Symphony of Shadows

End of Wakefulness.

2012-02-01T23:22:00.000Z

Photographer: Chris Dean. Mask & Model: Tanith

Materials: Paper, wood, faux pearls, wire, acrylic paints, bronze powders.

Happy Solstice!

2011-12-21T12:54:00.001Z

A day early I know but I'll be too busy tomorrow to post. Have a wonderful Winter Solstice! And I hope you all enjoy the festive season however you might celebrate :) Now off to make vegetarian sausage rolls and much more, a day of baking awaits me :))

Winter Solstice 2011: Card design and Artwork: Tanith Hicks & Chris Dean

Siren

2011-12-17T22:59:00.002Z

Photographer: Chris Dean. Mask & Model: Tanith.

Materials: Paper, wire, copper sheet, acrylic paints, bronze powders.

The Countess

2011-11-27T12:36:00.003Z

Photographer: Chris Dean. Mask & Model: Tanith

Materials: Paper, wire, polymer clay, glass beads, crackle glaze.

Lilith

2011-11-08T22:34:00.007Z

Photograher: Chris Dean. Mask & Model: Tanith

Materials: Paper, clay, crows feathers, snail shells, rabbit breast bone (found on a walk), fox teeth ( from skull also found whilst out walking), faux opal and pearls, lace.

Changing Times

2011-10-24T13:42:00.004+01:00

Just to let you know that I am closing down my website. In future all new work and pieces for sale will be displayed here and in my Etsy shop :) In order to continue having an accessible display of earlier masks I shall be putting up a series of archive posts. Don't worry I've not stopped creating and I hope to have some new stuff to share over the coming months!

Photograph by Chris Dean featuring Morpheus mask.

Sleeping Beauty

2011-09-18T19:13:00.003+01:00

My poor neglected blog, so grown up with brambles and undergrowth........ so I blew the cobwebs away, hacked my way through that spiky wall and discovered a slumbering castle within :)

Creeping closer, all was so peaceful.

Not a soul to be seen except a single bird high in the perfect blue sky.

A fairytale castle sleeping soundly.

Carisbrooke Castle is one of my favourite places and between all the gales and rain we managed to pay it a little visit last week . We didn't go inside this time but to walk round and explore outside is still a treat.

Photo: Chris Dean

Here is a little bat I made who I think would have felt very at home in the castle but he has already been snapped up and is flown off to his new home :)

Exhibition

2011-07-25T12:11:00.001+01:00

I am currently part of a group exhibition at Ventnor Library, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, featuring pyrography, photography, textiles, paintings - and, of course, some of my masks (both exhibition-only pieces and for sale). There are pieces there that are currently not to be seen anywhere else - even on this site! It finishes at the end of September.

I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who came to the formal opening evening last Friday (15th July) it was a fun evening !

The exhibition is proving very successful so I'm working on some new pieces for it at the moment. Crows and moths seem to be tempting me the most :) My jewellery creations have been rather delayed but I do hope to have something to show by the end of August, sadly as always time is just not on my side!

Strange Times

2011-03-30T12:35:00.001+01:00

My creative work has been sorely affected by happenings during the past 6 months or so. It has been a really difficult time and has had a big impact on me creatively, so that I felt I lost my way rather. I am trying slowly, but hopefully surely, to find my path back.

One thing I've been tentatively working on are some jewellery pieces. Something new for me, but something which has been calling to me for a while now. I have sketch pads filling with tiny creatures, it's very theraputic. Just the roughest sketches but they are now slowly being transformed into tiny vivid paintings, like scraps of illuminated manuscripts.

For my masks.... well if you are planning to visit the Isle of Wight, England, next month, then be sure to check out the Isle of Arts festival weekend in Ventnor from 15th to 17th April. Alongside works from other local artists, created in a variety of media, you'll also see a few of my pieces on display - and for sale - at the Wight Light Gallery just off the High Street. There will also be other attractions including music, drama, film, workshops, etc. Come and help make this new event a great success! For more details see The Isle of Arts.

Best Wishes to you all
T x

The Cat of the Wood

2011-02-18T13:29:00.003Z

Photograph copyright: Christine Gregory used with her very kind permission

'The scutter, the fellow in the dew,
The grass nibbler, Old Goibert,
The one who doesn't go straight home, the traitor,
The friendless one, the cat of the wood,
The starer with wide eyes, the cat that lurks in the broom,
The purblind one, the furze-cat,
The clumsy one, the blear-eyed one,
The wall-eyed one, the looker to the side,
And also the hedge-frisker,
The stag of the stubble, long eared..........'

Translation from Middle English by Professor Alan.S.C.Ross.
From the book 'The Leaping Hare' by George Ewart Evans and David Thomson

The above is part of a long poem written in middle english (and dating to the late thirteenth century) called 'The Names of the Hare in English' . It's an amazing piece containing over 70 names, and when read aloud has the most beautiful pace and rhythm.

I have been intrigued and utterly beguiled by the enigmatic Brown Hare for as long as I can remember. For me (as I know is true for many others) there is something so otherworldly, so enchanting about this intriguing and sacred creature . It has a joyous and powerful hold on me, too difficult to put into words. I'm obssessed with them :))

So imagine my delight to discover a marvellous new book that's been recently published, called 'Brown Hares in the Derbyshire Dales' by Christine Gregory. I had to treat myself to a copy and what a wonderful volume it is!

The passion that artist, photographer and writer, Christine Gregory has for these fascinating animals just shines out from the pages. The book contains over 150 gorgeous original photographs (all taken by the author) of brown hares and of the stunning Derbyshire countryside that is their home. The text is bursting with information and has a very strong conservation theme exploring amongst other the things, the effect that our modern agricultural methods, hunting, coursing etc are having on these magical creatures.

This book is an absolute labour of love, I wish Christine great success with it! I know I will return to it time and time when I need another hare fix ;)

If you fancy a copy you can buy one direct from http://www.lepusbook.co.uk/ . And please note that all profits from the sale of this book are being very generously donated to The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust .

Also if you want to find out more about helping hares then pop over to the Hare Preservation Trust .

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend :) x

Breaking the silence.

2010-12-05T14:07:00.002Z

I've been away too long.............. now I want to share the exciting news that my very talented friend Laetitia Mieral has re-openened her Etsy shop and is filling it with winter magic :)

The Wolf Prince.

Art and photograph copyright Laetitia Miéral

Her creations are a true delight :))

Here last week the snow came overnight like a quiet spirit. Her visit was fleeting and she shared her beauty too briefly, slipping away as silently as she lay down. But she did give me one wonderous early morning walk to work .

Just a Glimpse.

2010-06-30T11:51:00.003+01:00

I'm sorry I've been so lax in updating. The beautiful weather pulls me away and the work I've been busy with has not been so interesting to share here. But I thought I would give a little look at the masks that I am slowly creating for a solo exhibition which I will have next Spring if all works out as planned .

This is my autumn Oak moth..... more will follow as they will :)

Photo.Chris Dean

My masks in 'Kinky Nature' book :)

2010-05-27T19:31:00.002+01:00

A few years ago photographer Emma Delves-Broughton used my masks 'Poison' & 'Bloodkiss' in a couple of photo shoots :) Two of the resulting photos were included in her ' Kinky Couture’ exhibition at La Galleria Pall Mall, London.

And now I'm very happy to say that a number of these pictures also appear in her recently published new book 'Kinky Nature'. I've not seen a copy yet but I'm looking forward to it :))

'Your Fantasy Costume' feature.

2010-05-26T12:24:00.001+01:00

I want to say thank you so much to Priscilla Hernandez for featuring my masks on 'Your Fantasy Costume'. A marvellous site for finding all you need to put together the fantasy costume of your dreams :))

Her enthusiasm and beautiful and generous words are so kind, it is a lovely review :)

Many thanks Pris and all the very best with all that you do, especially your music!

From Sea to Sky

2010-05-20T21:04:00.000+01:00

Well it was rather nice to spend my Tuesday afternoon (18th) doing something a little different from what my job usually requires. I'd volunteered to help out on one of the many organised walks that are part of the annual Isle of Wight Walking Festival. Due to a number of unforseen circumstances I actually ended up leading the walk myself. Rather a new experience for me and a bit nerve-wracking......I mean it would be great if I'd got everyone lost wouldn't it ;)

Anyway, thankfully it all went well and I really enjoyed myself! Very kind and patient people (who didn't even bat an eyelid when I got wee bit confused with the route ;) A beautiful day, perfect walking weather..... and I even got to finally see the wild goats which I've only ever seen from afar before :))

Just a few memories of a lovely afternoon.

Into the woods

The old oak

A view from the hill

Into the valley

Here be goats!

Book I am currently reading: 'A Place of Greater Safety' by Hilary Mantel

Flights of Fancy... I wish :(

2010-04-16T22:41:00.000+01:00

Well tomorrow morning I should have been on my way to Paris to be at the opening of Laetitia's glorious new exhibition. And to then have the delight of spending a marvellous week with her. I've been looking forward to this for ages and still can't quite believe all our plans have fallen through.

Due to closure of the airports because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland, my flight got cancelled along with many other peoples. And it looks like no-one is going anywhere for some time, at least if you are South of Mancester in Britain :(

I wish so much I could be there I feel very sad. Bon Chance dearest, I know it will be a wonderful exhibition and a great success.!! xxx

Purrs and Paper Enchantments :)

2010-04-03T22:37:00.003+01:00

I'm still alive and kicking even though I've not been here for a while :) Life has been too busy and mostly not with mask stuff recently *sigh*. But I'm hopefully slowly getting back on track with things.

On a positive note, I'm just in the process of setting up an Etsy shop and hopefully this Eostre weekend will give me a little more time to finish this and get some pieces up for sale :)) I still have so much to finish as well, it can be so frustrating sometimes. Ah well... I hope in the end they are worth the wait ;)

Also wanted to share a piccie of the latest member of our family . His name is Spider and he's a chocolate point Siamese. He's very naughty, very noisy, an absolute pain in the bum.... and utterly irresistable :)) He came to us just before Yule via Rosemary Jelley who does an incredible job running Pedigree Cat Rescue here on the Island.

He's happily fighting his favourite catnip rattie here. And I have to say that hours of running up and down stairs pulling bits of string does wonders for your thighs ;)

I also wanted to spread the marvellous news that my dear friend Laetitia is having an exhibition at La Maison du Roy in Paris! It opens on the 17th April and runs through until the 20th June. If you get a chance then please do visit it. Her work is absolutely wonderful and a chance to see her gorgeous and magical creations in the flesh is not to be missed :)) I shall be going myself and I can hardly wait!!

Pedigree Cat Rescue

2010-02-14T14:02:00.000Z

Please stop by and take a look at a new blog I've set up for a very special lady who does the most wonderful work.
Pedigree Cat Rescue is based on the Isle of Wight but if anyone feels able to give it a mention on their blog I would be most grateful :)

Marchesa Casati (update)

2010-01-31T13:08:00.004Z

In my post of 6th Nov 09. I wrote about the delight of Chris's photograph of my 'Medusa' mask appearing in the new book 'Portraits of a Muse' about the delicious Marchesa Casati! Well I now have a copy of the book in my hot and trembling hand and am even more delighted :)

I am so thrilled that the picture has a full page all to itself ! I wasn't expecting that at all. I thought we might just be tucked away somewhere ;) There's a little bit of blurb about me and the Marchesa's influence on my masks and both Chris and I get a lovely mention in the special thank you section :)

The book itself is gorgeous. A large format art book lavishly illustrated with loads of amazing pictures, paintings and photos. I shall go and run around excitedly a bit more now ..lol ;)

'Portrait Of The Marchesa Casati With a Greyhound' By Giovanni Boldini 1908

Edit: Oops... I thought I'd missed something out, trust me to forget ;) Thank you Laetitia :)))x

You can get hold of a copy of the book 'The Marchesa Casati: Portraits of a Muse' by Scott D Ryersson & Michael Yaccarino...here. Or via most other good book sellers :))

The past in the present... Part 1

2010-01-23T13:33:00.000Z

These winter months after Yule always make me a little sad and a little nostalgic. I find myself turning to my creative equivalent of comfort food :) Delving into those artists and writers whose creations first captivated and inspired me many years ago and whose influence has remained always. They have become so dear to me. So I thought I would share just a small selection.

Going way back into the mists of time ;) I was given a copy of 'The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshoppers Feast' by Alan Aldridge as a Christmas present in 1973!

The illustrations are utterly gorgeous. If you search online you can find a fair few of them but here is a tiny taster just to tempt you:)

There were also two sequels, ' The Peacock's Party' and 'The Lion's Cavacade' All show off Alan Aldridge's rich and astonishing illustrations perfectly. If you look around you can still pick up second-hand copies and to immerse yourself in these delicious pictures is definitely a serious winter pick me up :)

Moving forward in time a bit to the early 1980's...... I was lucky enough to discover a copy of 'Vali Myers Drawings 1949-1979', in one of those sort of discount bookshops (they used to sell end of print runs, seconds etc) that seemed to be all over the pace in London. It cost me £2.50... still one of the best bargins I've ever had!! I'd never seen any of Vali's work before and it took my breath away with it's sheer beauty and power. I was hooked and began to try and find out all I could about this extraordinary woman.

Vali Myers

Sadly not much of her art is available to see online. And the book of her paintings is very scarce nowadays. But in 2007 'Vali Myers: A Memoir' by Gianni Menichetti was published and is well worth a read!

I can lose myself in these visions during those wonderful long winter evenings:)

There is more to come soon.............

Metamorphosis..

2009-12-31T15:04:00.004Z

No matter how many masks I create, it never ceases to amaze me when all the mess and chaos turns into something that's not far off what I imagined ;)

This moth mask was a commisioned piece I finished during Yule. I apologise for the fact that my piccies aren't great (the lighting leaves alot to be desired so the colours are not too true) ... cameras and me don't always play nicely ;)

I hope you all had a lovely Yule/Solstice and I wish you a happy, healthy, creative and fun 2010:))

Behind the masks..... :)

2009-12-15T11:39:00.002Z

I'm sorry not to have been posting very frequently, but I'm a bit busy with commisions at the moment. I thought I'd share a little look behind the scenes at some of the other pieces I'm working on though...... those leafy moths etc that I mentioned :) I'm very happy with how things are going with them, even though I've not been able to spend a great deal of time working on them recently.

I'm sorry that my desk is not the most exciting space in the world, but as my work area is fairly small I have to force myself to be much tidier than I used to be and keep it fairly clear ... although I'm usually more a fan of organised chaos :))

So here are the masks unmasked ..

'Chateau Bizarre' review

2009-12-04T09:07:00.001Z

I had a lovely surprise yesterday. I received an email from Chateau Bizarre to tell me that my website and masks had been reviewed on their own site. I think their words are gorgeous and if you'd like to take a look then you'll find the review here:'Chateau Bizarre' :))

The wanderings of a pencil :)

2009-11-25T11:40:00.004Z

I've not really shared any of my sketch books before. Drawing is not my strongest point ...but I'm never without a pad of plain paper, kept close by to quickly scribble down ideas whenever they come to me. I very rarely work from complete and detailed sketches. I prefer these fragments that capture a feeling, that I can then expand and elaborate on as I create the mask. I enjoy this freedom as it is so organic and fluid.

These are the leafy moth masks that I'm working on at the moment :)

Wintery baroque bats and wolves are demanding my attention as well!

More wanderings waiting to tell me their stories....

'Now you see me.......'

2009-11-13T13:34:00.006Z

Soft sunlight (though sadly days of pouring rain now) golden leaves falling and dusky nights drawing in. These all start to fill my mind with dreams of moths and endless masquerades :) This season always makes me lose myself a little and fills me with visions. So one thing drew me to another and I became entranced with moths who always wear their autumn best to dance with the leaves.....

I love these insects in their masquerade costumes . I have found Praying Mantis's and Spiders that look like flowers and dead leaves , butterflies that look like owls, moths that look like hornets and flies that look like wasps... and so much more! The leaf moths/butterflies fascinate me the most at present and have given me some wonderful ideas to play with. I have already stated experimenting with textures, colours and materials.

I'll go back to those autumnal woods now :)

Portraits of a Muse.

2009-11-06T13:28:00.004Z

One of my greatest sources of inspiration is the wondrous Marchesa Casati! My 'Medusa' mask (shown below) was a piece that was for me a tribute to this unique lady. So you can imagine how excited I was when me and Chris got an email from Scot Ryersson and Michael Yaccarino, the authors of 'Infinite Variety', the biography of the Marchesa, saying that they were working on a new book and that they would love to include one of Chris's photos of my 'Medusa mask !

'Medusa'

Photograph: Chris Dean

Mask & model: Tanith Hicks

Well 'The Marchesa Casati: Portraits of a Muse' is now out :) We've not actually got to see a copy of it yet .... but one of Chris's photos is supposed to be in it along with a little piece about me and how the Marchesa has influenced my art. Sadly the publishers went for one of the colour shots out of the session we did, whereas we preferred the black and white ones ourselves. But if you get a chance to take a look at it I hope you enjoy it :))

If you want to know more about the Marchesa and about the book then take a look at The Marchesa Casati :)

New beginnings......

2009-10-28T10:35:00.001Z

Ah.... the first entry! I think that's always the hardest bit of a new blog. How to set the scene?

Well it's been a long time now since I had a proper blog, but now finally feels like the right moment to jump in again :) I've spent many inspiring hours enjoying some really wonderful and creative blogs and I'd like to give a little in return.

I would like this to be little storehouse of memories. Somewhere to record and share the process of creating my masks and explore those things that inspire and delight me. ....I'm looking forward to this :)