Mask making -- Ca' Macana

Venice is famous for mask production. Ca' Macana is one of the very few mask makers who still follows the old process to produce mask. First, a mold is created. Then plaster is poured into the mold and form the negative. Several layers of construction paper are stacked up with glue in between each layer, fitting into the space of the negative. After dried up, the paper stack is taken out and sanded to produce a smooth surface. Acrylic colors are applied onto the surface to form the desired pattern, metallic colors add another step of process if necessary.

Ying, Lily and Bill picked cat mask, and got the best out of it. Bridget made an awesome fox mask. Nafeesa picked the same mask as I did. Mike created a mask with half face hell and half face heaven, he is a superb artist! Matt used layers of color on his mask to make it look cold and metallic. Thanks to Matt and Nafeesa, 2 bottles of wine were sipped by MBA mask makers during the fun process. Very enjoyable!

The mask was made by hand. The intention is to use the traditional process as much as possible, in order to  attract tourists and keep a competitive edge. Two hours mask making cost me $65, I guess I paid $30 for the name of Venice.