The Harrier-Queen of Faerie rides the borders, so beware where you walk at night, too far afield! Her steed is undead, spines erupting from its exposed spine and hooves wickedly curved. And she... she was mortal once; someone's wife. Now she is ghostly pale, her hair like black rags over sunken eyes that never cease to weep.

Who knows what broke her heart and sent her to the land between, neither here nor there, never home, never resting?

-- the Star Dancer


The mask maker had more than her share of curiosity and bravado, but she didn't have a craving for calamity. She might be able to make a mask, some day, that would let her see the Harrier-Queen and remain sane, but she hadn't made one yet.

But, still. Still. She had heard, from both Meinrad and Sere now, that the Queen had been seen stalking the borders of the Maskwood these past nights. And she knew, as did few others, that it was not just calamity Her Rending Grace left in her wake. For those who had the temerity, the eyes to see, the right mask... there were flowers. Tiny, almost colorless blossoms, clinging to thorny stems, bloomed wherever the Queen's dread steed stepped.

Gathered, their essence distilled into drops of astringent spirit, the Queen's flowers brought insight. And even, for those with the heart for it, a renewal of lost purpose.

Resolved all in a moment, the mask maker stood up quickly from her work bench and lifted Clear from its hook on the wall. Then she strode out into the twilight, into the Wood.

If you're over here because M.C.A. Hogarth pointed you this way, greetings!

There is a site called The Maskwood. Unfortunately, a heavy fog came up in the internet ether, and I haven't been able to get back to the Wood that way recently. I am still working on finding the trail.

In the meantime, I can reach the Wood along my own private path, and I talk about it here, in this journal.

I discover masks in the Maskwood, and then I make them. Some of them come with stories, and I tell those stories, too.

If you go to my flickr page, you can see pictures of some of the masks I have made.

Sometimes I sell my masks, and I announce it here.

Comments are screened, but I check frequently.

-- a candlewicking mask

-- go to an orthotic/prosthetic maker for a good face cast

-- simple masks made from images printed on cardstock and attached to sticks -- held up in front of face like signs

-- layers of burnt tulle stitched to surface of mask

Ossaia -- Italian for "bone yard"

I saw these strange fabric feathers in an art magazine. I can see doing something like this on a mask. Layers of them.

I really like this mask:




It's from Tarsem Singh's movie, The Fall. It's made of fabric, and the design is so simple. There is so much flexibility to go in all kinds of directions from this idea.

I found yet another recipe for paste online, using tapioca flour. The writer claims it's very strong. I tried it. Oh my. The stickiness and gloopyness were.... beyond anything in my experience. I don't know what I'd use it for, but definitely not for manipulating small bits of paper, cloth and felt.

However, I will give it one more chance. I'll make my trusty flour paste, and add a teaspoon of tapioca flour to see if it increases the tensile strength of the bond.

I also saw alum and clove oil suggested as additives, to increase longevity and slow deterioration. Dunno... I may try alum today. Clove oil I'll need to special order. Pharmacies used to carry it, because it's a natural antiseptic and anesthetic. No longer, at least not around here.

Use birch bark as flames on a mask. Or layer in circles, to make a birch owl mask.

This mask has been half-finished for several years now. I'm so glad it's done.

Acrylic paint is, by nature, glossy. If you want something to have a matte finish, you have to add things to the paint.

-- Matte medium doesn't work well. It just takes the finish from glossy to "satin."
-- Clear acrylic gesso doesn't work, either. At all. It stays glossy, and just adds a little tooth.

Hmmm. Regular gesso dries flat. But it's not a durable finish, on its own. What if I mixed it with acrylic paint? Eureka!

-- Gesso, mixed in equal parts with acrylic paint, dries flat and durable.

Sometimes I think I spend more time experimenting than actually completing pieces. Oy.

Why do I keep fooling myself about methyl cellulose and all its ilk? Why, Santy Claus, Why?

It does not work for mache. It's got a gorgeous texture when wet. But dry, it has no flexibility, and the layers split apart like a perfect croissant.

a Japanese carp banner mask

-- long lashes on lower eyelids

-- crochet netting as base for "floating" masks
-- white mask with a black sillouette painted on it

A mask that is blank on the outer surface, but painted with vivid, beautiful colors inside.

Please, please, my many imaginary readers, insist that I get with it and learn Adobe GoLive!!! I need to redesign the Listening House and the Maskwood and get them back online!

She-Who-Thinks-outside-the-Box scores again!!!!

I used nonstick aluminum foil to cover my mask form. The glue/stiffener I'm using doesn't stick to it!

A mask shaped like a pen nib.