Six-week online course
Thursdays, October 22, 29, November 5, 12, 19, and December 3 (Please note: skips Thanksgiving week)
7-9 pm ETD (New York time); 12-2 am London Time, 1-3 am Paris Time, 4-6 California Time)

PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time

Taught via Zoom by artist and educator Bryan Melillo
$195 ($175 for $5/a month and above Patreon members)

“A mask is the face imagination gives to a god.” --The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images, Ami Ronnberg

This six week class will take a deep dive into the fascinating world of masks. Via illustrated lectures and guided research projects, students will be introduced to a rich variety of masks from around the world and throughout time, with a focus on how they function in sacred and ritual settings. They will also learn, step by step, how to design, develop, and create their own mask.

Masks carry little significance in the contemporary west outside of being a prop. Yet, historically, they serve as vehicles for deeper personalities to emerge and be transformative, healing and celebrated. This class creates an opportunity for the mask maker to embrace their inner wisdom, healer, and warrior as creator.

Students will, through a variety of exercises, be led to a deep encounter with themselves to discover attributes and personality traits that they will then transform (or enhance) and evolve through the timeless activity of mask making. Beginning with a survey of how masks have been used beyond the mundane, we will set out - using design principles - to develop a visual idea through design ideation that will lead to a materials response and exploration. This work will be integrated into the final project--the design, development and creation of your own archetypal mask.

Necessary supplies can be found on Amazon, Blick or Lowes/Home Depot and need to be purchased before the class begins. List and links below.

Bryan Melillo is an assistant professor at NYC’s Parsons School of Design. He teaches a mask making project in a First Year class called Avatar where students explore their personal ability to transform materials into sacred and powerful artifacts. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2005 with a focus on Painting and New Genres. He received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2002. Bryan has an active personal studio practice as well as an ongoing commission art business.

MATERIALS LIST

• Plaster of Paris strips

• 5 pounds of Plastilina (a non-hardening plastic-based clay, safety data sheet found here.)

• Clay cutting and shaping tools (optional, found on Amazon)

• Petroleum Jelly such as Vaseline (any brand will do): approx 4 oz. (Amazon, or purchase at your local pharmacy)

• Shellac BINS Alcohol based (Lowes or any hardware or paint store)

• Plastic bag to cover plastilina when not working

• Base for mask such as a bowl or plastic takeout containe.

Image: A tiger mask from Guerrero, Mexico, 1970s. Used in the Batalla de los Tigres (Tecuanis).