Masquerade

"Imagination runs riot", Masks worn by John & Eleanor Carruthers, 1957

'Tis the season for fancy dress and masquerade. The above paper masks were made by my grandmother for the St. Catharines Art Association's second annual masked ball, 1957. A newspaper article from the day reported on the event decorations including strings of coloured lights and giant black masks outlined in sparkles. "The lovely gowns of the ladies and the clever masks made an interesting and ever-changing scene as they danced or moved from table to table chatting with friends, which included two harlequins and a masked lady wearing a beautiful Spanish Mantilla" (St. Catharines Standard, March 1957).


Bird masks, Roy Caussy, 2007

These bird masks are fresh from Facebook, and were made by artist Roy Caussy. Roy is a graduate of the NSCAD studio arts department and was recently included in the Showcase.07 exhibition at Cambridge Galleries (www.cambridgegalleries. ca) Showcase.07 presented "a snapshot of fresh talent across central, southern and southwestern Ontario", with Selected by Daniel Faria (Monte Clark Gallery) and Ivan Jurakic (Cambridge Galleries).