Papier Mâché Masks

My first inspirations as a mask maker were the papier mâché masks of the medieval Venetian maschereri guilds - especially the mysterious 'Bauta' character and those of the Commedia dell'Arte. Papier mâché is light, surprisingly tough, and lends itself to complex mouldings of rigid forms. Each papier mâché mask begins life as a hand-sculpted clay mould, which I then cast in plaster and carefully layer with strips of specialist papers. The resulting form is repeatedly gessoed and sanded to the required finish, then trimmed, painted, decorated and sealed as appropriate. During this final stage, each mask takes on its own persona; no two masks will ever be identical, even if made from the same mould.

Click the thumbnails for more information. Where applicable, number tags on images indicate several similar designs.

Animals

Pantomime Cat 1 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 3 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 5 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 7 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 9 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Tabby Masquerade Mask - click for details
Little Rhino Masquerade Mask - click for details
Ebony Tower - White Rabbit Masquerade Mask - click for details
The Mouse King Masquerade Mask - click for details
Leo Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 2 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 4 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 6 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Pantomime Cat 8 Masquerade Mask - click for details
Wolf Masquerade Mask - click for details
Large Rhino Masquerade Mask - click for details
Queen of Cats Masquerade Mask - click for details
Cthulhu Masquerade Mask - click for details
Haunter Of The Dark Masquerade Mask - click for details
Hoodie Craw Masquerade Mask - click for details

Celestial

Hespere, Daughter of the Night Masquerade Mask - click for details
Moon Masquerade Mask - click for details

Egyptian

Khnum Masquerade Mask - click for details
Akhenaten Masquerade Mask - click for details
Bast Mask - click for details

Fantasy

Griffon Masquerade Mask - click for details
Welsh Red Dragon (y Ddraig Goch) Masquerade Mask - click for details

Gothic

Dia de los Muertos Roses Masquerade Mask - click for details
Tick Tock Masquerade Mask - click for details
Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skull Masquerade Mask - click for details
Gargoyle Masquerade Mask - click for details
Little Devil Masquerade Mask - click for details
Persephone Masquerade Mask - click for details
Maleficium Masquerade Mask - click for details

Nature Spirits

Blizzard Masquerade Mask - click for details
Brimstone Masquerade Mask - click for details
Green Man Mask - click for details

Party

Roaring Twenties Masquerade Mask - click for details

Traditional And Theatre

Aristophanes in Gold Masquerade Mask - click for details
Gratiano in Black Masquerade Mask - click for details
Gratiano Masquerade Mask - click for details
Russian Doll Masquerade Mask - click for details
Columbine Masquerade Mask - click for details
Zanni Masquerade Mask - click for details
Arlecchino Masquerade Mask - click for details
Mandarin Masquerade Mask - click for details
Mei Lan Masquerade Mask - click for details

Other

Babylonian Gods Masquerade Mask - click for details