Sentinel

Brown and green mask that's shaped like a stylized bird skull. Curved antlers come out the side of its head.

Primary materials: Cloth, glue, tape, aluminum foil, armature wire, acrylic paint, artificial shrubs and grass.

I made this for Alyssa Kate Adriance of Visual Shift Art Studio in Pawtucket, RI. Alyssa wanted the mask to be animalistic, non-human, bird-like perhaps with owl eyes, and have horns or branches coming out of its head. It also needed to be light enough to hang on a wall without too much trouble.

Though this isn’t the first mask I’ve made that can be hung on a wall, it’s the first one I’ve made specifically for that purpose.

Closeup of mask from left angle. Various mossy textures are visible, along with many shades of brown and green.
Closeup of right front of mask. Various mossy textures are visible, along with many shades of brown and green.
Top view. Mask has a deeply ridged forehead with moss in the valleys, giving it a mountainous appearance.

To give this a mossy appearance, I used a combination of artificial powdered “grass” and “shrubs” made for model train environments. This took a lot of time to apply, because each shrub is about a quarter of an inch long, needed to be glued on individually, and I had a couple of feet to cover with them. I like how it turned out.

It was a hit at the studio when I brought it over. I’d like to thank Alyssa for taking some snazzy pictures of the mask for me.