Tuesday 29 October 2013

Plague Doctor

Hi Blogghooles, just wanted to show you what I have been up to.
I have been hoping to make a Plague Doctor mask ever since the Steampunk Festival and the challenge at SanDee and Amelie was the incentive I needed lol! so here goes.

Plague Doctor masks are usually made from leather which gives flexibility to the construction.
I decided to use Tim Holtz Grunge Paper which is also flexible and gives a similar appearance to the finished piece.
Although the starting point was the Plague Doctor mask I wanted to create something a bit different and add texture to the finished piece.
 
This is what I finally came up with.


 
I searched the Internet for ideas and there are many variations of these masks. 
 
This shows a close-up of the texture, metal sections and lettering.
I started by cutting the shapes out and covering them with black acrylic paint then running them through the cuttlebug using various embossing folders.
I then added gilding wax to the texture and letters to create a patina effect.
The pieces were joined together using glue and brads and the addition of a metal tag and plastic bottle cap finished off the eye sections.






                   Underside view.


This is the Photograph I took at the festival which prompted me to make the mask.



 
 
I am going to enter the mask in this months SanDee and Amelie's challenge which is Tick Tac Toe and I have chosen to use: Metal, Texture and Letters.
Time goes so quickly but just enough time to meet the deadline.
 
Hope you like my effort.
Back soon.
Angela x
 
P.S. People have been asking about the Plague doctor, the real ones were a bit gruesome, here is a little added information and there's lots more about them on Wikipedia.
 
Some plague doctors wore a special costume, although graphic sources show that plague doctors wore a variety of garments. The garments were invented by Charles de L'Orme in 1619; they were first used in Paris, but later spread to be used throughout Europe.[10] The protective suit consisted of a heavy fabric overcoat that was waxed, a mask with glass eye openings and a cone nose shaped like a beak to hold scented substances and straw.[11]
 
 
 Back soon Angela x

4 comments:

Elly said...

Brilliant!! I'm glad you're showing your inspiration picture, because otherwise i didn't know what it's all about.Well, you're never too old to learn, right? Thanks for showing your making of and of course the lesson(:o)

Claudia N. said...

What a stunning and brilliant make, Angela!

Very interesting to see the inspirational source too - never heard of plague masks before and find these very fascinating. I can understand why you wanted to do one on your own.

Your mask is sooo utterly beautiful. Wonderful textures and colours and a perfect shape!

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful effort with us at SanDee&amelie's SPC!

Claudia x

Gio said...

ohmy, It's so original! This piece amaze me, and gorgeous details, too.
Inspiration is everywhere, no doubt!

AlexaCzar said...

very intresting and im glad to see for what it is !!!

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