Maskmaker

Artist Jackie Miller offers a condensed version of her 2-day studio workshop, and shows viewers how to create a stunning "Wild Card" mask using papier mache and paints. Broken down into 5 segments, Miller guides viewers step-by-step through creating a face form of their own face, preparing the papier mache, making the mask using modeling and sheet fabrication techniques, drying, paint, and finishing the mask. The mask looks really neat, and the process appears to be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, this is one of the most blatantly commercial tapes I've seen in quite some time. In an advertiser's dream come true, Miller not only praises the brands she uses (Celluclay for the papier mache, and Golden Acrylics for the paint), she consistently uses the brand names to refer to the materials (resulting in about a hundred viewer impressions, as they say). To wit, Miller will say something like: "use your eyedropper to add some water to these wonderful heavy bodied Golden Acrylics." If that isn't bad enough, there's a full-blown-drop-any-pretenses advertisement for Golden Acrylic products during the instructional part of the tape. Observations: numero-uno--we believe that if you have to hawk, you should do it at the beginning or the end, not during the actual program. Numero two-o: if you're gonna go whole hog on the commercial angle, people shouldn't have to pay $79.95 for the ads. Make no mistake, the instruction is excellent and the mask is simply marvelous but the commercials are a killer. It's your conscience and your budget. You decide. An optional purchase. (Available from: Jackie Miller Designs, 3293 Hwy 66, Ashland, OR 97520; (503) 482-5681.)