I just realised I haven’t published this post. This was written in February 2019! But it showed the excitement I had with finishing off this lion project. What a difference one year makes. There I was happy that I finished making the Liu Bei head in 2 years, where I’ve just finished making my Cheung Fei head in 1! I hope my next project will take me 6 months, and 5 projects later maybe I’ll be semi- professional and have lion heads done in 4 weeks! I wonder how long the pros take.

I’m done, I’m done!!!! I’m finally done!!!
I think all up, the project has taken me over 2 years to complete from conception to finding the time to complete it. If I was to put an hour figure on it, I think it would have taken me maybe 10000000 hours because I’m a slow poke. I definitely wouldn’t make money as a professional lion head maker.
I’ve added the finishing touches like the gold sequined trim around the eyes, cheeks etc,  attached the pillow, and hooked up the pulley system.
I cheated with the tail, my textile skills are non existent so I thought it better that I acquire one instead of making it. Fortunately, my 師兄 from Hong Kong donated a couple of old tails that he managed to salvage from heads that have been sent to the afterlife. And the great news is, one of the tails was a perfect match!

So what’s next? I’ve taken Chris Low’s (of Restore The Roar) lead and am in the middle of writing an instructional book on how to make a replica Luen Fat Cheung lion head. Don’t hold your breath because given the amount of time it took me to make this lion head, it might take a fair bit of time.

I’ve also got another two frames that in various stages of completion. Hopefully, I can make progress on them and create a team of lion heads.