Rattle and Hiss

[merimask]

Well, here they are; my new Medusa masks.  

First, the Diamondback Rattlesnake version that was giving me such a headache.

I was saying to someone in my comments last time (PZB I think) that I am repeatedly seduced by complicated neutral patterns in nature & it's a source of frustration for me, always.  I keep attempting to capture something like the pattern of spangled frittilary butterflies or brown trout or, in this case, Eastern Diamondbacks...& I never quite get it perfect.  Only nature can do that, I suppose.  I came as close as I've ever come this time, anyway.

The browns of this mask are "cool", and I only had enough turquoise beads for one mask (I was ONE freaking bead short) so that's what I used for the snakes' eyes in this one.

I love the tiny patterned heads.  Diamondbacks have these awesome banded faces that make them look so wicked.  I even added rattles to the tips of the tails (they end in the outer corners of the eyes).  Details, people!  Details.

So after experiencing the self-inflicted torture of the Diamondback pattern, I wanted something that was still striking (no pun intended dammit) but less complicated.  The Northern Copperhead was my second choice (another really dangerous snake...utterly unintentional by the way, I was just looking for pretty brown patterns).

This snake is a much warmer brown tone.  Coppery, you might say.  I used carnelian beads for the eyes.  I have to say it looked AWESOME with the turquoise, but of the two I think the diamondback needed them more.  I'm definitely going to be trying this one with turquoise next time, though.

I hate to say it, but between the two I think I like this one better.  That could be due to the fact that it was half as time-consuming to paint as the Diamondback was.  I love the rich browns too...Greg says this mask looks chocolaty (he calls it "Chocolate Cleopatra", by the way.  Because he's funny like that.).

With my hair color this one looks great on me, too.  "Become stone!!"

So yeah, that was my project & I finished it in half a week.  Not too shabby!  They're definitely going to be in my Etsy shop (I'll pace myself & do one today & one tomorrow) & I probably won't be selling them right away (or at all) 'cause of the price.  Still, it'll be a fair price (it's my wholesale price, actually, for the Medusa masks I'm making for Rumors)...so I suppose if anyone really likes them they might think of them as a bargain.  *shrug*

Speaking of my Etsy shop...a note for all of you who are LJ friends.  If you order something from my Etsy shop, be sure to drop me a private e-mail (the link is on the Etsy site) and I'll add a really cool extra "gift" to your order...for free!  I don't mean to be a whore, but I DO want to boost my sales count & I know there are some of you who like my stuff.  :-)  Anyway, it's an added incentive & you'd be helping out a friend.  

*smooch*

Comments

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

PUT THEM ON ETSY FOR SURE! People LOVE to feature really exotic items in treasuries, no matter the price. For example, Dreamwoven's Calla hat, here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6479231

The note about it being priced more reasonably later on wasn't there a few months ago (she wants to keep it from being sold because it's going into a gallery show for a while) but people were STILL cramming this into treasuries left and right...and people were RUNNING to her shop to see what else she had in there like that, because it's so exotic. (I WANT THAT HAT!)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I put up my rattlesnake mask (I think you saw already). I don't get it! My wolf got "favorited" right away (I'm up to 40 people right now), but no one seems to like this Medusa. Maybe she's too scary? Maybe people think she's actually made of rattlesnakes? *shrug*

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Gosh, no, don't worry. What happened with your wolf mask was *freakish*...NO ONE gets noticed that fast! That no one has faved your Medusa yet is completely normal, much more normal than your wolf having 40 faves already. Normally the only way for a new item to be noticed is the half minute it shows up in those TINY icons at the bottom of the Etsy home page as soon as you list it. I'm afraid they don't get noticed out of nowhere just because of pure awesomeness...I wish they did...my faves list would be even bigger.

All I can figure is that someone who faved your wolf mask may have put it into a treasury at some point, which would bring a LOT more attention to it. Have you been in the 'treasury' section? It should put a star (or something like that) next to any treasury that contains anything by you so that you could notice it right away.

Treasuries only last two to three days so even if someone did do that, it could already be expired and we'd never know it happened.

I haven't been able to get treasuries lately, Etsy is refusing to let me by not allowing the last treasury to expire and CLEAR before everyone else has grabbed one. Believe me, I'm not amused. But if I do manage, I'll totally stick medusa in :)

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Just for reference...I see Medusa has 45 views. That's a LOOOOOOT in only half a day! Seriously, it's SHOCKING how much attention you've gotten so quickly! A lot of people have had items in their shop that only have 11 views after a couple of weeks, etc, and it's not like they are ugly items, it's just that they either haven't been noticed...Etsy is a huge site with 70,000 sellers, after all...or the item isn't unusual enough to garner the 'ooh what's THAT I must see MORE' response in anyone who happens by.

45 views is a lot. Etsy is made up of mainly women...if none of the people viewing have faved, it's possible that snakes freak them out. And truly, most people fave VERY FEW items and instead fave the seller...or they fave their favourite item in the shop and then use it as a reference and don't fave any more. Most people in Etsy only have a couple of items on their faves...they're not like me, with fifty pages of them :)

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Heh, do you really find the women-hate-snakes stereoytpe is true in your circles? It's never been true for my family at least, and when I was still reading some herptile fancier mailing lists and newsgroups I'd have sworn at least half the regulars were female. But I'm a weirdo who finds newborn human babies vastly more unsettling than shiny pretty scaly things -- so lumpy and blotchy, eww! -- so I realize my gut reactions are probably pretty far from the norm. :)

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I find it true more often with women than men, yes. And *I* am a woman who hates snakes with a furious passion, so...*shrug*

Though I don't like babies that much either. But I can't say they freak me out...I certainly don't have the desire to behead them with an axe, that's for sure, and I do have that instant reaction with snakes. No matter how harmless a snake may have proven to be, I just cannot stand the sight of them.