The Lord of Wild Things

I love the experience of allowing a new mask to morph into existence. I'm taken on a fantastic journey which begins with my willingness to let go of preconceived ideas. My latest began with a simple idea...the merging of two leather circles of the same size into one mask. This starting point was sparked by my recent interest in the sacred geometry of crop circles. A crop circle is a large pattern created by the flattening of a crop such as wheat or rye. Over the last couple of months I've looked, with great interest, at dozens of images and am absolutely awestruck by the extraordinary complexity and precision of these formations. At least as remarkable as their beauty and execution is their unknown origin.

To give you an idea of scale, here is a picture taken of a field in Wiltshire, England 2010.

Having heard about crop circles in the past, I was genuinely intrigued. Though back then my reaction resembled what I felt when I heard stories about UFO sightings...amazement tempered by not knowing what to make of the various theories ranging from natural phenomena and man-made hoaxes, to the paranormal. The fact that no one could say for sure how they were made, or by whom or what, had the effect of devaluing the lesson they had to teach me. That is until recently. Timing is such a funny thing. Part of the magic of crop circles is that their power can only be fully accessed through a shift in one's awareness. It's precisely within that shift that a deeper understanding of oneself emerges.

This mask, Cernunnos (The Lord of Wild Things), began, morphed, and came into being as the crop circles whispered to me, "Abandon your expectations, nothing is as it seems." Here's to the power of shifting dimensions.

ps - click on the image for a larger view.

Let me tell you about JohnnyB...

A couple of years back JohnnyB asked me to make a mask for him. Not in the usual sense, JohnnyB wanted a mask dedicated to and called by his name. Somehow this request did not seem unusual coming from him. Though I don't know him well, he's the embodiment of dark whimsy and liking his boldness, I agreed with the condition that he must be patient. All of the masks in my collection arrive when they do and this would be no different. Since then he's asked me a couple of times about his mask and all I could offer was a somewhat bewildered apology wondering myself when would the time come. Recently, he wrote asking "Where is JohnnyB?" adding that if I needed a Muse he was available late, late at night over Gotham. With this he sent me a photograph of himself, white faced with a red heart and black spade painted one around each eye. He was winking and had his arm around a woman all dressed in polka dots. Well...sometimes I just need a little push! JohnnyB this mask is for you. It wears your name proudly and with great mischief is ready for whatever new adventure awaits. Gotham needs a hero with a face my friend. You're it.

Below is a left and right side view of JohnnyB. These images are of the same mask. JohnnyB is made up of two masks merged together and protruding forward creating the three dimensional shape of a spade. When not being worn this mask rests comfortably on a table top.

With minor alterations, I'll be adding JohnnyB to the Garden of Stories Collection (on my website) over the upcoming month.

Loving my new website.

Seems it takes me about two years of ruminating to become fully aware of needed improvements to the navigation of my website. It's an organic process with lots of reflecting and waiting for the right design to suggest itself. Recently, through an acquaintance on Facebook, I discovered what's referred to as "one page" site design. When you visit my new website you'll understand right away what that means. It's so simple and easy to get around (scrolling up and down) that I couldn't resist using this model as a way of navigating.

For ease of viewing, I've divided the masks into six (formerly three) Collections. Within each Collection new masks have been sprinkled here and there. In the upcoming months, I'll be adding an additional video (see "Video" link) featuring my new studio/gallery in Phoenicia, NY.

Another new addition is my Newsletter. Here's a link if you'd like to sign up http://tiny.cc/rcig4 Though I don't do many mailings, I'm excited about finally being able to manage my email list effectively. I hope you'll stay connected but no hard feelings if you'd like to opt out, there's an unsubscribe link at the bottom of this note for that. For those who remain, thank you for being a part of my mask adventure. Rest assured that never, under any circumstances, will I share your name or email information with anyone.

I want to thank Jason Pepping for his incredible work creating this website and for always being patient in response to the hundreds of nitpicky emails he received from me requesting changes. Jason, you're a star!

I hope you enjoy visiting my site and please, please, please feel free to let me know if you experience any glitches getting around. I'll do what I can to improve things based on your experience.

Endless possibilities...http://www.wendydrolma.com

Warm regards, Wendy