The Creation of a Polichinelle

Last year we just bought masks for all the Polichinelles. (You may remember them, with the sleek long noses their wearers used -- in often creative ways -- to thoroughly bone one another.) This year, Slutcracker performer, UnAmerika's Sweetheart, and artist Karin Webb is creating all of the masks, aaaaand . . . this will be amazing.


Each mask will take about eight hours to make, start to finish, and there are eight masks.








The base that she is building the masks on is of her own face, with a nose and brows sculpted out of clay on top.




Once Karin starts a mask, she works for four hours straight on it -- building up six layers and then letting it dry before she cuts, paints, and decorates.




Jill notes, "the cats have been trying to help. This is a bad idea."


Once done, they will all be decorated slightly differently, for individuality.



Karin learned the arts of mask and puppet making at Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre, where she studied Commedia Dell'Arte, or clown. She also produces cabaret-style variety shows with her partner, Jill Gibson, through their company Axe2Ice Productions.