Busy busy...

[merimask]

I'm feeling much better now.  Much, much better.  Today was the first time in a week that I actually felt well enough to go for on of my bike rides.  I picked a short-ish trail (seven miles round trip) but I probably would have been fine on a longer trail because I hardly got heated up.   Better safe than sorry.  *shrug*

I started improving on Friday, which is a good thing because I have a HUGE order to fill and less than a week before I fly to Costa Rica.  I cut out about ten masks Friday night and I've been working on them nonstop all weekend...which feels really good.  After a week of being idle (well, not exactly "idle" because all the sick and the woe and the maintenance of everyone else's sick and woe certainly occupied my time) it was kind of great to have busy head and busy hands again.  I have a few nice pics of some of the fruits of my labor...but not uploaded yet so I'll have to wait to share (the colors on my latest Green Man masks are WHOA green and especially pretty).

I found this, too...

Now, I can't remember if I shared a pic of this mask before, and I didn't see it on my photo hosting site, but this mask caused SUCH a stir.  I did it over the winter and it was really pretty...a new take on an older design plus I got to use a different coloring technique which really made it something special.  It was the most frustrating thing though, because it was so specialized that only a person who wanted a lion mask would actually buy it.  Everyone looked, and everyone said "WOW!", but it took all winter before it finally found a home.  Proof to me that non-specific masks are more successful commercially than really specific ones.  Unless you're talking wolves, foxes, or dragons.  Those always go.  It's interesting...at least to me.  :-)

My brother is in Belgium right now doing the COOLEST THING EVER!!!   I'm not allowed to talk about it but it is SOCOOL.   He called me from the balcony of the 400 year-old villa he's staying at, somewhere in the country...it sounded like some place Van Gogh would have painted (only minus all the crazy and plus a lot of money and both ears).  He actually walked to a small country market down the road for fresh baked bread, cheese, wine and strawberries...and that was lunch by the side of the road in a field on a blanket.  Isn't that outrageously, ridiculously, romantically idyllic??  Europe does just about everything better and more beautifully, imo.  Anyway, his career is absolutely taking of in the most amazing way.  I'd be really jealous but he completely deserves his success ( so I'm only a *little* jealous...).

Had to buy Kiba another pool on Saturday!!  The miscreant had chewed a hole through the bottom of his old pool.  He had to splash all the water out first.  I have no idea how he did it, but it's pretty impressive.  I filled his new pool up high enough so that he'd have to make a LOT of noise splashing all the water out (and I'd certainly notice that), so hopefully he won't be eating his new pool any time soon.  Huskies are lovely and funny but they can be really creative about destroying stuff if you don't pay close attention.

*sigh*  Back to work!

Comments

[littletinyfish.livejournal.com]

I came across this image and instantly thought of the Paul Hornschemeier graphic novel, Mother, Come Home.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I looked that up at Amazon and yeah, you're right! :-) The cover art...

I was going for a lion design that was really realistic, but also a little medieval-looking with the spiky mane. I have an idea for a tiger too, that I just haven't gotten around to doing ('cause it's self-indulgent!). In the same vein as the lion, with realistic musculature and carved hair, but the stripes are all tribal-looking. It'll be neat when I finally get around to it.

[littletinyfish.livejournal.com]

What are they for?

[merimask.livejournal.com]

For? :-) I don't really know...I just make them and people buy them. Some folks just love to decorate with masks...like they're wall sculpture. Some folks collect them. A good number of people actually wear them; pagans use them for religious purposes, and theater groups use them on stage (I love doing those)...and some folks just seem to get a kick out of dressing up. I don't care. I just love making them, and my stuff is so unique that I've made a name for myself. I do some art shows and I have a web site, and I've sent my work all over the world.

So now, this is what I do for a living! Professional mask-maker...how's that for an anachronistic job? :-)

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous mask. You do wonderful work as usual!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :-) Keeping busy. Wait 'til you see the pics of the newest batch...they're really colorful (I'm trying out a different painting technique with some new acrylics, and everything just pops).

[lotus-faerie.livejournal.com]

As soon as I saw that mask, I thought, Aslan. :)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Yeah! :-) I wasn't thinking about that when I made it, but a lot of people who saw it said the same thing. I'm just not that savvy though...I'm only ~accidentally~ topical. ;-)