Ceramic Mask - Ceramic and Mixed Media order Sculpture - Ceramic Face - Glazed Ceramic Mask - Christof Maupin Artist - Fine Art Ceramics

Ceramic Mask - Ceramic and Mixed order Media Sculpture - Ceramic Face - Glazed Ceramic Mask - Christof Maupin Artist - Fine Art Ceramics

This ceramic / mixed media sculpture is a piece I created while in the midst of making a series of pieces dealing with Near Eastern antiquity. I took a brief pause from that project and made a few masks and sculptures that drew inspiration from cultures quite different from the Near East. In this case, I very loosely interpreted imagery from the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and Canada (Oregon and Washing States and Vancouver, BC). I've always felt strongly drawn to the Native American / First Nations art of that region - having spent quite a lot of time there - and particularly their strong traditions of elaborate mask making. This mask is fashioned from a single slab of white stoneware clay, glazed in multiple colors, and affixed via a rink and mount of the reverse to a steel rod. Two part epoxy and copper wire guarantee a strong join between the ceramic and steel. The steel rod is attached to a curved piece of wood that is faced with bark from an oak tree. The entire base is painted in burnt sienna acrylic paint.

Total height of this piece is 8.75 inches and the width at the base is 6 inches. The mask itself measures 5.5 inches wide and 5.75 inches in height. A strong piece that perhaps poses more questions than it answers, it would sit well in a living room, entry way or office.