Hi! It's been awhile. But for great reasons! I've been working on lots of projects in the last few months. Here's a little about one of them. The Project Canby High has a team of about 25 dancers who participate in large dance competitions around the region. The dances are performed on a large gymnasium … Continue reading Collaboration: Canby HS Dance Team
What makes a mask a mask? How does a change in technology affect this ancient practice of transformation? I stumbled upon this video on Facebook. It's pretty interesting what they are doing. In one respect, it's a live-time version of makeup—the face is decorated with moving images, but the dimensions of the face are not altered … Continue reading Face Hacking
Once it was confirmed that I would be working in India this fall, I was excited to see if I could find out more about Indian mask traditions. Quick internet searches yielded little, only some tribal Himalayan masks to the north, and a number of colorful pieces in neighboring Sri Lanka.Talking with some people on the Maya … Continue reading Faces of India
Birthday thanks! Today I complete another revolution around the sun. I am in the same place, but not in the same place. Unlike any previous year, I am in another country for my birthday. I will be spending it NOT working, and doing a bit of roaming around Mumbai and sharing food with friends. I am … Continue reading Revolutions & Gratitude
Bali 2014 Photos As promised, more photos! Click on the link above to see all the photos in the blog and many, many more. It is such a pleasure to share them with you, and to give a little visual context for all I've been writing about. This trip was done through a program of … Continue reading Bali 2014 Photos
Photos from the Setia Darma House of Masks & Puppets Here are my photos from our visit to the mask and puppet museum near the village of Mas in Bali. There are many masks from major Balinese performance traditions of Calonarang, Topeng, and Wayang Wong included. There were also masks from other Indonesian isles and … Continue reading Photos from the Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets
The Surprises of Surprise Re-entry is interesting. And by interesting, I mean full of surprises. Surprise is also, itself, interesting. And therefore surprise is...surprising. I'm not just playing circular word games. Surprise, like accidents, cannot ever be fully predicted. For example, when thinking about my reactions to coming back to the US after studying abroad, … Continue reading Things to Remember
Mask Progress I write this blog from the airport as I wait for my flight to Portland to board. I wanted to catch you all up on the masks I've been making in Bali. In my last post, you saw the old man bondres I completed. My teacher pushed me to start two more, so … Continue reading Whittle by whittle
Friday Night Calonarang Late Friday night at 10:30 pm, we drove to a pura dalem (temple of the dead) in a nearby village to witness a Calonarang ritual. After mistakenly landing at what seemed to be a carnival, then finding a Calonarang, but at the wrong temple, we arrived and settled in to watch. It … Continue reading A Weekend Outing
Selamat sori! Good afternoon! It's been another delightful week in Bali. How interesting it's been to discover how all the arts we are studying are connected. The masks must be carved for the dancers to wear. The hand movements of the dancers echo the movements of the puppets. Mask carvers are also often dancers, or … Continue reading Week 2 in Bali