Latex Mask Central

HA: Sure do! I have plastic, resins, latex, vinyl, wood and bronze, in all different subject matter.

HA: Someday soon, I’ll start sculpting portraiture from actual live sittings. I plan on introducing a new line of different types of masks. I’ve created four public bronze memorials and would like to do more. Hopefully I’ll become more nationally known for my sculpture work. I have plans in the works now.

HA: I was trained on water base clays, and the most fantastic to use is Laguna Clay Company’s

Special brand, created for the Walt Disney Company, I think, back in the sixties. It is referred to as WED Clay. It stands for Walter Elias Disney. That is the best clay ever! It has so much life in it.

It seems magical when you are working with it. The big disadvantage is the dust that is created around your working area and eventually gets all over everything.

Chavant clays are next. They have such a variety, I like the hard clays for sculpture that is intended for bronze. The tooling marks are not easily removed and that lends itself to the finished look of bronze, at least for my tastes. Medium clays for portraits intended for wax, and softer clays for bulk lay ups.

HA: My own hand-made ones. I have loop tools with guitar strings and piano strings.

I have brass loop tools that work wonders on water-base clays and custom made wood tools, made out of ligavitus (sp) a very hard wood with tight pores. It has the capability of being made thin and springy or thick and strong and takes a beautiful finish. I like to think of my tools as art pieces themselves. Each tool is made for a special purpose. I also use a lot of store bought tools, but alter them to fit my needs. I have tools that were owned and made by Chris Mueller Jr., creator of the Creature of the Black Lagoon. The loop tools have shapes that I have never see before and have no idea what he used them for, but there are a few that

I have used for my own specific needs.

HA: Oh, I suppose I have physical tips, but they would have to be shown rather then written about. In terms of written tips, I’d say, watch all the other sculptors whenever you get a chance. Find old sculpture books like I did and analyze the images. I learned how to sculpt realistic eyes by looking at a picture, (with a magnifying glass) of a sculpt of a young girl, created by Houdon. It was basic, but it gave me direction. I looked at real eyes of people and watched how the high lights played on the surface of the eyes in various positions. Took that imagery and applied it to sculpture. Whatever it is you plan to sculpt, try to get “real” reference. It is a lot more accurate than what you can recall from memory.

LMC: What are some common mistakes beginning sculptors make? How can they correct them?

HA: Sculpting without proper study or reference of the subject matter and the actual preparation for it. I have seen bad armatures ruin a sculpture and seen made up forms that make no sense in the sculpture itself.

In sculpture, or in life for that matter, function comes first! Then comes form, followed by the skin and coloration. Let’s say you want to create a creature that you want people to believe can be real. So think how that creature will move, how it will defend itself, how it will feed, breathe, where it exists, and how it will protect itself. Camouflage coloring. Coloring to ward off its enemies…this is in-depth thought towards a realistic image.

BUT,….more often than not, you get images with a “hey that looks cool, lets put it here” type of application. Think of all the life-forms on this planet, and how the above comments apply to them and see for yourself the realism I am speaking about.

HA: I do not paint! I only art direct. The painting is done by my wife, Andrea, so I’ll pass on her response to your question.

Our wax formula and the painting of it are trade secrets. Those were passed on to us by Katherine Stubergh and remain a company asset.

For latex, Andrea used to paint with rubber cement thinned with naphtha. Since that is very toxic, she no longer uses those materials. She is now experimenting with inks, thinning them with water and spraying them with an acrylic sealer.

Basically, in painting with an air brush on latex, she first starts out with the flesh base color, building it up with several translucent coats until she achieves the desired depth of color. She then hand paints veins, blood vessels, moles, freckles, age spots etc. She then air brushes the various areas of shadows and highlights. Then she goes over the whole head with a light, thin coat of flesh to tone down the hand painted details. She then sprays the head with an acrylic sealer.

First occasion was during the time we were doing a special for the TV Program, "How'd They Do That?" We were taking a lifecast over the host, Wendy Walsh. Everything was going ok, but then she started to fidget a little, then started to wave her hands. The film director, who had known her from previous work , calmed her down by talking to her and holding her hand to reassure her. It turned out ok and when the special "aired", at

the end , she stated that she had discovered that she was claustrophobic and it became a little scary for her.

The other incident happened when Rob Bottin, Art Pementel, myself and I believe Vince Prentice was there too, we were casting a full bust of Mia Sara, the new young actress ,

who played "lily" in the film, "Legend". Anyway, her head was turned to the side and downwards, and the mold casing was a two piecer, extending down to her waist. This made it difficult to remove, and the process was going slow. She suffered a little pain, being new to the process and was probably pushing and pulling in the wrong directions. (she was helping, in her frustration of not getting it off soon enough. ) There were a few tears, but she was a real trooper! It was a shame we were not able to utilize that casting, as beautiful as it was, due to the fact that the film effect was later cancelled due to budget constraints. We were going to turn her into a vicious black cat to show that she had a "dark side" too.

So outside of that, there have been no others. Basically, you verbally walk the subject (First-timers) through the process, and if need be, do a little testing prior to the actual "take", just to let them get the hang of it. That was a good question, as you most often only see the positive side of life-mask sessions. In everyday life, these things are never as smooth as they are shown. You encounter many problems, but you just handle them as best you can.

HA: Fishing, browsing through old book stores, people watching and going to the movies.

LMC: If you had all the money you would need, what would you spend you’re time doing?

HA: I would hire a select group of artists and create a one of kind Wax Museum on Horror, fantasy and Science Fiction. Create it in such a way that has never been done. I would include all art forms, such as wax, bronze, resin, latex, paper, canvas and film.

And while that was being created, I would spend time creating larger than life bronze portraiture!!!!!!!!