Surfacing

This mask was finished just in time for the last show and it's a fairly accurate representation of my state of mind for the past month or two. The Winter and Spring (as some of you may have guessed) were a difficult period for me, but Summer brought a new and improved outlook. And so, "Surfacing" was born. I have imagined myself emerging from the deep - fully clothed and swimming cap intact - hopeful and yet pensive and wondering: What next?.......

The size of the mask is approximately 14" high x 6 1/2" wide and is sculpted from stoneware. I had originally planned a raku finish, but the piece dictated otherwise!

Life Support

This piece was conceived and made at the same time as the previously shown "Heart Attack" and further illustrates how I work within a theme. All the work I'm currently doing is in this same framework: lots of ongoing themes that sometimes mutate into new themes. For me, creativity is an evolutionary concept and, by its nature, never static.

"Life Support" is another one of those masks that I wish I'd written a few notes about when I made it! Without a doubt, I had hearts on the brain - but the motivation has escaped me.....

A Heart Attack

I love words - and plays on words, and this piece is clear evidence of that! Most times it is somewhat challenging to get an idea across using only a face, but this mask was almost too easy. Of course, this heart attack is not of the medical emergency sort: I'd like to think that we can be overcome by whimsy and heartfelt delight at any moment.

I made this mask circa 1999 and I still think about it occasionally......

I Dreamed I Could Fly

Here's a mask that I finished just in time for the show last weekend. I've always had flying dreams, but never quite enough of them to suit me: there is nothing quite like the feeling of elation at lift off or the idea that anything is possible. And that is why I gave the piece an expression of apprehension. I chose to depict it in that way to show that the dreamer knows she must awaken and is not quite ready for that to happen. I guess what I'm trying to say is that all good things must end but there will be other nights and new dreams.....

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Yesterday's mask got me thinking about today's: it seemed like a natural follow-up. I do find myself thinking of things in a thematic way these days, most likely in an attempt to organise my mental closet. In any case, as Alice says: life is "curiouser and curiouser" and I've decided to give up trying to figure out what the meaning is. Seems to me we should just get on with enjoying the ride.....

Beginnings

Here's another piece about growth and beginnings. I think of the mind as fertile ground for all the seeds that have been planted. In this mask, the ideas have taken a physical form - a fitting metaphor for the mask itself. What remains to be seen is the fully realized idea.....and what it becomes is not as important as the process.

Back to the studio to contemplate some new beginnings!

Under the Influence

I've found that when you're under the influence, even a mask won't help! Although, depending on what that "influence" is, it might make you feel a little less obvious. I've always had trouble blending in with society and perhaps that is because my influences are just a wee bit disturbing for some. In any case, I have learned to be a little less obviously "out there" and the masks have been therapeutic in that respect.

The mask was made in two parts and joined after finishing. This is because I couldn't mix the naked raku of the lower face with the gold luster in the "hat". Any refiring after the raku will burn out all of the wonderful smoke patterns.

Two Halves

Do two halves make a whole? Sometimes I wonder! I often feel divided or indecisive about something only to end up like poor Humpty Dumpty. If only there could be some space between the divisions, there might be a place where the parts could reconcile. Wow, this is surely the most cryptic entry yet....

This mask is my first attempt at overglaze painting and I am pleased at the prospects of having a new tool in the box. First, I fired the stoneware piece with a matte white glaze. After firing, it was covered with black overglaze enamel and allowed to dry. I then used sgraffito techniques to make the pattern and it was fired again to cone 018.