Emotions in Earth Project - The Form

At Beads of Clay we are doing a year long project called Emotions in Earth. The goal is to make some form of body adornment. It does not have to be classic jewelry or even have to be wearable but it should reflect your emotions, your life, and of course should be made of fired clay. I have a friend who does ceremonial face masks for people. She makes a mask of your face with the same stuff they make casts out of. Then you cover it with plaster of paris and decorate it to reflect your feelings. I had been trying to get together with her to do my face mask for some time. But when I started thinking about my Emotions in Earth project, I realized I also needed a form for my project so I had her do that for me at the same time. Here she is getting ready for the ceremony.

And here I am, after being covered in this material. It was actually quite soothing. It doesn't take long to dry but you have to stay perfectly still while it dries. So very relaxing. Looks pretty eery. 

So for my Emotions in Earth project I had decided I wanted to make some sort of breastplate. I think because of its proximity to the heart where your emotions lie. I love the way this form turned out. After I finish with it as a form, I think I'll hang it in my studio. I just love the way it looks.

And here is my face mask. Willette says the first thing she does with the mask when she removes it from the person is hold it in her hands face down and give it to the person in their hands, face down so they are holding their face. Then she has them turn it over. Some people are kind of freaked out by holding their face. Some people will give it right back to her feeling uneasy about holding it themselves. And some people don't like looking at their face. It's not like looking in a mirror. Something about the 3D image doesn't hide anything. People don't really recognize themselves that way. I thought it was all very cool. It's very weird looking at your own face that way. Almost like what I imagine it would be like to have an out of body experience and see yourself for the first time.

So this is the beginning of my project, Emotions in Earth. I am very excited about this project and now that I have my form, I'm ready to get started. Stay tuned....