Every mask tells a story

Looking for a decor idea for your home? Masks are an excellent idea. You can use them to embellish your walls.

An avid collector of masks will find that just about every part of the world people have been using masks for one reason or another. In India too, we have a plethora of masks that are very regional and also very cultural in nature. The Kathakali mask is perhaps the most famous of them all.

One can find masks in every feasible colour, shape and material for a price. You can hang these masks up at different spots in your home to enhance the beauty and appeal of your home. 

Sometimes if you plan to hang all your masks in any one wall of your home, discrepancies in its size and dimension may make it appear incongruous. But if you choose to make your own masks as pieces of decoration to hang in your drawing room, you could follow the following method which is simple and eco-friendly too. The main ingredient of your mask will be paper that you will be trashing.

How to make it
First find a dried shell of a tender coconut which resembles a human face in terms of shape and check for wrinkles and fissures on the convex side of the shell and retain the one without any of the mentioned flaws. This shell will serve as the basic mould for your masks.

Then bring in all the paper that you want to trash and tear it into little bits and drop them into a bucket. It will help if you think that you are shredding all your frustrations when tearing up the paper.

Pour some water on the paper and drain out the excess water once all the papers have drenched. Repeat this process every six to eight hours for about two days.  Then use all your strength and mash the paper. If you want the easy way out, put the wet papers in your food processor to do the needful.

Once the paper dough is ready, add a spoon of adhesive and some insecticide powder and knead it well.  The adhesive will help the paper mache hold and the insecticide will prevent insects from destroying the mask in the long run.

Apply a little oil on the convex side of the shell and pat the dough evenly and gently on the shell (make sure you do not leave your finger marks) and let it dry. Even when the dough is wet, draw eyes in the desired shape, then cut out the dough so that it leaves a hole.A gentle rattle of the shell will make the mold of the mask fall off; if it does not fall off then you could tease it out gently.Then bring out your paints and glitters and colour the mask in the hues and expressions of your choice.