| Zati masks begin with a flock of sheep on an island two miles off the Maine coast. Early in June, friends in a flotilla of lobster boats arrive on the rocky beach. We shear the sheep, and grade and roll the fleeces. Wild irises grow among the rocks, and eagles and seabirds nest in great numbers near the shore. Because of the moor-like island meadows, the fleeces are unusually clean and lustrous. I like unfolding the huge wooly mass at my feet, picking up one end of it and watching each fiber gently twist into the thread that becomes the yarn for the mask. |
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Flowers, bark and roots make the natural dyes. This mask was dyed with madder root from my friend Susanne’s garden. The spirit of the plant or tree remains alive in the wool. Laboring to shape the wool into felt is very much like the birth process: out of water and warmth a new being emerges. The arts and techniques of ancient and native cultures embody the rich relationship of nature and spirit. Through mask making, I have begun to feel that all creation is a mask of the divine. |
