Welcome! I hope you enjoy your time on the site as well as wearing one of my creations! I also hope that after your event, you'll be proud to display the mask!
I started masking masks when I was in high school. My teacher had said it was Mardi Gras and we were going to do a masking project, but first, we had to make our masks. I still have my first mask. It's just cut cardboard, colored with a magic marker, on a straw, but it was the beginning of a lifelong passion.
I started in 2000, making newer masks, to fit in with my design for another website. From there, mask making quickly turned into an obsession, then a money making venture when friends wanted to actually buy my work. I won't stop now, I love it too much.
Fancy feathers, Austrian crystals and my glue gun are my favorite toys. I enjoy working with different bases, from plastic to clay and papier mache. Soon, I hope to start working in all leather. I do several craft and art shows around the Northern California area, year round. Between customers, work on making more masks.
Because I love Italy, and masks, the ideas coalesced onto The Masque, another term for a masquerade ball. I have been to Venice three times now and hope to return, during Carnivale, soon. Images of Italy, New Orleans and Rio inspire some of my designs, my dreams form the others.
I think masks are a way of bringing out the true person in each of us. Each mask is different and different masks suit different wearers. In my opinion, there is a mask for every person, that, like makeup or clothing, enhances the wearer's soul or aura, if one believes in that. A single beautiful mask will not look perfect on every person, it must be an extension of his or her own personality to look right. When the wearer finds the perfect mask, the face may be hidden, but the personality is brought forth.
I love learning new techniques and styles of masks and take my inspiration where I can find it - from a pile of old clothes or jewelry to the streets of Venice and New Orleans. Garage and church sales are my favorite places to find unique materials.
Personally, I have moved 18 times and don’t plan to again soon, though I have lived all over Maryland, California, Georgia, Italy, and the Philippines. I currently live in Portland, Oregon. I have really good vacation pictures, since I love traveling. I have a great relationship with my family and actually like them as people. I enjoy writing poetry and short stories and hope that it has some effect on the readers. Just as a warning, if a new Harry Potter book is coming out, I am not available temporarily for commissions, shipping masks that are already made, or inquiries until I have read the book and recovered from it.
I started masking masks when I was in high school. My teacher had said it was Mardi Gras and we were going to do a masking project, but first, we had to make our masks. I still have my first mask. It's just cut cardboard, colored with a magic marker, on a straw, but it was the beginning of a lifelong passion.
I started in 2000, making newer masks, to fit in with my design for another website. From there, mask making quickly turned into an obsession, then a money making venture when friends wanted to actually buy my work. I won't stop now, I love it too much.
Fancy feathers, Austrian crystals and my glue gun are my favorite toys. I enjoy working with different bases, from plastic to clay and papier mache. Soon, I hope to start working in all leather. I do several craft and art shows around the Northern California area, year round. Between customers, work on making more masks.
Because I love Italy, and masks, the ideas coalesced onto The Masque, another term for a masquerade ball. I have been to Venice three times now and hope to return, during Carnivale, soon. Images of Italy, New Orleans and Rio inspire some of my designs, my dreams form the others.
I think masks are a way of bringing out the true person in each of us. Each mask is different and different masks suit different wearers. In my opinion, there is a mask for every person, that, like makeup or clothing, enhances the wearer's soul or aura, if one believes in that. A single beautiful mask will not look perfect on every person, it must be an extension of his or her own personality to look right. When the wearer finds the perfect mask, the face may be hidden, but the personality is brought forth.
I love learning new techniques and styles of masks and take my inspiration where I can find it - from a pile of old clothes or jewelry to the streets of Venice and New Orleans. Garage and church sales are my favorite places to find unique materials.
Personally, I have moved 18 times and don’t plan to again soon, though I have lived all over Maryland, California, Georgia, Italy, and the Philippines. I currently live in Portland, Oregon. I have really good vacation pictures, since I love traveling. I have a great relationship with my family and actually like them as people. I enjoy writing poetry and short stories and hope that it has some effect on the readers. Just as a warning, if a new Harry Potter book is coming out, I am not available temporarily for commissions, shipping masks that are already made, or inquiries until I have read the book and recovered from it.
I can be reached at Benevolntgoddess@aol.com
BenevolntGoddess@aol.com
BenevolntGoddess@aol.com
Shipping Information:
If a mask must be made, I'll need time to do that. Please feel free to contact me to find out exactly how much time I'll need. I'm happy to ship overnight, 2-day or ground, depending on your needs.
Copyrights, Refund, Returns and Cancellation Policies:
Every mask can be shipped within the US or internationally. Purchaser pays actual shipping charges. Personal check, money order, electronic check, and credit cards, through PayPal.com, are all accepted. Non-US currency is also accepted, at current exchange rates through PayPal. Since each mask is handmade and duplicable, no mask may be returned unless damaged, for repairs, then it will be resent. An additional charge may apply. Commissions and special orders are welcomed. Photographs of the mask in use are always welcome and may be posted on the mask’s web page, with the model’s permission. Artwork is the intellectual property of the artist, purchase of the mask does not convey copyright to the purchaser of the mask.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do the masks stay on? Unless a mask is on a stick for you to hold, it will have ribbons on the sides. I dislike elastic because it gets brittle in a fairly short time.
Will you put my mask on a stick or take the stick off? It depends on the design of the mask. Let's talk about it.
I love a certain mask but I'd really like it in another color. Can you do that? Usually, but it really depends on what other color you want. A lot of times, a new color means that certain other elements need to change as well. Feel free to contact me about it.
You use fur! Shame on you! You eat meat, you wear leather shoes. Hush. I get my fur and leathers from responsible hunters who hunt for dinner. Rather than waste something that can be used after their dinner is done, the hunters are taking responsibility and giving/selling me what would otherwise be waste.
Do you make everything yourself? Sometimes I decorate a pre-made mask, as a painter would a canvas, sometimes I make the base as well. I don't make the feathers, flowers or the crystals that I use.
Are you an artist or a crafter? Perhaps a little of both.
I have an idea for a mask but can't make it myself. Would you? Sure, however, unless you can exactly draw the mask you want, there will be differences between what's in my head from your descriptions and what's in your head. Please expect those.
Where do you get your materials? All over the place. I have wholesale accounts with different vendors for different things. If you need advise on where to shop, I'll be happy to tell you.
How do you think of the different designs? No clue. Sometimes it starts with a movie or an emotion or even just looking at a flower. Frequently, I find one of the elements of the mask and the rest builds from there.
Do you do this full time? Not now. I used to, however.
Who is "Goddess of the Masque" and goddessmasks? That's my old business name.
Do you take commissions? Yup.
If a mask must be made, I'll need time to do that. Please feel free to contact me to find out exactly how much time I'll need. I'm happy to ship overnight, 2-day or ground, depending on your needs.
Copyrights, Refund, Returns and Cancellation Policies:
Every mask can be shipped within the US or internationally. Purchaser pays actual shipping charges. Personal check, money order, electronic check, and credit cards, through PayPal.com, are all accepted. Non-US currency is also accepted, at current exchange rates through PayPal. Since each mask is handmade and duplicable, no mask may be returned unless damaged, for repairs, then it will be resent. An additional charge may apply. Commissions and special orders are welcomed. Photographs of the mask in use are always welcome and may be posted on the mask’s web page, with the model’s permission. Artwork is the intellectual property of the artist, purchase of the mask does not convey copyright to the purchaser of the mask.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do the masks stay on? Unless a mask is on a stick for you to hold, it will have ribbons on the sides. I dislike elastic because it gets brittle in a fairly short time.
Will you put my mask on a stick or take the stick off? It depends on the design of the mask. Let's talk about it.
I love a certain mask but I'd really like it in another color. Can you do that? Usually, but it really depends on what other color you want. A lot of times, a new color means that certain other elements need to change as well. Feel free to contact me about it.
You use fur! Shame on you! You eat meat, you wear leather shoes. Hush. I get my fur and leathers from responsible hunters who hunt for dinner. Rather than waste something that can be used after their dinner is done, the hunters are taking responsibility and giving/selling me what would otherwise be waste.
Do you make everything yourself? Sometimes I decorate a pre-made mask, as a painter would a canvas, sometimes I make the base as well. I don't make the feathers, flowers or the crystals that I use.
Are you an artist or a crafter? Perhaps a little of both.
I have an idea for a mask but can't make it myself. Would you? Sure, however, unless you can exactly draw the mask you want, there will be differences between what's in my head from your descriptions and what's in your head. Please expect those.
Where do you get your materials? All over the place. I have wholesale accounts with different vendors for different things. If you need advise on where to shop, I'll be happy to tell you.
How do you think of the different designs? No clue. Sometimes it starts with a movie or an emotion or even just looking at a flower. Frequently, I find one of the elements of the mask and the rest builds from there.
Do you do this full time? Not now. I used to, however.
Who is "Goddess of the Masque" and goddessmasks? That's my old business name.
Do you take commissions? Yup.
