The Merchant of Venice: Rogues' Gallery

The Merchant of Venice, Ryl Mandus
~ Gallery of Rogues ~
page one

Come on in! If you have a mask by Ryl (especially if it's one she custom-designed just for you)
and would like for folks see how delightfully rogue-ish you are in disguise,
just send in some clear snapshots, and be sure to include photo credits! Thanks!!
*

Here we have Don Maitz and the mask he bought at Tachy 7 Con in '95.	Unfortunately, Mr. Maitz turned invisible a nanosecond before the camera could snap the picture. ---- So here is the mask, -------> "Tesla".	"Tesla"	If it seems familiar to you, he used it as a model for the mask on the cover of: "A Farce to be Reckoned With". ---- (It's okay, he asked first.)
Fantasy Fest! Key West in '94 Mike Mulligan (left), wears "Sea-Bride", and Jacqueline Harrington (right), wears "Siberian Express". At this musical evening, dancers modelled the works of several attending mask-makers. Both of these masks are one-of-a-kind designs. (Photo: Tom Nettington)		"Sea-Bride" was bought in Key West the next day at the Street Fair by an enthusiastic exchange student from Germany. <-------- "Siberian Express" was later purchased in Atlanta, as a Christmas gift for a young lady, by her very understanding father. What a nice dad!	Carol-Lyne is wearing the "Emperor of the Unseelie Court" & Cheryl is wearing the "Man in the Moon", which glows in the dark (!).
My buddy, Joe Yost, modelling "Drakonis", all in chartreuse green with brassy highlights -- the mask, that is, not Joe! (Hey, Joe, remember Nick? He sez "Hi"!) Photo: Me & Polaroid		Detail photo of "Phoenix", not just the mask but the whole costume and the character of Phoenix. Carmine and Phoenix have been honored with several costuming awards, but we'll never tire of wearing, or being, them. Photo: Ben Mandus

Below is the brief evolution of a wizard's draconic headdress:

Here we have the comp (a sketch in water-colors) for a privately commissioned headdress. I used these colors in the sketch so I'd be better able to 'see' the planned contours for the sculpting phase.

This is the headdress, sculpted from a single piece of leather, just before the sculpting has been completed. The 'cap' (for support, balance, and comfort), will be affixed soon.

As you might guess, the leather for this
work had to be selected carefully
in order to support its own weight.

The completed headdress, "Flamma Argentus" (latin for silver flame), as he protectively embraces the face and head of his new owner, a most powerful wizard.

An exclusive custom design, it has a drape in back of black 'hammered' satin, and the breast of the dragon bears a large Austrian crystal of purple and indigo, bound in place with a bezel of silver chain.

I did have more images that the kindly wizard had sent me, but my old hard drive died an abrupt and painful death, taking several great images with it. This is the only image from his set that I was able to retrieve. * ~sad sigh~ *

Wings for Tenebrae

A lovely young goth-lady queried whether I made
leather costuming wings -- she was so very earnest
and polite that I felt I had to at least give it
a sincere try, and the darkly gleaming set
of leather bat-wings you see here are
the results of that first effort.

(Unfortunatlely, I don't know the name of the
photographer who took this marvelous image
that Mme. Tenebrae sent me.)

The prices for a set of leather wings like
these depicted begin at $450.00

If you're interested in a set of wings of your
own, please feel free to query by e-mail.

Egadz! There are still more Rogues on the loose!

If you're curious about our costuming obsession,

you can see more of our sparkly stuff,

and our alter egos, on

Ben and Ryl's Costume Pages

back to the Merchant of Venice