Creative meetup: Crafting of Venetian masks

Would you like to be ready for carnival with a mask that doesn't go unnoticed? This workshop is for you!

The Carnival of Venice is one of the most known in the world, famous for its elaborate costumes and masks. This workshop will give you the first rudiments to craft your own mask.

At the beginning there will be a presentation about the history and the design of the Venetian masks, then we will craft the mold of your mask starting with a negative of clay to model by hand, finally the positive will be made by plaster. At this point the mold will require more than one day to dry, but there will be a demonstration of the other steps like how to apply the papier-mâché.

Things to bring:

• 1.5 kg of modelling clay (for a small mask that covers only the eyes and the nose) - for example, but not limited to: https://www.lucascreativ.be/nl/product/2100137/Luchtdrogende-klei-15kg-wit-Hardpast/152342
• 1 kg of plaster powder (for a small mask that covers only the eyes and the nose) - for example but not limited to: https://www.lucascreativ.be/nl/product/2100191/Snelplaaster
• paper and pencil to sketch the mask
• one big bowl where to prepare the plaster.
• putty knife or whatever to handle the plaster
• jug or bottle
• scissors
• tools to model clay (not compulsory but recommended)
• rigid board where to work the clay and apply the plaster
• plastic bag to bring eventual trash with you

The bowl that you will use to prepare the plaster by mixing the powder with water cannot be cleaned at IHL. Eventually, you can buy already prepared plaster ready to apply from a hardware store, and then you don't need to bring a bottle or a jug. You can buy the modelling clay and the plaster from a fine art store like Lucas.

credits of the cover page: Frank Kovalchek.