Bon Voyage, Little Ones

My 'children' are on their way to Montana now. Our den feels empty, our hearts are saddened, and yet full of excitement for the upcoming show. My partner and I pulled an all-nighter Friday night, labelling, wrapping, and packing the masks to send them off on their journey to new lives. Maybe some of you think it's silly to get attached to a piece of art - hunks of wood. But the masks each have their own spirit, and we have enjoyed having them displayed on the wall of our den these last months. The wall is now blank, save for the empty hangers. We will bring down several sets of finger masks I made last year to fill the space. Anyway - we were up till 5:00 a.m. Saturday, then got up around 9:30 to scoot off to the Post Office to mail them. All but two pieces are on the way to Bozeman.

Below is a 'family portrait' of me and my masks, before their departure:



I crashed yesterday afternoon for a nap. Later, we went to dinner, and saw "The DaVinci Code" at the theater. I won't spoil it for anyone - though if you've read the book, there won't be any surprises. The movie was much better than I anticipated, though I think if you haven't read the book, you might miss out on some background material.

It seems so strange to be done with my big project - and have all this time to do simple things, like go shopping for flowers for our porch. The weather has been rainy all week, so we didn't even feel up to taking in Folk Life in Seattle. Of course, I still have some things to do to get ready for the workshop in July. I'll do a slide presentation on Yupik masks for the public (last year it was at the library), and update my handouts a bit. I have some other commissions I've put off since February, so I'll have to pick up where I left off. In all, it's been an intense and enjoyable four months!