One art medium can spark another

Masks have always held a fascination for me since an early age. They are a universal phenomenon and were originally used as a ritual tool or cult object. Today we consider those masks as works of art devoid of any ritualistic meaning. My objective was to create a modern version of a mask and use the opportunity to experiment with design in the process. It all started when I was building my new home in Sawyer, Michigan when the builder saved me some pieces of wood that were part of the beams in the house.



My first masks were carved from Douglas fir and I later experimented with many other woods such as mahogany, cherry, walnut, pine, sassafras, cottonwood and basswood.




These are two of my favorite carvings. When the carving is finished I wax and polish the wood. I was pretty excited about this project and decided to experiment with a few digital versions of the masks.


Here are some of the first digital prints that I produced in this series. It was a very interesting project to work on. I felt that an exhibition of the carved masks and the digital prints would be quite interesting.


These limited edition prints are done on 13 x 19" archival paper using pigmented inks.