Workshop teaches mask making

Last updated 2/17/2009 at Noon

Gary Miller

Kimry Jelen helps a young artist paint her mask.

Wolves, birds, a giraffe and more fantastical creatures stalked the commons of Sisters High School on Saturday as 60 artists of all ages created masks for the Sisters Folk Festival's My Own Two Hands (MOTH) art project and fund-raiser.

The masks will be worn in a parade during the MOTH Art Stroll on Friday, April 17. The art stroll is followed on Saturday, April 18, by the annual MOTH art party and auction, which is the major fund-raiser for the festival's educational outreach project, The Americana Project.

Sisters artist Kimry Jelen spearheaded the mask-making project and recruited master mask maker Debra Fisher to help.

"I provided patterns for all the animals," Fisher said.

From a base pattern, any kind of animal is possible - including some not found in nature.

Artists from elementary school-age to adult professionals got to work in Saturday's workshop. The pros helped the kids and drew inspiration from their enjoyment.

Bethany Benhower, a student teacher in Sisters, crafted a giraffe, complete with long, slender neck while other artists created feathered birds with a mystical quality.

That quality is not unusual for Fisher, who was drawn into mask-making for costume and art in the 1970s.

"Masks have such a magical quality - a mystical quality in a lot of parts of the world," she said.

Fisher was excited about the project and said she was delighted that the MOTH organizers asked her to participate.

"I am just blown away because they have put together such an incredible project," she said.

Fisher has work on display at DonTerra Artworks in Sisters.

For more information about the mask project and My Own Two Hands visit http://www.sistersfolkfestival.org.

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Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.