Golden Reverie

Materials used:

wood base, Wyoming;
painted plaster cast of my face;
milkweed dried seedpods, Vermont;
dried flowers, Montana;
tumble weed twigs, Nevada;
river stones from Montana, Wyoming, New York

(table mount)

This table-mount mask is one of my newer creations. I love the stately wood piece I found in Wyoming that supports the regal mask, painted in gold and white and rust. But what really pleases me is the use of the dried milkweed seedpods I found on a hike last fall in Vermont. Milkweed is a genus of herbs with milky juice and clustered flowers and attracts monarch butterfly caterpillars. They munch the leaves before making their transition to cocoon stage, leading to their final emergence as one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world.

I titled this Mask Artistry piece “Golden Reverie.” The noun “reverie” is a daydream, or the state of being lost in thought, and comes from the verb “to revere,” meaning to show honor and devotion, to worship, to adore. Both the noun and the verb describe my relationship to Nature and my joy in the special moments when I truly am amazed, lost in thought, at the miraculous sight of all the visual gifts Nature offers us on this planet. Whether that gift is the sight of something magnificently huge like the Grand Canyon, or something minute and intimate, like the moment the butterfly emerges from its cocoon or the moment a milkweed pod explodes open and releases hundreds of seeds to the wind… it all takes my breath away and humbles me in awe and respect.

When I gaze on ”Golden Reverie” I am reminded of just how blessed, how fortunate we are in our relationship to Nature, Mother Earth, all the Elements of wind, water, fire and land – and how much responsibility we hold to honor that relationship. I hope other mask gazers, such as myself, will get lost in thought, in reverie with this piece, and will be reminded of their own honor, devotion, worship or adoration of Nature itself.