Monday 18 March 2013

Lets Begin at the Beginning :)

It felt like it was time to share some pictures of the masks I'm working on at the moment. I always find this a little awkward as when photographed at about this point in their creation there always feels like there is so little to show for  how much time and work has been spent on them. The trouble is that's so difficult to get across in these earlier stages. You can't show the slow building up layer by layer that it's taken to get to this,. You also can't show all the swearing, shouting and artistic wobblies, which is probably for the best ;)

 The work has gone into creating the bare bones of the piece and this framework/sculpture ultimately becomes the heart and foundation of all the other work that will go into it. If this is not right then nothing that is added to it will work properly. Also as well as being asthetically 'right' it must also strong, lightweight and balanced so that it works as a functioning wearable mask, and ultimately it must feel like it has 'soul'. A mask that doesn't have that certain feel, that just doesn't feel alive at this point, (before you actually start to add colour and  decoration and the like) will never really work as a finished piece, for me anyway. It will be just another decorative mask, it won't have that spark, that makes a mask potentially such a potent object!


Visions in Blue







Visions in Blue, inspired by the beautiful and poignant Ultravox track that I've always found so haunting. I'm weaving a web of memories and emotions, regrets and lost youth. There will be a tangle of wild roses, beauty and thorns, moths like fleeting thoughts, cobwebs, veils that hide secrets.....

The Storyteller










The Storyteller is at the centre of something I've wished to do for many years. I hope she and I will go on many journeys together :) She will be a spirit of greens, golds and russets, a celebration of Spring and Autumn, my favourite seasons. From her branches will hang leaves that see into the depths of the forest and leaves that whisper of what lies there. There will be keys and acorns and coiled all about the ever creeping ivy that knows what lies within the hearts of the trees.








3 comments:

  1. love to see your masks in progress!
    one can imagine the massive amount of time it takes to create such elaborate masks,you re right amask is no ordinary sculpture , ita alively piece of art , perhaps like a marionnette ,teh technical and practical sides are so important

    the vision in blue might also be a queen of hearts mask ;),I like all these secrets and stories hidden in these branches , can"'t wait to see them both completed and... alive! telling their stories :)

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  2. I enjoy sharing them dearest and it's interesting for me to step back and see them in a picture. It's like standing back and taking a really good look :)) I think you are right comparing them to marionnettes (and you have made some beautiful ones)it's like engineering and art combined ;)

    When Chris saw me working on the 'Visions' mask the first thing he asked me was if it was the Queen of Hearts! I just like the feel of the 'headdress'I love those Elizabethan heart-shaped head-dresses and have wanted to try and work with one in a mask design for ages now. This piece just seemed right for one. Powerful memories are more often than not, linked with intense or at least strong emotion. Playing with the ancient idea of the heart being the seat of our emotions I liked the idea of using the heart imagery that is woven with the web of memories :)

    I'm enjoying working on both these masks so much, I hope they both can tell more of their stories soon ;)xxx

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  3. Wonderful! I'm a professional storyteller and love seeing your evolving storyteller mask. Last night all my stories were stories of the forests, this morning I've been pondering my obsession with keys, and Spring and Autumn are my favourite seasons! Your work really resonates for me. Looking forward to the finished mask!

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