Sunny and 75 today in beautiful Marathon. Time for the annual Pigeon Key Art Fair, which benefits the Pigeon Key Foundation and its efforts to maintain this little key along the old Seven Mile Bridge.

This is my fourth art show in my winter tour and probably the best weather to date. It’s the first time I’ve done this show, so we’ll see how it goes!

Thankfully it ends Sunday at 5, so hopefully we’ll be able to tear down and get in front of a TV somewhere to watch the Super Bowl!

Now we’re heading south from WPB to the Keys for several weeks and my first show in the Keys is this weekend in Old Town Key West. Whitehead Street and part of Truman Annex are closed for the artist booths.  It’s a fun, laid-back show with a lot of great work. Last year I was in Truman annex by a huge Banyan tree. Did you know Banyans are not indigenous to Florida but were imported from India? Anyway, come out and see me this weekend if you’re in Margaritaville!

It’s time for my second art fair in Florida this winter! I’m booth 95 at the City Place Art Fair in West Palm Beach.  The artist tents will be all along Rosemary Avenue within this shopping mecca.  Come check out my original wall sculptures and masks inspired by African, Asian and Latin American cultures.

This  weekend is my first art show of five in south Florida this winter.  My  booth  is in  the  same place as last year (#192), east of the intercoastal and  on the  north side of  Atlantic Avenue.  I’ll have  my  wall sculptures,  African  masks, Aztec masks and some 3D sculptures, all  inspired by  ancient tribes  and  cultures.

Here’s a cool treasury, no pun intended, called “cool and copper” featuring one of my favorite creations of all time, Burning Man’s Heart. Check out the art on Design Style Guide.

Burning Man's Heart

I created a new treasury on Design Style Guide called Artistic Expressions.  Check out the “faces” presented by numerous talented artists. The treasury expires on 12/10.

Baboon, an African-inspired mask, is my entry for the treasury.

Close to 100  African tribes make and use masks.

African tribal mask makers are not free to make any mask they want.  They must follow religious and spiritural rules.

Before cutting down a tree,  the mask-maker has to visit a wizard to undergo a purification ceremony and make a sacrifice to the spirit of the tree.  This purification ceremony protects the mask-maker against the rage of the tree spirit.

Once the first blow is struck with the axe, the mask-maker puts his lips to the tree and sucks out a small amount of sap.  This makes him become a part of the tree’s “family.”  After the tree is cut down, it must be left alone for a few days for the tree spirit to find another dwelling.  Even after the tree is chopped down, it continues to have miraculous powers, requiring the mask-maker to follow specific rules and practices.

When the mask-carver starts carving, he cannot freely make whatever shape he wishes.  The first rule is that the mask must represent his own ethnic group (of which there are over 1,000 ethnic groups).  If  not, he risks the anger of his entire village, and the rage of the tree spirit.  While the mask is taking shape, it is believed that the powers of the wood are increasing.

When the mask is finished, the wizard must hold a consecration ceremony which turns the mask into a dwelling place for the spirit to which it is dedicated, and afterward, the mask can be used in religioius ceremonies.

African masks vary in shape and appearance.

Ancestor masks have a serene look, while masks of non-human spirits have a bizzare face.  Masks with horns are used in exorcism ceremonies, while protruding eyes and cold expressions represent spirit posession.

White masks represent the dead looking in on the living, and round faces represent high degrees of spirituality.  C heckerboard patterns represent separations.  These can be separations between good and evil, men and women, or intelligence and stupidity.

Religious ceremonies with masks are allowed to be viewed almost excusively by men.  Regardless of the sex of a mask, the wearer is always a man.  Some villages even believe that if a woman sets eyes on a mask, she will die.  The mask represents a supernatural living person.  The person wearing the mask is considered to be in direct contact with the mask’s spirit. A mask offers a chance to a supernatural being for incarnation.  Because a mask is sacred, violating the rules of its use is punished severely, even by death.

Ok… so I had no idea what I was going to write about today. I was racking my brain last night… another mural? an essay on gentrification? I was stumped.

And then out of nowhere… I found THIS. I saw it from the corner of my eye and thought “What’s that?” As I stepped closer I found this lovely little creature in red with his/her fantastic aura of twigs & sticks… then I noticed the inscription in stone underneath. West Oakland Home. Which I found fascinating, because West Oakland is my home, however I did not find this in West Oakland. Very strange.

Check out the magic charm at his base… a stone with four screws (presumably representing North, South, East, and West) all meticulously wrapped in blood red thread. This was some serious mojo.

I walked past the creature and came upon the weirdest and most fantastic pile of stuff… it was only then that I realized I was standing in the middle of a very deliberately created sacred space. The centerpiece is below… constructed out of a hundred or more hand sewn dolls with beautiful individual beads for eyes and mouths, all laid out in a circle.

Inside this circle was an interior circle constructed out of chunks of wood, and inside this two guardians flanked an intricate metal lantern, a red-feathered arrow stuck into the ground, and a dish of offerings. The “dish” was constructed out of a knarled piece of wood… resting in it, a necklace of the cross, beads, kernels of corn, and tobacco leaves.

I was fascinated! The fact that someone would create such an elaborate display in a public place. And then leave it. I was also a little bit nervous. Was it ok to be standing inside this space? Would I somehow be desecrating it by walking upon it? I have no idea how this voodoo magic stuff works. I tried to be respectful and appreciative.

It was then that I noticed the masks. The installation was set in a large rectangular plot of land… the red creature from the first photo marked the entrance. At each corner of the plot was a unique and unbelievably beautiful mask. One had a tag that said it was handcrafted in Ghana, carved out of a single piece of wood, and designed to “radiate the magic of Africa.” These two were my favorites…

This one was West…

South…

East…

And North…

I gave a nod of gratitude to each of these masks and to the four corners of our planet. It seemed like the thing to do. If anyone knows anything about casting spells or spiritual rituals of this sort, I would love more information. I am in awe of this beautiful gift of art.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone. May the mojo move you!

A few finished masks from the Petroglyph Elementary second graders. Thanks for sharing the photo, Joan!

Trainings for our Volunteer Program lesson on African Masks were held October 6th and 10th in Albuquerque, then Oct. 14th in Moriarty. Dr. Nancy Pauly, Associate Professor in the University of New Mexico’s Art Education Program, provided a wonderful background lecture on African art. She brought items from her own collection, gathered during her many trips there. Bethe Sailer showed the volunteers how to make a mask from a paper template, decorating it with seeds, beans, raffia and more. They really got into it!

It’s funny, but when you ask a bunch of adults to get their picture taken with their mask, they instantly stand up and pose!

African Art Carvings are sought after by collectors world wide.  Of particular interest are the African Tribal Masks from countries such as Ghana.  Most of these carvings follow traditional designs, but there are many contemporary styles now available.  On the traditional side, you can find dolls, musical instruments, carved gourds which are amazing,  baskets, bowls, and religious items.  African Animal Carvings are always in demand also. 

After reading about artists being on Artfire.com, I thought I’d put artwork up there as well. I can do 12 pieces at a time, and this is the first one that I just loaded!

If you want to see past blogs about the August 8 Auction, go to Categories in the column on the right and hit “Auction.”  Here are some photos of items:

These masks will be at our Auction on August 8 at Grove Auctions, 7540 Highway 64, Brasstown, NC 28902, between Murphy, NC and Hayesville, NC.  Silent Auction begins at 5:30 p.m., Live at 7  p.m.  Call 828-837-9200.

Among the many African treasures donated by Faye and Bob Strang to the Murphy Library’s August 8 auction are two Masai  masks from Kenya. 

Keep checking this blog to see other items at the auction.  It is scheduled for August 8 at Grove Auctions on U. S. 64 East Alternate, two miles east of the Murphy Medical Center.  The Silent Auction starts at 5: 30 p.m., the Live Auction at 7.  Free admission and wonderful refreshments.  Call 837-2417.

This Afriican-inspired mask is now on my Etsy shop.

I’ve been trying to add enough items to my online shop on Etsy to reach the 50 milestone. Thankfully a few things have sold on the store and I’ve sold things at shows, so I keep deleting and then adding new pieces. Tomorrow the mixed media work and masks will be a “feature” on Etsy. We’ll see if that investment will lead to more people going to my page??

Cherokee County residents Faye and Bob Strang have given the Murphy Library their collection of African art to be auctioned off at the Friends of Murphy Library August 8 auction.  The Silent Auction begins at 5:30 p.m. and the Live Auction starts at 7.  Grove Auctions is hosting the auction on Highway 64 East, two miles east of Murphy Medical Center in Clay County.

I have taken time to add some of my African inspired masks to my Etsy site. Here are a couple of images:

Last night, Art & Air held its opening reception for sponsors, volunteers and artists at the Old Orchard Gallery in the heart of Webster Groves. They allowed some of us to showcase a few pieces that we’ll have in our booths this weekend, June 5 -7!

This is a mask coming from the Bete group. This type of mask is used during funerals or during ceremonies organized between villages  to detect sorcerers that can bring harm to the community . In the past, it used to be a war mask and was used to prepare men for the fights.

Typical of these masks are the protruding forehead, large mouth, narrow eyes and hornlike protuberances to protect the face.

The Bete tribe lives in the southwestern part of Côte d’Ivoire, between the Sassandra and Badama Rivers, close to the Guro and Akan tribes.

The Bete tribe are known to maintain a harmonious relationship between nature and the ancestors.They believe in the spirit world to guide and protect them through daily life. These spirits they believe are found in nature, namely rivers, rocks, forests etc.

They number about 600,000 and are an agricultural group. Patrilinear, the Bete live – under the ancestors’ authority – in small “headless” villages. Historically they were hunters, but nowadays they also farm. They grow what is needed for a subsistence economy. They also have linked to the market economy and much of their effort is devoted to the cultivation of cacao and coffee.

Bete carvers are renowned for one particular type of face mask, the gre or nyabwa , which has exaggerated, grimacing distorted features –

You can purchase this mask and other type of masks by visiting the following link:

http://ie.ebid.net/stores/myafrikart

We already talked about the Kple Kple mask in another note: http://afrikart.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/african-mask_-kple-kple-mask/

I wanted to add more information about this mask. This mask is generally reffered to the Baule group. However it is also associated with the Goli group. The Goli are known to be a sub-group of the Baoule.Their name is a variation of the word ” Kloli” .

You can purchase a Kple Kple mask by visiting the following link:

Back in history the African masks are dramatic portraits of spirit beings, departed ancestors and invisible powers of social control. Each mask was made according to traditional style.

The African masks that hang on walls of Western art museums, detatched from their full-body costumes, were originally part of whole performance ensembles, consisting of elaborately costumed dancers, vibrant music and highly stylized dances. These complex ceremonial events expressed important social, religious and moral values for the whole community. With careful attention to the masks’ artistic and symbolic detail, it is possible to perceive these same values within the mask themselves.

Gifty Naa DK presents traditional and contemporary African masks, wall hangings and statuettes from Ghana. Not only do they carry the message of custom spirits and history, but also good luck and the soul of cultural celebrations. All pieces are handcrafted and detailed; they are usually made of mahogany, ebony or walnut wood. Some of the wall hangings are inspired by village life and mythology studies.

One of the leading importers of African wood carvings in London, I stock a wide range of pieces including African drums, wooden figures, wall figures and masks, king and queen stools and woven baskets. I will upload more pictures here soon as these beautiful traditional pieces should be enjoyed by as many people as possible.