The Clay for the new ‘Magnifico” mask is done and ‘cottled-up’ ready for plastering.
And carving has begun on ‘Big Nose Zanni’. Such a strange thing for me to learn to remove material to reveal the form when I am used to building up with the clay. Streatching my brain and developing new skills.
Into the Clay: first Day
Session Four being the day we make clay designs for the masks. Great session. Although we seem to have lost three people, we look to have gained five new participants. Next week we shall move into casting in paper.
Today I re-hung an old painting which I made in 89/90 while living in Brittany. Curious as to how I made work then, I found the figures have mask like faces, yes, the mask was with me then, I just hadn’t discovered it. Technically it is a bit rubbish, but looking at it again after 26 years helps me clarify my trajectory. At that time I was rediscovering the figurative while looking at my own personal and political concerns….sexuality, individualism and community. Concerns which occupy my practice to this day.
A Trio of Zanni’s as yet to be named.
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Finding our Faces…………….
These are my favourite tools which I use for clay work, paper work and painting. 
The New Year Masks 2014 have been made in response to observing how students at NTU have encountered the sculptural problems they have encountered during my course of mask making. Therefore these masks have been made, not as theatrical or characterful, tools for acting, rather, they are designed to be handled, felt with the hands, in order to enable students to comprehend the mass and volume of human facial physiognomy. Of course, they will be experimented with as theatre masks, to see what happens.
Stephen Jon Mask 