For millennia, masks have been used as vehicles to connect with the mysterious forces around us. Even though they do not play a significant role in our North American cultural life, masks have always been a guiding presence in my own artistic, emotional, and spiritual growth.

I have been making masks since 1971. I’ve taught, performed, studied, and collaborated with mask makers in Europe, Latin America, Indonesia, Japan, Alaska, and the US mainland.

I have witnessed the raw power a mask dance can have on the collective unconscious of a community, as well as experienced the profound transformative energy the mask may have on the mask dancer.

In 1993 I lived and worked in Japan for a year on an artistic fellowship. For centuries, the Japanese have created and utilized masks in theater, in religious ceremonies, in celebrations. Although I had used masks extensively in my theater work to that point, my time in Japan added a deeply spiritual dimension to my mask making and mask dancing. These masks all have been made since my return from Japan.

THE SPIRIT OF THE MASK

I made many of these masks to be used in mask dances, i.e., where the dancer wears a mask to exemplify a certain archetype, emotion or state of mind. Cultures as diverse as ancient Greece and modern Indonesia have used masks in this way. For the mask dance to be alive, the mask must project a strong character so that when you look at the mask you feel its spirit. It also must have a strong emotional presence and contain the potential for emotional duality. For example, a sad mask must also allow the dancer, with a slight change of movement or demeanor, to be able to project happiness. If you look at these masks, you will see the range of emotional character each one possesses.

Unlike traditional masks that are bound to one story or tradition, I combine a number of cultural influences in my mask making. Some of these masks were made to represent a character, some to project a certain set of emotions.

All of my masks are made with either paper pulp or gyspum and are hand painted. The paper masks are for wearing, the gyspum ones are for your altar or to hang on the wall. Coming soon will be pictures of various masks you may purchase.

If your interested in purchasing a mask please email me at erneststudio@gmail.com