Masks, Masks, And More Masks

Ah, the other side of the weekend. It was a a fairly quiet few days aside from the huge, I must clean the house for no good reason, that came over me on Friday. Okay, so I do know what came over me...I was hitting rock bottom in a rut. These happen periodically, first I get tired of the routine and I start avoiding any extra cleaning beyond the necessary maintenance. Then annoyance at nothing cleaning itself wells up until I snap and spend two or three days cleaning carpets and floors and generally behaving is a mildly crazy way that frankly scares my husband a bit. This usually ends in a rant regarding all the things that annoy me and finally a realization and acceptance that most of these things won't change, but I will still be fine. I shrug my shoulders and get back to work.

So about that work. I spent much of Friday, when I wasn't cleaning, remaking the small things that had sold recently. Saturday I got to work a little bit on the new mask. I've reached the embellishment phase of the piece. Once the wires are covered these masks always take their form so quickly.  They go from a pile of loose lace to a nearly perfect mask form. For this one I've added black and red crystals as well as these silver filigree bits. I've only begun on the embroidery now. I'm using a black thread with a silver filament for this one. It pulls and separates a bit more than the silver I used for the other masks, but I wanted the black to pull the piece together a bit more. I do, however, have to put this one on the back burner again as I have a commission to work on.

Starting Saturday afternoon, there was a discussion with a customer the possible remaking of my first Masquerade mask. I explained that it was a one of a kind creation and that I could never remake it exactly and I pointed them to the newer one. Honestly, I didn't really think the customer was making a serious inquiry as the cost of the mask is so high it makes me immediately skeptical. The conversation went on after that when I further suggested that I could make something similar, but it would not be exact. To my surprise the customer returned Sunday with a thorough explanation of the elements they loved from the first mask and an obvious intent to purchase. So, I now have a commission with half paid up front to create a twin to the first mask. It will be a fraternal twin, but with the information the customer provided, I feel confident that I can create one that will please them. Hell, I wish all custom work came with such details.

I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of invalidating the first mask as a one of a kind creation though. Most of my pieces are easily recreated, but the ones I make with the intent to not remake...well, they are like a piece of art to me. I feel like part of their value is that there is not another one like it anywhere. So my intent with this commission is to create a piece similar enough to please the customer that is still one of a kind. It should be quite the challenge and of course all I will be doing until it is done. That reminds me, I need to buy more sequins.