Goodbye, masks and Bruce (the mannequin). It was fun while it lasted :(

I had my Mandrill Mask at the “Montmartre”-Art Show on Sunday, and that was a good decision. Most people looked at the mask before the painting, some even asked how much the mask would cost. I unfortunately had to tell them that I couldn’t sell it with a good conscience, because the mask is infested with bugs. Looking back it’s because I used the traditional (and cheap) flour-and-water-mix for the glue. This is often recommended and works really well, but obviously it was too tasty for the bugs to resist.

Despite several attempts to seal off the surface, the bugs keep getting through the laquer. So the Sunday Art Show was the last time the mask was shown. I will sadly have to throw it away, along with the other sculptures I have. I guess that’s one way to make room for new projects, though: I am starting work on a puppet mask-series, also made of papermaché. But this time with elmer’s glue, and not with flour and water, we can learn something from this :)