Man From The Sea

"Man From The Sea" is a ceramic mask I made in 2007. For years, I have been intrigued by masks, like our ancestors from many ancient cultures. I think clay is in my blood, since I was a child playing with mud, making clay tortillas and pies. It is mud at your command, but it has a mind of its own. It has its own laws, and you must respect it and know its limitations. Most of all, you need patience and know how to control its drying process. While it is wet you can only do so much because it is so heavy it will collapse on itself. In a way, it is a product of simple engineering, and figuring out how to support sections long enough so they can stand on their own.