Goblin Art

Preparing masks for the Fall season

2011-09-20T13:10:00.001-07:00

This is my painting desk. I completed changed the set-up after the studio was taken apart and insulated this Spring.

I only have 6 to 8 hours a week to work in the studio, so I'm still avoiding shows and custom orders--they take so much time! But Halloween is coming right up, and I plan to finish some pieces for my two favorite mask stores, Mystique in Portland, and Maskarade in the New Orleans French Quarter. So far I have mainly been working on feathered half masks, and swirly dominos and asymmetrical masks.

So if you're in Portland or New Orleans, plan to stop by and see some of my masks for sale there in early October. And if you're looking for wearable horns, don't forget to check out Gumbo in Portland too--I delivered a bunch of new horns to them last month.

Happy Fall!

Splitting logs

2011-08-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

I have split my web log in two! Goblin Art maskmaking updates will continue here, but personal projects and random ramblings are now at The Magpie & The Mask.

Piles of masks

2011-03-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

Find all these masks and many more at the Mardi Gras mask market today through Monday March 7th at the French Market in New Orleans: http://www.frenchmarket.org/events/ . We are sharing a booth with Dragonmaker masks, who you can visit online here .

Click the "Read more" link below for more photos of my masks. (Sorry about the un-rotated images there, I'll try and fix those later).

A pile of masks

Fox masks, half-masks and rabbit mask

Cat mask and tribal half-mask with skull beads

Two cat masks, sun mask, rabbit and others

Rabbit mask

Mardi Gras fish mask, Curly Masquerade masks and Firebirds.

Mask for a Goblin King's masquerade ball

And this blue bird mask is especially designed to wear over glasses!

The studio table again, and traversing oceans

2011-02-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

Another glimpse of my painting area
(prior to the forthcoming deconstruction/reconstruction!)

The lovely author and artist Terri Windling included one of my recent studio snapshots in her "On your desk" photo series. Terri also wished me luck on my upcoming "move"--I will soon be dismantling most of my (very cold) basement studio so we can put some insulation in!

At first I was going to correct her use of the word “move”, but then I realized she is quite right. Moving everything away from or off the studio walls is going to be a tremendous undertaking—not quite as bad as moving to another studio space, but certainly comparable. (And not to mention it involving lots of moving things too). So a “move” it is!

Terri also founded the fabulous Endicott Studio, which I first encountered via website some 12 or 13 years ago. I was most excited about what I found there, and following the web visit had a very inspired few days where I found myself seriously imagining a move to a particular quaint little English Village full of artists and artisans—so obviously a place rich with inspiration, exciting collaborative opportunities, and the closest thing I had found at that time to what seemed like a mythical, magical life.

But I had already traversed one ocean since my own life began, and it wasn’t time to cross another. Instead I found myself moving to the Pacific Northwest, and there are mythical and magical realms here too, if one takes the time to step away from the beaten paths and pay attention.

But the trappings of my current Portland life do not unfortunately include such things as a lovely tumbledown stone cottage with whitewashed walls, or many miles of beautiful moors to explore beyond my backyard fence! But following my creative calling here (as an apprentice puppeteer) did lead me to my very dear husband, my beloved son, our silly dog, some good friends, and a few lovely artistic collaborative opportunities as well. And our home, while not whitewashed or too terribly tumbledown is our own little reliquary of myth and magic.

On the work table

2011-01-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

Experimenting with twine, sisal, corn husks and earth-tones. Here is a new variation of the tribal cat and fox masks I did a few years back. They are definitely a big nod to the masks we did for the Wicker Man film remake's prop shop. (Rick and I made mask forms for that movie, they decorated them).

And here is my messy painting desk. (The washable paints on the bottom left are my son's). Finally starting to feel the big creative build-up towards Mardi Gras!

Make a mask from plastic bottles. Happy Carnival!

2011-01-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

Plastic jug and paper mache bird mask

Tonight is Twelfth Night, the start of Carnival Season, leading up to Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday isn't until March 8th this year, so you have eight whole weeks to make a mask and put a costume together!

Here is a method I came up with that uses little more than some plastic bottles, scrap paper and cardboard, tape and glue. The mask pictured above was in an exhibition of masks made from recycled materials that raised money for SCRAP (School and Community Reuse Action Project) in Portland, Oregon.

1. Use a sharpie to draw outline of mask on plastic bottle. I used a 1 gallon white vinegar jug for this because it offered a nice curvature.

2. Cut the mask out. I like to use heavy-duty curved scissors for this, but sharp craft or paper scissors will work if you take it slowly.

3. Attach details to the mask with hot glue or masking tape. You can use more pieces of plastic bottle, twists of aluminium foil or paper towel, or just about any solid material you like the shape of. The eyebrow shape was cut from a plastic 1/2 gallon milk jug. The beak shown here was also cut from the milk jug, but I decided to use a different beak for final mask design.

Here is the new improved beak. I drew a beak shape on a cardboard cereal box, added folds and tabs, and cut it out. I used office staples to attach the beak to the face of the mask and taped over the sharp bits. Then I added some raised ornamentation to the mask using lo-temp hot glue. Folded cardboard shapes can be used to create noses for masks too.

4. Here is the mask after I applied a paper mache layer to both the front and back. I used brown tissue paper and diluted wood glue. Tear the tissue paper into small pieces (1 or 2 square inches) ahead of time. Then use a paintbrush to brush glue onto an area of the mask, pick up each piece of paper with the brush and apply, then brush a final layer of glue over everything.

5. The finished mask! I painted it with acrylic craft paint and sealed it with crystal clear spray. The back of the mask is lined with scrap foam cut into pads, covered with scrap polar fleece, and glued on with hot glue. The feathers were salvaged from a cheap feather mask that was falling apart. The elastic cord was saved from gift packaging. So besides paint, glue and staples, this mask was made from completely recycled and reclaimed materials.

Happy mask-making! And if you are in Portland, don't forget to stop by SCRAP for all sorts of interesting and affordable art and craft supplies.

Gallery of special orders from 2010

2010-12-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

Custom blue filligree mask:
Paper mache, modeling compounds and hammered wire
over thermoformed ABS base

I only did three special order masks this year, but I am pleased with how all three turned out--despite the fact I had such fragmented time available to complete them! I am very greatful to all three customers for maintaining such amazing patience as the months rolled by.

I am not accepting any new special orders yet--the masks pictured here were all ordered before my schedule changed. My studio time is still very sparse and I now need every moment I can find to make a booth's worth of masks for the Mardi Gras mask market in New Orleans this coming March.

Custom horned skull mask:
Paper mache over thermoformed ABS base,
with horns cast in semi rigid neoprene from Critical Coatings

Custom horned skull mask with customer sketches

Special order phantom mask:
Cast semi-rigid neoprene from Critical Coatings

An adjusted web presence

2010-11-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

The old web presence

It's very strange, taking the old Goblin Art website down after eleven years. I'm still quite fond of the site, and hope to bring some version of it back at a future time. But right now, while my business is so scaled-back, it didn't feel right to maintain a full-blown web presence. People who visit a fancy webpage tend to imagine a fancy business behind it. So while I'm no longer running a webstore or taking custom orders, and I'm only in the studio a few hours a week, the web log seems a better fit. It still provides a convenient place for friends, contacts and customers to learn more about my creations, and it is in fact even better suited than the old website was for providing a window into the studio itself--something I intend to take greater advantage of than previously.

Now, I will admit that moving the web log right into the forefront of the Goblin Art domain does make me feel a little self-conscious, for I am not much of an online-lifestyle or social networking type. But a web log can be an extraordinarily creative medium, and it offers such a wonderful opportunity to share all kinds of images, ideas and inspiration from my maskmaking and creative process. Perhaps I will even include some of the projects I have been working on with my son? (He is quite the artist himself, and an excellent collaborator!)

Finally, to the many hundreds of thousands who visited the old site, (possibly more!), thank you for your time and interest. I hope you will also enjoy this new version of Goblin Art on the web.

Wearable horns at "Gumbo" in Portland!

2010-10-23T04:44:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Halloween! My wearable horns are now available at Gumbo Gifts & Gallery in Portland's historic Mississippi shopping district. Gumbo is a fun and funky place full of art, artifacts, accessories, costumes and more. Co-proprietress Debbie is also a maskmaker and a Goblin Art intern alumnus!

Goblin Art horns are $10 to $20 per set and styles include small/plain, cow/devil, long curvy, and regular-sized twisties, in wide range of colors.

Gumbo is open 11am (ish) to 6pm (or later) everyday, at 3636 N Mississippi Ave, Portland OR 97227.

Goblin Art update: Two Fall shows in Portland

2010-09-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

Things are very quiet in the Goblin Art studio at the moment, the “Balance of Art & Motherhood” has veered mostly in the direction of motherhood lately. But I do still have two small Portland-area events this Fall, "Incognito" and the Local 14 art show.

Incognito 2010 is a fundraiser for SCRAP, (School & Community Reuse Action Project), featuring an exhibition of masks made from at least 75% recycled materials, and a Halloween masquerade. I designed and donated an original one-of-a-kind mask especially for this event.

Incognito Mask exhibition: October 2nd - October 27^th at SCRAP’s RE:Vision Gallery, 11am-6pm Mon-Sun, 2915 NE MLK Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR.
Opening Reception at RE:Vision Gallery: Thursday, October 7^th, 6pm-8pm
Masquerade ball & mask auction: Thursday October 28^th , 5:30pm, at the Oregon Zoo’s Cascade Ballroom.

More information at http://scrapaction.org/events/incognito/

Then I return to The Local 14 Art Show this year with a small selection of masks for sale.

Local 14 Art Show opening night gala : Thursday October 14^th, 6pm – 9pm ($10 admission for gala)
Show hours: Friday October 15^th, 10am-9pm, Saturday October 16^th, 10am-5pm, Sunday October 17^th, 10am-5pm
Located at Miller Hall, World Forestry Center, Portland, OR.

More info at http://www.local14.org/

Have a wonderful Fall!

Faerie time - A fair fortnight before us

2010-07-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Only two weeks until we pack masks and miscellany into the van and head south for the Faerieworlds Festival in Eugene, OR!

Photo of our booth at Faerieworlds 2007, by Flickr member HereAtWitsEnd

We'll have a nice big 20' pavilion this time, (go along the first lane of booths on your right and find us next to Amy Brown Art) and we are very excited to be sharing it with a wonderful couple who make leather masks, Bill and Sam Cass of Nymbol's Secret Garden. Their creations are so fantastic and beautiful! Bill and Sam have such a inspiring story behind their business too--after many hard years of work in the corporate world, they decided to throw it all to the wind and pursue their true artistic vision. They sold their house in Portland, OR, and moved their family to Puget Sound. They now have a enchanting art shop and maskmaking studio in downtown Whidbey, WA where they can see the ocean right through their storefront window. You can see more of their work (and meet their puppet Nymbol) on their weblog and Flickr page.

Bill and Sam and family and friend

~~Lastly, I have 6 free admission passes for Faerieworlds to give away to readers of this weblog!~~*** 7/22/10 UPDATE: Offer now ended! ***

Schedule update, and getting out of the house

2010-02-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

It did seem like I was about to dive back into the studio post-Mardi Gras, but plans and schedules change. This is a good change actually--when considering the current economic landscape, anything resembling a real job or a regular income cannot be allowed to slip away!

From the Goblin Art website:

I am not accepting new special orders, wholesale orders or commissions at this time.Over the next few months I will be the primary caregiver for our 2 yr old while my husband is working full-time outside the studio. This will allow me as few as 5 hours per week for maskmaking. So I am not accepting new orders over this time, and I have cut back my 2010 show and event schedule. I will however, be using my limited studio time to prepare for my two remaining Pacific NW events , and I hope to still provide my main two US retailers with a limited number of masks.I do not know how long this schedule will remain in effect, but I thank you for your patience until I am once again able to accept your orders.

I will have an update here as well as on my orders page at that time. And in the meantime, I'm looking forward to spending lots of time with the Sproggling over the warmer months. There's a vegetable garden to get started, rickshaw-trike rides to go on, parks to picnic in, and lots of friends to spend time with.

And after returning from Mardi Gras, I am especially inspired to get out of the house and do interesting things! Portland is very different to New Orleans, but a few of the things I love about the French Quarter can actually be found scattered about this city.

Portland archituecture does not have a myriad of secret courtyards and hidden gardens. But I think we can satisfy some of our thirst for those at the Classical Chinese Garden downtown.

The French Quarter's Royal St has a wonderful and ecclectic selection of street musicians and performers. So we'll just have to get ourselves over to Portland's First Thursday and Last Thursday events when the weather gets a little warmer.

Our street cars and light rail trains are not as quaint as New Orlean's charming trolley cars, but they are still a fun way to ride about town.

Most of New Orleans' walking-parades occur during Carnival time, but Portland has a plenty of walking parades at various street festivals throughout the year, and a plethora of quirky costumed bike rides. I hope that this year we will finally build a trike float and join in!

And one of the Sproggling's favorite things from our trip was just sitting by the Mississippi river, seeing the ships go by. Portland has two rivers waiting for us to come down to for a lazy afternoon of boat-watching and skipping stones. It will be a lovely summer!

Getting ready for Mardi Gras!

2010-01-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

The studio is finally back in full production mode, but only a few short days remain to finish masks for Mardi Gras. Never before have I attempted to get ready for a major show (or any show really) in such a short time!

The new felt masks are a fabulous thing in that I can quickly make so many of them at a time, but it has also proved to be a bit of a crazy thing for me to try and perfect the whole process with so little time to spare!

With each set-back I must remind myself that I have had years to perfect the process for the other masks I make, (neoprene, vacuformed, paper mache), so to design from scratch, and then master a completely new maskmaking technique in a few short months is really quite an exciting accomplishment.

I really think that these new masks will be a big part of Goblin Art's future success. I have not seen anything like them out there--they are light and smooth like paper mache masks, and strong and flexible like leather masks. They can be worn over or under glasses, and are resistant to moisture. I will still continue to make my high-end neoprene and vacuformed pieces of course, but it will be wonderful to have this new type of mask that almost anyone who steps into my booth can afford. And while the style of the felt masks is fairly simple at present, I will soon expand the selection to include masks with much more sculpted forms.

Two Labyrinth-inspired masks from the archives

2010-01-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

I often wonder what happens to my masks after they are whisked away to their new homes. Mostly they just disappear into the mist, but other times stories or photos flit their way back, of weddings and masqued balls, or of walls groaning under the weight of extensive mask collections.

And then sometimes masks will reappear after their original adventure is completed, offering the chance for another person's masquerade fantasies to come true for an evening!

Here are two such masks, created in 2003 and currently listed for sale by the original buyer on cosplay.com here . If you are a fan of Jim Henson's Labyrinth, this is your chance to own something quite unique-- I don't expect to make these particular masks again as I choose not to make further pieces based so closely on another artist's designs.

It looked like Goblin Art was back, but then where did it go?

2009-11-18T12:39:00.001-08:00

Canceling a show is a strange and unfamiliar thing. Goblin Art has been selling masks at shows and events for ten years now, and over that decade I have only canceled my booth twice, (first due to car trouble, second due to my foolishly scheduling a show for when I would be 8 months pregnant).

But then this rather disorienting month came along, where I have had to cancel not one, but two events that I had lined up!

I think this is yet another lesson that comes with parenthood. As an adult without a child, I had almost complete control of my schedule. But as part of a dual-parental unit, schedules become fragile balancing acts, where event the best laid and most seemingly important plans can evaporate at a moment's notice. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is just a case of finding oneself wandering in a shifting landscape where the ideas of what is important keep redefining themselves. Unfortunately however, that does make running a business a lot more complicated.
So to summarize....

Goblin Art did re-open in January '09, but after a 10 month run seems to be temporarily closed again.

This most recent closure is due to a big change in the dual-parental unit schedules, i.e. I am currently the primary stay-at-home parent to our 2 year old son.

Goblin Art will probably/possibly/approximately re-open mid January 2010, sooner if I can figure out some clever childcare solutions, or later if Rick's employment outside the studio continues.

I am still open to the discussion of special order masks and wholesale horn orders, but don't plan to schedule anything that would be needed before Mardi Gras 2010 (mid-February).

And in the meantime, I'll be at home with my wonderful son, making many wonderful new art pieces with crayons, markers, construction paper and playdough.

Portland mask shop with Goblin Art masks

2009-10-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mystique Artisan Gallery

I finally have an official retailer in Portland! Mystique Artisan Gallery recently opened in the upscale Pioneer Place Mall downtown.

They also have masks by my maskmaker friends Dianne Trapp (Illusionary Designs) and Connie Trapp (Masks & Things), and a selection of art glass creations, ceramic work, paintings, photography and jewelry by local artisans.

I have a mere dozen masks and headdresses on display in the store as of this afternoon, but I'm working in the studio at a frenzied pace and plan to bring them regular deliveries of new work throughout the Halloween and holiday seasons.

Mystique
Pioneer Square Mall
340 SW Morrison St, Suite 1435
(On the lower level, next to Fossil Cartel)

503-224-5725

Hours Mon-Sat: 10am - 8pm, Sun: 11am - 6pm

Summery summary

2009-06-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Often I have the urge to share something here, but time does not permit me the luxury of plugging cards and cameras into the computer, or of sorting through photos to find pretty pictures to accompany my thoughts. But a shortage of words makes a web-log go stale even faster than a shortage of pictures!

Summer is here already, and it finds us in the midst of much frantic preparation for Faire Season! Newly finished masks assemble about the studio in colorful piles, and loose bundles of elastics and ribbons and fabric trimmings scatter across most work surfaces. Fresh wearable horns hang from the ceiling waiting their turn to be sorted and packed, and the new selection of extra-affordable felt masks grows bigger with each passing day! (I'm so happy that the felt mask experiments have been a success!)

As each event races towards me, my biggest concern is always reining in as many unfinished pieces as I can, so we will be sure to have plenty of pieces in the booth that are ready to sell! The inventory did seem a little thin this time, so I have finally decided to dip into my personal mask archives and sell some of the very first masks I made. Perhaps a lucky collector will enjoy the chance to have "Curly Masquerade mask #1" upon their living room wall?

Also, I have suddenly become very conscious of how much space ten or twenty years of accumulated art can occupy! There is a lot of stuff there I should sell--and some I should probably recycle, donate or give away! If I'm sufficiently organized, I'll start putting a "Make an Offer" trunk in the booth at shows full of random arty items in search of the right home.

I'm really excited about Faire Season this Summer! Part of that reason is that we didn't do any faires or markets during the Sproggling's first year, and I have missed the chaotic but interesting life of the traveling merchant. The other part of that reason is our new set of wanderlusty-wheels! The cab of our little pick-up truck was never intended to fit a family of three, so for the sake of practicality (and for the sake of my ability to be able to feel my legs!) we'll be cleaning it up and helping find it a new home. And the replacement vehicle for our faire-related travel is a big chevy camper van! It is older than the truck but has an excellent engine, and will provide us with a comfortable place to sleep, a sink with hot and cold running water, and a stove and a fridge so we'll be able to cook our meals and enjoy hot pots of tea! It will take a couple of shows to pay it off, but it will be SO much easier for us to do more out of town shows, (especially with the Sproggling-factor to consider). And suddenly, the notion of spending a week or so of every month at the Oregon coast no longer seems crazy--there are lots of charming little art and craft markets along the coastal highway that we can sell at throughout the Summer and Fall as well.

It is funny, as ever since college I had imagined myself on the road in some kind of "house on wheels". I spent many hours visualizing (and designing) house trucks, converted school buses and gypsy caravans. True, the van is a little less romantic than those images, but probably a lot more practical for now. And if we keep doing faires and markets and need more space, there could still be reason to convert a step van or delivery truck into an amazingly versatile wheeled camper/booth/portable studio in a few years. Such lovely daydreams for making masks by!

Two more Spring events (free, and in Portland)

2009-04-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Goblin Art is doing two more shows this Spring, and both events are free to the public!

Faire in the Grove
Friday May 1st - Sunday May 3rd
McMenamins Grand Lodge,
3505 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove, OR 97116

Featuring merchants, entertainment, artisan and medieval life demonstrations, and more!

The St Johns Bizarre
May 9th (Parade Day), 10am-6pm
Located in the St Johns Plaza, adjacent to the US Bank,
7440 N Philadelphia, Portland, OR 97203

The Bizarre is "a 'Celebration of the Strange' that showcases the unique and eclectic character of North Portland". Please note that N Lombard Street will be closed from N Burr to N New York streets from noon until 2pm, for the 47th Annual St Johns Parade.

Hope to see some of you soon!

St Johns Bizarre

2009-03-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

Rick and I at the Bizarre in 2007, photo by the Portland Sentinel

I just noticed that the local mini-newspaper The Portland Sentinel is using our photo to promote this year's St John's Bizarre!. May 9th 2009 is "Parade Day", a big day for many folks at this end of town. The 47th Annual St. Johns Parade will be rolling along N Lombard St, and the "Bizarre" will be in the St Johns plaza with performers and art vendors and food booths. As described by the Sentinel: "The Bizarre is a 'Celebration of the Strange' that showcases the unique and eclectic character of North Portland."
We'll come up with some kind of amusing plan for the day, although I don't know if we'll have a booth there this year. What I really want to do is create something fabulous for the parade (think giant puppets, or a bike-towed mini-float), but time is already slipping though our fingers and there are so many other projects awaiting my attention... We'll see what happens!

Spring update

2009-03-26T16:29:00.000-07:00

Preview of Goblin Art feature in FAE magazine, photo by Theresa Pridemore

It has been a busy month in the studio, between assorted special orders, preparations for some local craft shows, and assembling photos and interview answers for a forthcoming Goblin Art feature in Faeries and Enchantment (FAE) Magazine!

Earlier this week I met with my wonderful and talented friend Theresa Pridemore for a couple of photoshoots. A glimpse of the outcome is shown above--that is me wearing the iridescent green mask I made last year. That photo and others will be in the FAE magazine article, along with a "How To" article for paper mache wearable horns.

For people in Portland, here are the two events this weekend where my masks and horns will be available:

Pagan Faire 2009
http://www.paganfaire.net
March 28th, 10am - 5pm
World Forestry Center, Portland OR

The 7th Annual Vampires Masquerade Ball
http://www.vampireballpdx.com
March 28th, 9pm - March 29th, 2am
Melody Ballroom, Portland, OR
(Look for the Goblin Art booth in the vendor hall).
I will be running the Pagan Faire booth during the day, and then I will trade off with Rick so he can run the booth at the Vampire Masquerade that evening.

Then the following weekend I will be vending here:

2009 Spring Fairy Festival
http://www.springfairyfestival.com
April 4th, Noon - 8pm
Freighthouse Square, 25th St., Tacoma, WA

If you are not in the Pacific Northwest but are thinking about special ordering a mask for Spring and Summer events, please hurry--my Spring production schedule is almost full! I do still have plenty of openings for late Summer mask orders, (after Faerieworlds).

I hope you are all having a lovely Spring!

Faerie Magazine out on January 30

2009-01-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

Images copyright Faerie Magazine

The new sale date for the Winter issue of Faerie Magazine is January 30th. Their photo of the Dark Copper Fae mask is fantastic!

Mardi Gras Season begins!

2009-01-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

Goblin Art masks photographed Fat Tuesday 2007 by etsy seller Cory Lowry.

Twelfth-Night is here, and it is the beginning of Carnivale! In our house, that means finally taking down the Christmas decor and putting the purple, green and gold trappings of Mardi Gras up in its place.

Fat Tuesday falls on February 24th this year, which gives us seven whole weeks of merry-making! In New Orleans, the first costume balls of the season will occur tonight. I dream of a year when we can spend the entirety of the time between Twelfth-Night and Fat Tuesday enjoying the masquerades and festivities of New Orleans! But alas, this year will instead mark our second New Orleans Mardi Gras missed since 2002. (Oh, how that aches!) We do not intend to make a habit of staying away though, and look forward to returning to the French Quarter's Mask Market and the St Ann's Parade in 2010 when the sproggling is a little older, (and the economy is--fingers crossed--a little stronger).

But to kick off Carnival time, I though I would treat y'all to a few glimpses of the inside of the Goblin Art studio as I busily prepare masks and horns for the season.

The most recently finished masks.

Wearable horns awaiting painting, triming or threading.

Shelves of maskmaking materials.

More shelves around the studio, containing some of the denizens that watch me work:

Dark Copper Fae mask + Faerieworlds news

2009-01-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

The Faerie Magazine mask "Dark Copper Fae" is now for sale on Etsy! The official sale date of the Winter issue is January 15th, but subscribers should see the magazine in their mailboxes about a week earlier.

Also, I have good news for mask and fairy fans in the Pacific NW!

Firstly, if you plan to attend the Good Faeries / Bad Faeries Masquerade Balls in Eugene, OR on January 30th and 31st, Goblin Art's wearable horns will be available at the booth of our good friend Dragonmaker. The balls are being organized by the good folks of Faerieworlds, so should be wonderful. If you are interested in procuring a Goblin Art mask for the balls however, you can either order one from my etsy shop, or you may contact me to arrange for a mask viewing at the Goblin Art studio.

Secondly, I am very happy to announce that Goblin Art will be returning to the Faerieworlds Festival in Veneta, OR this Summer, July 31-August 2nd! It will certainly be quite an adventure vending a three day event with a toddler, but I can hardly imagine a more creative and magical place for him to visit.

In the booth at Faerieworlds 2007, photo by Flickr user

Here's hoping everyone is having a wonderful start to 2009. Happy New Year to you all!

On the work table

2008-12-04T18:10:00.001-08:00

Four masks I painted today. Two of them are designed especially to work with glasses, which is something people have been asking me to do for years! While I had attempted that challenge a couple of times previously, I just ended up over-complicating things and getting results I wasn't satisfied with. But it turned out the solution was very simple, all I needed to do was remove the side portion of the mask where the arms of the glasses pass the side of the face. (The glasses go over the nose of the mask, which works best if they are the kind with little rubber feet under the bridge). The altered mask designs look fine without glasses too, giving people lots of options. The trick won't work with all my mask designs, but I am still very pleased to have several that will.

Mask for Faerie Magazine!

2008-12-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of teaser photos of a mask I created especially for Faerie Magazine. I would show you more, but that would spoil the surprise! They are having a mask feature in their Winter/January issue, and I am delighted to be included. The editor was very sad to send the mask back after the photoshoot was completed, but it means that I will be offering it for sale on my etsy store! Look for it to be listed in early January, closer to the Faerie Magazine issue's release.

Welcome to the new blog

2008-10-25T22:40:00.001-07:00

In conjunction with the Goblin Art website reopening, I decided to move the Goblin Art Journal over to blogspot. Expect more photos and information about my art, my artistic techniques, and the various studio inner-workings from now on! You'll also find out more about some of my other interests and obsessions. But just to get things started, I went ahead and ported over some of my favorite posts from my old blogs. Some you may have read before, others may be new to you!

I hope you'll enjoy visiting this corner of the web, and will come back to see more.

All the best,
-Monica of the Masks

Bottom's mask for Midsummer Night's Dream

2008-07-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

The Water in the Desert Festival is doing a Butoh adaption of Midsummer Night's Dream. It sounds fascinating, so even though I am not officially taking commissions right now, I was very excited to make them a donkey mask for Bottom's transformation...

The face of the mask is vaccuformed from ABS plastic. Those of you who saw the Wicker Man film may recognize this as the horse mask design Rick and I did for them. While we're actually steering away from using plastic now (more discussion on that later), we had a couple of horse heads lying around waiting to be put to good use. To make a donkey though, I did need to make larger ears. I did not take photos of that process, which is too bad as it was a new technique and turned out rather well. But it involved making ear-like shapes out of cardboard cereal boxes, masking tape and staples, padding them out with twisted paper and more masking tape, a layer of paper mache, and then dipping them in a product called Liquiche--kind of a liquid paper mache/polymer hybrid. The single layer of regular paper mache simply gave the Liquiche something to bond to.

Because the budget and time for this project were tight, I opted to paint the mask with a "suede" textured brown spray paint. To ensure good adhesion of the paint to the plastic, I first primed the mask with a spray primer formulated especially for plastic. The texture is slightly reminiscent of the short hair of horses and donkeys.

Once the spray paint was fully cured, I added detail with brushes and acrylic paint, and sealed it all with a clear matte spray paint.

Here's another view, with the mask looking especially donkey-like!

Lastly, I took raffia fibers (from a hula skirt!) that I had previously dyed shades of brown, and sewed them to the mask. Donkeys actually have much shorter hair than horses, so I'm making use of creative license to give the mask a long "mane" to hide the actor's head. I did emphasize the verticality of the tuft of hair between the ears though, as donkeys have more of a mohawk than a fringe.

And another view of the finished mask!

And just for fun, this is what the original horse mask looked like. This one has a finish of handmade paper.

I also did a unicorn version (shown at the Goblin Art booth at Mardi Gras Mask Market in New Orleans) in 2006.

Water in the Desert Festival
Art, Ritual, Performance, Ecology
July 26, 2008, 1-10PM, Peninsula Park, 700 N. Rosa Parks Way, Portland, OR
THIS IS A FREE EVENT!
The Midsummer Night's Dream performance starts at 7pm, amongst the roses.

New piece for October mask show

2007-09-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Finishing this mask for the Quirks show was a much needed breath of fresh air.

I started it way back in 2005 (!!!) when I had a little time available to experiment with a couple of mask ideas, but since then I had been too busy or stuck in the same routine to complete it. However, being invited to join a last minute mask show this October was the perfect excuse to dust the bits off and see what I could do with them.

It is really quite sad to realize that I have not finished any one-of-a-kind pieces for my own enjoyment in over two years. In fact, the only thing that made it possible this time is that I start my Maternity Leave in two weeks, so I have been holding off taking a lot of special orders and custom requests recently.

Anyhow, I am quite dizzy with excitement about what this transition means. I have spent too long throwing myself at the mercy of other people's demands. It is time to do art for myself for awhile.

I hope you will enjoy the results.

Back from Faerieworlds

2007-07-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Things were far too busy this weekend to take many photos, but I did manage to get a few of the booth.

The cards in the center were created by my wonderful friend Theresa and are quite wonderful. The idea was to merge photos of found objects and some of my masks with lost portrait photographs she has collected from antique stores and estate sales.

Convergence 13 photos

2007-07-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

"Old Halloween" was kind enough to send me a link to some Convergence 13 photos online, that included some shots of the booth. It will be interesting to see how different this set-up will be to the Faerieworlds set-up.

Countdown to Faerieworlds!

2007-07-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

And here are the masks I have painted so far! They still need to be clear-coated, padded, ribboned and elasticed, and in some cases feathered and beaded! I have nine others that were finished previously, and another ten I shall try to finish painting today, (crazy, I know!) Hopefully there will be a total of at least fifty real masks completed by the end of this Thursday, along with two dozen of the budget masks (seen in the front of the photo). Finally have some help (besides dear Rick--when he has a free moment) in the studio tomorrow, to work on horns and gluing. I still need to paint 39 goblin magnets too. Busy, busy!

Mask stands!

2007-07-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Dearest Rick helped me put together new wood and brass mask stands yesterday! They still need to be painted, but already look so much prettier than the old ones we left in New Orleans. (The old ones were made of plywood, PVC pipe, and old coat hanger wire!)

And as a bonus, you get to see my new Hawk mask design!

Presenting Avian Fable

2007-04-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

Postcard image copyright by Hot Little Hands

Presenting:

Avian Fable
A collaborative evening of dance

8pm, May 3 - 6, 2007
Portland Actors Conservatory Firehouse Theatre
1436 SW Montgomery St.

Based on the surreal paintings of David Stein,
featuring choreography by Suniti Dernovsek, costumes by Selene Chavez,
and masks by Monica Roxburgh of Goblin Art.

Photo copyright by Hot Little Hands

Entry page

2007-01-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

www.GoblinArt.com
Magnificent Masks & Quaint Curiosities

by Monica J. Roxburgh

Portland, OR

View blog entries