Path and Inspiration
In the 90's I knew a troupe of Commedia Dell'Arte actors, playing traditional characters in hand made masks. So I learnt how to make the masks from leather and papier mache and sold them on Camden market. Thirty years later I discovered the potential of clay!Now I've returned to mask making, but this time in porcelain and stoneware to sculpt decorative impressions of Arlechinno, Scaramouche, Pantalone, Tartaglia, Pulcinella, Capitano and others - all of them rogues!Process and Practice
Life size, hand built stoneware and porcelain finished as bisque with terra sigillata, alcohol dye, graphite and wax to replicate the finish on traditional leather theatre masks.Alternatively, porcelain is either clear-glazed or stoneware is glazed in colour to match the personality of each of the Commedia Dell' Arte characters. Typically I finish with hanging wire and ribbons for easy wall mounting.
