January is two-thirds gone, but things are coming together. I just received an email from my printers: the books of my artwork have been printed, and I just have to wait for them to bind them and deliver them now. I’m hoping they’ll arrive next week, at which point I’ll be selling them…
I started making the Bark Mask back in 2012, and used the early version in a series of photographs (Bark Mask 01, Bark Mask 02, Bark Mask 03). It started from a shop-bought papier-mâché mask blank and two large sections of tree bark scavenged from two felled trees. After undercoating the…
I recently bought this rather creepy “blank” bird mask by Seattle-based artist Cassandra Mélena. My plan is to paint and decorate the mask to use in another series of mythologically-inspired photographs in the same style as my Blindfolded Seeress, Death Mask, Badb Catha/Crow Mask, and Bark…
I wrote about the more philosophical side of masks in a previous blogpost Masks, Deception, and Truth. This post is more about the history of masks. Get yourself comfortable - this one could go on for a bit: An introduction and some politics When using masks in artwork, the obvious initial…
Read the rest of “Masks - a bit of politics and a bit of history”…
I’ve been reviewing the masks I made over 2012-2013. The masks were primarily made as costume/props for my photographs, but in some cases they have almost become pieces of artwork in themselves. The earliest one is the plainest: an initial experimentation, white with coloured lips. I…
I've managed to turn five bags of artificial autumnal oak leaves into my next mask. …
The ivy mask (and a big bag of more fake ivy) will get its first outing in a series of photographs either on Friday or early next week. These won’t be based on any specific mythological character - I’m inventing my own mythology now. …