Description

It all begins with a piece of leather. I choose my leather pieces carefully, as I want the back to be as smooth as possible so it will be comfortable to wear. The leather is then cut to shape with shears and knives, wetted, stamped or carved, and formed to my face. A hairdryer speeds up the process, also helping to harden the leather so it will keep the shape.

It dries overnight and the painting begins, first with a sealing coat of neutral acrylic and then thin layers of various metallic tones. Strokes indicative of dragonflies are strategically placed and holes punched for the wire accents to be formed. It is given three coats of Krylon acrylic sealant, again, allowed to dry overnight. Quartz points were selected and wrapped, then attached to the wire.

With the mask against my face, I decide the best place for the ribbon holes, punch them, and feed lengths through that are attached with a lark’s head knot. Ribbon ends are sealed with Fray Check.

The back of the mask is kept natural. There are two different schools of thought in the leather mask making community – one believes the leather should breathe and leaves the back unsealed, the other believes it makes no difference. As I have heard talk of fully sealed leather molding, I believe the leather should breathe and do not seal my backs. I have no actual experience with this happening, however, and support leatherworkers who choose to seal the backs of their masks.

“Ancestors” is wearable art created and shown in several galleries and now available for purchase. I will never make an exact replica of this design again, though I certainly will make more metallic masks and masks with wire accents and am available for custom work.