Monday, May 9, 2011

Design Recap: Florinda's Beauty Mask

Larissa Kruesi as Florida.
 This is the last mask I made for the show, the final week of rehearsals before tech rehearsals. The entire process only took me about 3 days from sculpting to the paint job, which is about half of the usual time it takes me to complete a mask. Liz wanted a simple Venetian beauty mask for Florinda in the second act.


I did some research on standard Carnivale masks (that is, non-character masks). They range from very minimalistic to incredibly elaborate/ornate. Because of the resources and time that each mask requires, I wanted to take the opportunity to attempt to create something unique for Florinda. I was really struck by these half-masks in gold. Inspired by these photos, adapting these design ideas for Florinda, giving her mask some more color and physical depth.
The silver accents tie in the mask of her betrothed, Belville, who is a knight. On Belville's mask, you can see a bit of gold in his to compliment this.


The ribbons were a last minute request from Liz. We needed to justify a line in the show that references Florinda's outlandish attire, which with her current costume and mask just did not make send. So, right before final dress, I glued these pretty ribbons onto the mask. The headdress not only adds body and glamor, but also echoes the crazy wig she wears in the opening.

Florinda (Larissa Kruesi) and Me fooling around during the photo shoot.

 Then, every night of the show before Florina and Valeria enter, Valeria (I) re- hand-curl the ribbons to get them to lie like this.

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