Keeper of history II 1024x1024 2x Back to Masks

Keeper of History II

Materials used:

  • painted plaster casts of my face;
  • white bone: mature deer (spine, pelvis,) Montana;
  • tan bone: fawn skeleton pieces (rib, jaw bone, scapula, vertebra etc.), Montana;
  • shell pieces (clamshell hinges,) Hawaii;
  • green and gray tree lichen, Hyalite Canyon, Montana;
  • black river stones, Montana;
  • African beaded love girdle strands, Botswana, Africa

(wall mount)

I feel “Keeper of History I” and ”Keeper of History II” are a pair and should reside side-by-side, though I realize they may, someday, be separated. I describe them here together, as the materials and backstories are the same.

These masks have an ancient African look to me, and, if they could speak, it seems they would pass down the aged, venerable stories that developed from one generation to the next, over eons of time. They seem to be keepers of history, something akin to the Guardians of the Akashic records, or recorders of history's events: births, wars, good and bad harvests, developments of civilizations, etc.… They have, with eyes that have seen and know so much, a particular sense of power and wisdom that stems from observing the great shifts and changes in humanity, planet wide.

Both Mask Artistry pieces, “Keeper of History I” and “Keeper of History II” share similar materials: painted plaster casts of my face, painted a tribal red and black, and mounted on white mature deer bones (pelvis and spine etc.) with tan immature deer bones (ribs, jaw bone, scapula, vertebra, etc.) serving as decoration. While hunting for wild mushrooms one spring, I came across a full skeleton of a fawn. After blessing it, I used the tiny skull in another mask, but used many of the fawn’s bone pieces in this duo set of masks. Further decoration objects include black river rocks and tree lichen. The few small white shell pieces are tumbled and broken clamshell hinges from Hawaii and each has basically the same worn shape.

To this pair of Mask Artistry pieces, I have added something truly special: two African “love girdle” strands of beads. These necklaces have been in my personal collection for years, and were quite expensive when I first purchased them. I loved occasionally wearing them, but felt they were, now, better suited to adorn these History Keepers.

Two of my earliest masks, these remain two of my absolute favorites.