Leatherwork begins

This morning I did some final little edit-carving on the matrix, since I noticed last night, while updating this blog, that I had sanded off an important part of the brow—a major mistake, because the brow and forehead are where thoughts are conveyed. I was able to save the mistake somewhat, but it's far from ideal. Oh well. Tant pis.

Then we used the bandsaw to cut off the back, and define the curve of the mask edge. Here it is, sanded and coated with a substance to protect the wood from the moisture of wet leather:


And now it's time for leather. Here I begin by nailing the leather onto the matrix in the region of the eyes, smiling for the camera:


Getting the leather properly stretched around the nose took about 45 minutes, and it's a little crooked still (another thing I'll just have to live with this time). The long strip hanging from the nose will eventually cover the seam that now runs down the septum and over the lip.


And here's a goofy presentation of the end of the stretching stage, with a little bit of camera shake...


The mask now needs to sit overnight to dry out a bit before hammering. Tomorrow is all about hammering, shining, and finishing... and this Capitano will be ready for a test-drive!

For now, I am exhausted. I feel utterly brainless. All my mental energy, this week, went into producing this matrix. Time for a beer...