My Masks Production Process

Hello reader! I have been assigned to make two masks that fit me perfectly in RUS 101. Here is my step-to-step guide (or production process) of my completed masks.

1. I placed layers of wet tissue on to my face to get a fitting shape for my mask. Next, I waited till it was slightly dried and lifted it off my face. I then placed it onto a tin foil imprint of my face shape to dry.

2. Next I placed a few layers of newspaper strips onto the initial tissue mask to strengthen it. The paper is glued on with a mixture of PVA glue and water.

3. I left the papier mache masks out to dry. Once dried, I cut out the external shape neatly and tidied the edges with more glue, water and newspaper.

4. I then left that out to dry again before proceeding to the next step.

5. Once dried, I painted the base coating for the mask, which is white, and then painted on another layer of the colour I wanted for the respective masks. In this case I used a white base and a brown base.

6. I then added details onto the mask using paint and pens.

7. This is myself wearing the second mask in a dark room. Spooky!

8. Once the paint is dry, I stapled lengths of string to the masks to secure it to my face for actual wearing.

It is actually that simple to make full-face masks that fit you perfectly! I am pretty happy with the outcome.

Updates

Dear readers,

Here are some short updates as to what I have been up to lately.

On the 19th of July, Monday last week, we took a hike to a bamboo research area and sketched images of bamboo and related it to a story as well as the word "joint". Here is my finished product that I have submitted:

On that day of submission, we were given another assignment relating to bamboo. We were required to create a Bamboo Sound Tool (BST) out of pieces of the bamboo plant. We had to locate and harvest the bamboo parts ourself from various spots in USM. Here is a photo os myself and my friend in action:

Right after harvesting our bamboo parts, we involved ourselves in the school orientation organised by our seniors. It spanned a course over 3 days. I didn't take many photos as I was too busy getting involved in the activities and worrying over assignments rather than taking photos. Truth be told, I had a great time with seniors and fellow first year students. Made a lot of new friends too. The "Gettho" orientation was a success by my standards! Here is a photo of the "LDK" (Latihan Dalam Kumpulan) session.

During that weekend also, we completed our bamboo sound tools with the advice of our seniors and friends. Here is my BST, the "Bootok". It is hit with the small, thin sticks to produce sound.

And next is a photo of myself and some friends trying out our "BST"s as a part of Gettho.

That Friday, we were required to describe a bamboo weaved basket based on photos given in descriptive words. These words were then transformed into an image through wordle.net, and the result is as below:

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more updates real soon!

What I Heard.

Date: 12 July 2010

Time: 0900 hours to 1100 hours

Course: Integrated Studio 1 (RUS101)

It was the first class I’ve ever had in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and naturally I was excited yet intimidated by the unknown. Integrated Studio 1 was the course and En. WanB was the lecturer. Here’s an account of what I’ve heard and managed to catch in the roughly two-hour-long lecture:

Here's a snapshot of the very first slide of the lecture.

Well, En. WanB started off by briefing us about the university’s Accelerated Program for Excellence (APEX) status, explaining about how we are expected to be accelerated in our growth and educational progress. He used an example of us having to mature two or more years in 365 days instead of the usual one year to aid us in understanding the APEX concept. Change and transformation was also highlighted as an important element in the seeing the APEX vision become a true achievement.

Next, he introduced to us the elements according to the concept of an APEX production and also in any other form of production especially in the studio. In a production, there are three main elements, which are intention, act and product. From these three elements, another three can be derived and those being actor, rule and place. According to En. WanB’s explanation, intention is the basis of a production. Without intention, nothing is accomplished or done. Once there is an intention to carry something out, an act follows suit, resulting in an end product. Carrying this understanding further is this: an intention is thought by an actor, the act that proceeds follows a set of rules, and the resulting product comes to existence at a specific place.

All this is simplified back into a paradigm that is also known as the APEX Principle. This principle consists of 3 ‘P’s, that is People, Principle and Place. In order for a production to have proper results, the three ‘P’s must be followed to the dot, and cannot be mixed up elements of an entirely different production. To help us understand this principle further En. WanB applied it to the FIFA World Cup matches by mixing it with elements of a below-average school level football match. If any one of the FIFA elements are replaced with these lower standard football match elements, then world-standard FIFA World Cup matches are not produced.

Following that, En. WanB introduced us to RUS101 actors, which are us students, the studiomasters, the USM community that I have just joined, the Penangites of which I have been a part of since birth, and also others that affect my life directly or indirectly.

Oh and another thing, halfway through the lecture, a number of the RUS101 studiomasters came forward to introduce themselves, a few of them even giving advice in the words that they said. Some of them are, Dr. Ilias Said, Dr. Mohd. Zailan Sulieman, Dr. RR, Dr. Abdelnaser Omran Ali and Ar. Mohd. Najib.

Well, it definitely was an interesting first lecture with a lot to digest and apply in my future studio productions. I sure hope that it will all work out well for me in RUS101.

Till the next post, you have my regards dear reader!