Horsing Around

At the request of one of my very loyal customers, I have been working on a horse mask for the better part of a month now.  I am so happy to announce that the mask is finally finished and in the shop!

There is quite a process involved in getting a mask out of my head and into the shop.  First I must research the animal and consider what features are essential for making a mask work.  Then I do a paper mock-up...this can take hours, sometimes days, and usually results in a large pile of "nope not quite right" papers piled up around me.  Next comes the first felt mask.  As I translate the pattern from paper to felt I make more changes.  When the mask is to my liking I "draw" the pattern digitally.  Depending on the complexity of the pattern I make a few more and write the instructions.  Once the instructions are written I illustrate the instructions and put all the finishing details on the paper pattern.  Pictures must be taken, models must be bribed, and editing must be done before FINALLY the pattern is ready for the shop!


I made the horse mask first in brown....

Then I got sidetracked and made a Dala horse mask...this pattern isn't finished yet, but hopefully by the later part of next week....

Next I made a unicorn.  The horn stumped me for awhile, but when I finally decided to just give it a try, it turned out not to be so difficult after all.  The unicorn mask pattern will be in the shop, hopefully, by the early part of next week.

The black horse was the last mask I made, and I made it as I was writing the instructions....I really like the black horse.

And that is all the horsing around for now...