Dealing with Shadows

November 14th, 2011

The Grove is full of magic, light and wonder, but there are layers upon layers of Shadows too.  Some are mysterious and beautiful in their own way, some conceal hidden dangers, and some are just damned annoying! We can shine a light into the Shadows, or approach them on their terms with curiosity and an open, intelligent mind. Some we may wish to keep a watch on, and leave them be, and for some the best option may be to tackle the situation and move things around until the area is bathed in sunlight. Sometimes it is wise to find a guide or a helping hand. However you decide to manage the Shadows of the Grove, bear in mind that it rarely helps to pretend they aren’t there.  

 

 

There was no blog post last week. Our home is still standing; aliens did not invade, nor did we get invited to tea with the Faery Queen and miss a week. Steampixie didn’t turn into a dinosaur and crush our computers (as fun as that might have been.. hmmm..). I can’t blame anyone, except myself.

If there is one thing that I can point to as being the biggest struggle so far on our journey, it is the battle against uncertainty, hesitation, self-doubt and choking anxiety, and the creeping paralysis that can steal over a person and throttle them on the eve of their success.

Far too often, our own worst enemy is ourselves. It would be lovely to think that we pop out of bed every morning, grab a healthy bowl of oatmeal, and immerse ourselves into a world of creativity and industry, complete with musical soundtrack and spontaneous moments of choreographed dance, but those scenes are reserved for a different sort of Fae – Santa’s Workshop, maybe. Our scenes more often involve getting pixie-dust in the coffee, trying to make sure the cat doesn’t sit on the wet paint, and bribing a wee 5 year old pixie with a tithe of cheaper craft supplies to keep our materials safe.

And that’s ok.

We all have our ways of fighting our internal nemesis. For myself, I remind myself that we are just starting on this, and look back at how far I have come. I hold tightly to the “why”. I try and be patient with myself and forgive the mistakes so that I can learn and move forward, because otherwise I will dwell there forever. If I’m going in circles, I try to go at my problems from another angle.

Above all, I remind myself that we can never fail so long as we never quit.

Author: Silverfaune | Origin: The Grove | Recorded: November 14th, 2011
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Work in Progress – Making a Leather Dryad Mask, part 1

November 1st, 2011

Fooled you! Last post we invited people to comment.. and didn’t leave a place to comment! The problem is being worked on by the Urisk.   In the meantime, comments can be left if you click on the title of each post, which leads you to another little world, a world in which comments are allowed…

In the meantime:

There are a few questions that we draw whenever we’re abroad, but the most common seems to be, “How do you make your masks?”. Being far easier to show than to tell, this post is the first in two parts that breaks down how Silverfaune’s leather masks are made.

Material list:

  • veg tanned leather, 5-7 oz
  • olfa knife (box cutter) with a fresh blade
  • bevelling tool (optional)
  • tragacanth gum (also optional)
  • burnishing tool/edge slicker (even more optional)
  • hot water (not so much optional)

All of the leather masks are made with vegetable tanned leather. Everyone has a preference; I prefer to work with 5-7oz leather, which has a weight and thickness that I find molds best and yields the best results. Some prefer lighter leather, but I like a bit of substance – much heavier though and we would be better off making armour.  The mask shape is traced onto the leather, and then cut out (very carefully!).

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Once the mask blank is cut out, the edges need to be examined:  often they will have snags or burrs, especially at tight corners.  Any delicate corrections can be made, before moving on to the next step – bevelling the edges.  Some people skip this part but it makes the finished piece look that much more finished.

This step also helps to smooth out any of the snags that you may have missed, and creates a nicely rounded edge (after you’ve burnished it).

Once this is done, you are ready to soak the mask in hot water for approximately 5 minutes.  The hotter the water, the less time you will have to sculpt it after, and the harder it will end up.  If the water is really hot you will also notice more shrinkage.  Tempting as it may be, do not attempt to create “cuir-bouilli”, boiled leather, by dousing your project in boiling water.  The phrase is a misnomer – it should be more aptly called “soaked in really hot water leather”, but it doesn’t have the same flow.

 

When it is removed from the water, the leather should be flexible and soft.  Lay it on a towel for … well, you have a while.  Initially, the leather is too wet to maintain any form.  You can heat it with a heat gun or in the oven, but I prefer to let nature take its course.  After a while, you will be able to mold it and the leather will start to hold the shape.  The best way to make sure that the mask is a comfortable fit is to mold it from time to time upon your own face, or the face of the intended wearer if they are accessible.

Once you are satisfied with the shape, prop it on your face, or a convenient replacement, until it dries fully.  Depending on the leather, humidity, heat of the water and such, you will likely have a few hours afterwards where small reinforcing pinches or tweaks can be made to the design, but the overall mask is the way it is going to be.  Let’s let it dry for a day or two, and in Part 2 we will be able to finish the mask!

 

Author: Silverfaune | Origin: The Grove | Recorded: November 1st, 2011
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