18 Apr
Now that I’ve fleshed out the “real” antler, I need to add the rest of the flesh thickness to the deer head before I apply the papier-mâché.
Fleshing out the face
The nose still hasn’t been defined yet, but that is a surface detail I’ll add later. I just wanted to get the thickness added and then I go over it with masking tape. I do this for a couple reasons. First, it secures everything in place instantly. Second, it sort of water/moisture proofs the paper below for when I add mâché over the top in the next step. I used to feel guilty about using masking tape. I guess I felt some sort of need to be a purist and masking tape seemed like cheating. Well, I got over that once I realized the benefits of using it and it also dawned on me that masking tape IS paper, only it already has adhesive on it…DUH!
As I added tape to cover the form, I continued to add detail to the antler…
Taping the antler
As I add tape to the face and neck, it’s also time to put definition around the eye in the form of eyelids.
Masking tape eyelids
Eyelid close-up
Now we begin to add the papier-mâché over the masking tape, including the antler.
Beginning the mâché process
As you can see, the left side of the steampunk deer head sculpture does not have an eye. This is because this will be the side that has the steampunk cyborg “appliance” for an eye. It will also have a cyborg ear and other hardware.
Another thing you will notice from the picture above is the white tub with the paint brush on top. This container has a 50-50 blend of water and white PVA glue. Again, I’m not a purist…or at least I try not to be. Art is about improvisation and innovation as much as anything else. I’ve always found the typical flour/water or wallpaper paste recipes for papier-mâché “glue” to be messy, lumpy, cumbersome and slow to dry. Instead, I use the glue mixture, brush it on, lay down a newspaper strip and brush on more glue to smooth things out. It’s fast, less messy and it dries a lot faster than flour paste. It costs a little more, but it’s way WORTH IT!!
Papier-mâché around the eye
Next time, I’ll show how I added the details of the nostrils and mouth. Hope you stay tuned for that…and while you’re at it, please share this blog with your friends, on Pinterest and like my Facebook page!