Today I visited Casa de Cuesta, a B&B operated by Bill and Heidi LaVasseur.  Bill has collected over 500 masks from all over Mexico and displays them in a gallery adjacent to their beautiful B&B.  In addition to the masks are photographs showing the complete costumes worn by the masqueraders as well as videos showing the dancing and ceremonies.  Heidi has a gallery were she represents a group of artists who create exquisite examples of traditional folk art .  While there I did lots of drawings of masks and photographed others - all as inspiration for a series of prints that I hope to execute while I am here.

Here is the website for Casa Cuesta.  Click on Photo Tour to see their beautiful place.  http://www.casadelacuesta.com/index.html







The masks are used in festivals, ceremonies, and dances throughout Mexico.  Since each region has its own traditions, the masks are unique to each area and the meanings vary from region to region as well.  I am particularly drawn to the more primitive ones and those of human faces rather than animals.  The facial expressions on some are especially delightful!

This afternoon  I worked in the print studio experimenting with some possible technical approaches to the prints I plan to do.  Here is one that captures the expressive and spontaneous handling of the inks.  This is probably the direction I will go with the series.