Over many years spent sitting indoors making masks and other art pieces from modern materials, I often found myself day-dreaming of wandering though wild lands, seeking creative inspiration within nature. And thus an idea began to form... Why not seek out such wild places, and make my art out there?

But my art at that time was so dependent on plastic-based products that I could not consider crafting it outside of an enclosed studio.

So I started thinking... What if my creative process became an act of collaboration with nature? What if my art was in fact made out of the land? But then it dawned on me... over three decades spent training and working professionally as an artist, I had not obtained the knowledge or tools to bring this idea to fruition.

This moment became a turning point in my life, and I spent the following seven years studying earth-based arts and crafts and nature skills.

I also started researching the mask and mumming traditions of my European ancestors. I made simple woven masks based on the Scottish and Irish straw mask traditions(1), adapting the methods to locally available cattail/bulrush leaves.

I then found out about traditional European painted and embroidered mesh masks (1,2), originally crafted from loosely woven fabric, then later made from wire mesh(2). This gave me an idea to try making masks from recycled burlap coffee sacks. 

Now my ideas had expanded from using just "wild" materials to using modern biodegradable materials. I then recalled a "kitchen science" recipe for a cornstarch and glycerin-based bioplastic(3) that I realized could be used to stiffen the burlap, and my burlap and bioplastic mask-making method was born.

Since then I have also adapted my paper mache methods to use biodegradable paste and cellulose-based materials including recycled cardboard and reclaimed paper fiber. Natural paint remains the biggest challenge, for while I have had some great results with earth-based pigments, they are definitely more challenging, time consuming to work with, and delicate than acrylics. So for now, with my own work I have accepted a compromise: I will use synthetic paints, glues and finishes in the studio when a project requires it, but when I create art in nature I endeavor to use only natural and/or biodegradable materials.

One thing I have noticed is there is a particular aesthetic quality of work made with biodegradable materials that I feel actually invites integration with local pigments, plant materials, and natural fibers. I believe this has fascinating potential for future work (and workshops) on connection to place through the creation of place-based art, and ultimately in crafting a dialogue with nature through the creative process of mask-making. Which is exactly what the masked European mummers I was reading about were originally doing.