Kingston’s Jordan Mayne loves Halloween so much he decided to try his hand at mask making. He says he began crafting spooky masks out of his home this past February.
“I started buying head forms, some clay and started sculpting,” said Mayne.
Mayne has an arts background and, during the day, he designs custom kitchens. He never thought his arts degree would lead him to make scary pieces of work.
“I started making zombies and monsters, then clowns blew up so it was hard keeping up with that,” said Mayne.
Mayne says it takes a couple of days to make the masks. The process involves using molds and latex and he says the most intense part is the painting.
“With art, it’s always lighting and shadowing. So you can get a lot of good detail with painting,” said Mayne.
Over the past eight months, he has worked to create 30 one-of-a-kind masks. There are holes for the eyes and nose and they are incredibly light, weighing less than one pound. Since launching his business, From The Grave Studios, Mayne has sold more than two dozen masks. Some he has sold online and others from a local costume shop.
“The masks are very affordable, they are great quality,” said Justin Cousineau, the assistant manager of Audrey’s Costume Castle in Kingston. “He does all the painting work himself, all the latex work himself. So we’re really proud to have him on board.”
While horror is Mayne’s primary genre, he’s always open to making something a little more light-hearted.
“I’m not opposed to making comical masks, maybe even political ones,” he said.
Mayne hopes that one day his masks could be mass-produced and even used in movies but until then, he will work towards creating his next group of scary characters for Halloween 2018.
To view or order a mask, you can visit his facebook page.