When making 'Empress of Ice" I found myself thinking back on several of the masks my grandmother had brought back from Venice. The better ones utilized paper, wood, Italian glass, and common accent materials that had been used in an enchanting way. I wanted my own masks to champion that idea of creating other-worldly effects from everyday objects. The mirror was recycled, the feathers are common white chicken feathers, and the crystals are from an old broken bracelet.

For me, it is important to know the history behind the cultures and objects I am drawing from. During the black death infected Italian citizens were often sent to remote islands and sanitariums to die. For those sent to the islands they would often be delirious from fever as they were ferried across the channels in small boats. The Doctors often carried out the act of rowing the boats across the channels themselves. To protect their identity they wore these bird like masks.

With the second mask in my "Plague Doctors" series I wanted to create a small install showing the dark history behind Venice surrounded by the bold colors and enchanting images of the Italian world. Einstein said it best : "There is no such thing as darkness. There is only without light."

Forgotten Waltz was actually made for a masquerade. My niece was on the prom committee and they had decided to do a masquerade theme. I custom made the mask and fit it to her face just before the prom committee changed the theme. The beads are imported straight from Italy.

Lord Rhaevaeurn was actually inspired largely by sleep deprivation. For years I have been working on an indie role-play campaign setting known as "The Gates Of Raven" Like any good campaign world there are a few larger-than-life characters to build the mythos and flush out the world. One such character is Jenethar Rhaevaeurn, a patriarch, noble, and powerful wizard. With the creative advice of Tabitha Moore, Jenethar's mask came to life. The rest is history. ***Part of "Reflections" Series

Phoenix was created for a show I was planning to have at a gallery downtown. The show was to benefit art education for children with Autism and the director had mentioned that he loved my more colorful pieces. This piece was all about fire, bold lines, rising out of the ashes, and being bold! Sadly, a week before it was to go on display the gallery cancelled the show.

This piece was about championing a wild fairly primitive beauty and blending it with the classic majesty of Venice. The stem in wrapped in close to 100 feet of bold copper. The plume is a wild African grass that accepts dye beautifully. All glaze effects were hand applied using enamel based modeling glazes.

Aphrodite was all about capturing the beauty of the mysterious maiden of the masquerade. The true allure of Venice lies in the promise that with a mask and a few yards of fabric any woman can transform into an other worldly queen... or perhaps even a goddess. Once the evening is over, she can return to the "real" world with only a hat box to hold her mask and perhaps a little makeup remover.

Druantia was largely a reflection on the conflicting viewpoints of Celtic nature based worships. In the case of the goddess Druantia Celtic mythos often depict her as a beautiful maiden who aid those lost in the forest while brutally condemning any who dare defile the forest. In the mask itself a symbols, colors, and archetypes, each play off one another to create an image that temps and creates a very slight anxiety.

In contrast to "Druantia" Earth child plays with color and shape more organically to show only mans need to return to Natura. In a world of concrete and disposable espresso mugs many have felt a desperate need to better understand where humanity fits into the natural way of things without loosing the drive that makes us human. Like children, we are on a long journey. I put forth that it is the journey, not the destination, that will make all the difference.

This piece was all about the glaze for me. To get the background black I used high shine nail enamel. All other effects were kids craft quality glitter glue and scrap paints from around the house. The mirror shards were hand laid and hand broken (I cut the snot out of myself). Normally my mask pieces are deeply conceptual with well laid out back stories. Every now and again I just need to get back to basics and try things out. *** Part Of The "Reflections" Series ***