Edit: I found this unpublished blog post from a couple of years ago and thought I would finish the zoo mask series.
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Zoo Animal themed exhibition. These masks were made from reference photos taken at our local zoo in Wellington, NZ. I love to see the red panda sleeping in the large pohutukawa trees at the Wellington Zoo. One of the masks is a realistic interpretation of a red panda, the other is a "New Wave" inspired red panda.
Kirigami is the Japanese art of cutting and folding paper, but you may know it better as the art of making pop-up art, seen in greeting cards and children's books. Practicing Kirigami provides hours of fun and fascination ...and sometimes a touch of frustration, but isn't that the case with most new skills?
I created a video demonstrating 4 of the basic Kirigami techniques, the Parallel Fold, the Angle Fold, the Top Edge Pop-up, and the Rotation. Additionally you will find a link where you can download the templates I use in the video. There are additional templates in the PDF you can use as a challenge.
Alternatively, you can create your own templates using the images found below the video.
These mechanics can be used to create everything from straight forward, simple projects, to intricate complex projects.
* When making a card, make sure your folds will fit inside the card when it is closed. Keep the distance of the fold from the center fold of the card no more than half the width of each side of the card.
* Change the shapes of the cut edge.
* Add shapes onto the surfaces that pop-up.
* Use a craft knife and cut shapes into the
surfaces that pop-up.
*Add a different colour of paper underneath.
Tips for Angle Folds:
* Play around with what will fit inside the card, using some scrap paper. This can take some trial and error.
* Shapes can be added to the inside of the cone, again, just play around until the card will fold properly.
* Shapes can be added to the outside of the folded surface. Shapes added here will look like they move at a diagonal when the card opens.
Tips for Top Edge Pop-ups:
* Try changing the angle where your shape meets the top edge of the paper.
* Making sure your shape fits into the card takes, you guessed it....trial and error.
Tips for Rotations:
* Rotations are based on using two circles. The final shapes can be varied as long at the two shapes keep the original alignment.
* The top shape must sit perpendicular to the center fold when the card is open.
* The two shapes must maintain the dimensions of the original circle and align at 22.5 degrees from the center fold of the card, in the sample this is where the tabs are located.
You can see a card that uses all of these kirigami techniques HERE.
As a Southern Hemisphere transplant, I find getting into the Halloween spirit very difficult. Halloween in Spring is just weird, no pumpkins, no autumn leaves, no frosty nip in the air. This year my daughter decided she would stand for my Bah Humbug Halloween attitude no more! She set about making Halloween decorations mid-September and shows no sign of slowing down. She has absolutely insisted that everyone in the family help out, at least a little. Whereas the tombstones are about 90% her work, and she has put A TON of work into them, each family member has contributed. That contribution, regardless of size has helped all of us get excited about Halloween....in fact, there may be some really big plans in the works now.
Halloween Tombstone
The tombstones are made of 4 layers of a medium weight paper board, lots of tape, a couple of layers of papier-mâché and acrylic paint. Many, many hours were spent waiting for all the different layers to dry.
Halloween Tombstone
At diner one evening my daughter asked everyone to write down suggestions for tombstone names. She read out all of the suggestions and we settled on choosing one suggestion from each member of the family. It was a very entertaining diner!
Halloween Tombstone
Once the laborious task of assembling was finished, the tombstones received a base coat of paint. Next, the writing was added. The names and epitaphs were written in Photoshop, with some simple shading added with a Bevel & Emboss Layer Style, and printed on plain paper. Finally, touch up paint was added to blend the paper with the rest of the tombstone.
Halloween Tombstone
There are two holes in the bottom of each tombstone, just big enough for a bamboo stick to fit inside. I cut bamboo sticks about 30 cm taller than the tombstones and hammered the sticks into the ground. The tombstones fit over the sticks.
So, next weekend she has plans to hang a giant papier-mâché skull from a gigantic spider web....
Every Halloween I gets questions from well meaning parents wishing to make masks for infants and toddlers. It has been my experience that very young children do not like things on their face, even a beautifully crafted mask. However, I think I've found a solution that will make both parents and children happy this Halloween!
I added a wolf mask to the front edge of a hoodie, and the result was quite delightful! My lovely model was 4 and could probably wouldn't mind wearing a mask, but really enjoyed the hoodie.
Wolf Mask Hoodie
I stitched eyes that consisted of 3 concentric circles to a white background. After the eyes were stitched, I simply added them to the back of the mask. If I had this plan in mind from the beginning, I would have not cut the eye holes in the base mask and added the eyes earlier in the process. Because the muzzle can be a bit floppy I added a couple more layers of felt to the muzzle.
Wolf Mask Hoodie
The mask is attached to the hoodie at the center front, between the two ears. It is attached on the lower edge of the hood. The mask is also attached on the sides between the two points on the wolf's cheek.
Wolf Mask Hoodie
The whole process took only slightly longer than making the mask, as stitching around the eyes did take a little while, but the effect was well worth it!
There is always that one sock that has lost its mate forever, destine to live solo at the bottom of the sock drawer, or your favorite socks that have the unfortunate fate of becoming holey. Good-bye lonely and holey socks, Hello, Prisco-37! Made from a wool sock I bought at an Italian market many moons ago and a cotton sock on permanent loan from my son, Prisco-37 is a sample for an up coming workshop I'm teaching at Vincents Art Workshop in Wellington.
I love his little nose....
The glamorous reality of taking photos for the internet......
Creating masks for a recent local zoo animal themed show was tons of fun. As it turns out, my Sun Bear mask design was more local zoo than I first realized. Pictured below is Sasa, the Sun Bear. Little did I know, Sasa's mother over zealously cleaned her ears as an infant and as a result, Sasa has tiny stubs for ears....and since this was the photo I used as a reference, so does my Sun Bear mask.
Recently, I had the opportunity to create zoo animal themed art work to place in an up coming exhibition. After dusting off my mask making skills, I got to work!
The inspiration for my first animal mask was a Caracal, a medium sized cat found in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of India. Caracal have absolutely amazing ears, all the better to hear you with....and really fun for mask making!
And while the Caracal was incredibly fun to make, the urge to make a Punk inspired Caracal was overwhelming.....mask number 2 was created.
Using different materials was inspiring, and thinking about different types of stitching to complement the look was oddly challenging, but ultimately freeing...I've worked really hard have neat, regular stitches
