is add water and it forms into a paste like substance similar to clay but much softer. I mixed up the Celluclay and had it ready, but before I put it on the clay model I put aloe vera on the clay to keep the Celluclay from sticking to the clay model. I put the Celluclay on the clay and formed in until it much the clay underneath then put it in the oven for several hours until dry. Then I cut out the eyes with a knife and sanded the mask down. Then I removed the mask from the clay and painted it antique maroon on the outside and cocoa on the inside. Finally I attached the eyebrows, nose hair, and the head band with super glue.