Shark!

I love sharks.
I think it all stems from one of--if not THE--best movies ever made (IMHO): "JAWS".
I've seen it countless times and am borderline obsessive about it. And I'm not the only one. There's a massive cult following to this day for all things 'Jaws'...just Google it. You'll find any number of memorabilia, books, collectibles, tributes, memes, jokes, crafts, etc, all devoted to this timeless horror thriller.
That said, last Fall I was invited to a costume Halloween party. Being out of a job, it seemed like a good idea to make my own costume. I had nothing else to do, right? So I got the brainstorm for a JAWS shark mask modeled on the illustration from the movie's iconic poster...and I'd make it out of my favorite medium, paper maché. Here's the inspiration:

The classic movie poster image

And here's my initial design sketch:

A 'JAWS' inspired mask

Well, "the best laid plans..." as they say. I started the project but it took much longer to complete than I had anticipated. Halloween (and the party) came and went and the costume was nowhere near finished. But I kept forging ahead. "I'll use it for the next party I get invited to" I said. So I toiled on, and I just got finished last week. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. It's more a helmut than a mask, but it gives plenty of viewing through the mouth, you can see everything pretty well. Here are several views of the finished masterpiece:









I'm especially happy with how the eyes turned out, I used big wooden beads. I kept thinking about that famous speech Robert Shaw delivers in the movie where he talks about being surrounded by sharks during WWII when his ship has been sunk and what it's like to be attacked by a shark:  "You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah...then you hear that terrible high pitch screaming' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollering' they come in and rip you to pieces."

"...black eyes, like a doll's eyes..."