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cwicseolfor

A maskmaker in love with the art
139 Watchers31 Deviations
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KYRARES
acunderground
rodent347
lilylionlabyrinth
yyyo4
MystOblivion
Kantama
Dionaya
Maliwi
seylin-emily
wildrosewoman
Blackdeathnonetheles
Txikimorin
LouisaGallie
Lixxle
inkvine
lilylionlabyrinth
PlatinumStar
shinga
merimask
magicfest2
Eialyne
Daegrima
TehWiredLain
MRhysBail
ellenmillion
xothique

Deviation Spotlight

Artist // Hobbyist // Varied
Badges
Super Llama: Llamas are awesome! (11)
My Bio
I was, and am, and will be again, an artist, working in leather and paper and pixels. My life became a little too hectic for me to keep up from my maskmaking binge 2005-2008 - I've been intermittently in hiding from 2009-2014 as I deal with the ramifications of the economic recession on both the clientele of my studio business and my own personal situation as a post-student with loans to pay - but there are slow signs of picking back up the artwork as a personal endeavour, and resuming the studio for commissions at a later date.

I am often unresponsive on deviantArt, but I'm still out there and I'm still dreaming.

Favourite Visual Artist
I've been following her for over fifteen years but I still want to grow up to be Ursula Vernon.
Favourite Movies
Visuals and psychology dominate. Burton, Henson, Froud, Besson, Del Toro, et al.
Favourite Bands / Musical Artists
I like a range, narrow focus at a time, and it varies with my mood. I am easily won with rapid, plaintive piano-strings pairings.
Favourite Books
This is a remarkably unfair question.
Favourite Writers
That's vastly worse than picking a favorite artist.
Favourite Games
Legend of Zelda series, hands-down. But I have a very very soft spot for Dragon Age - Origins, at least, having not yet completed the series.
Favourite Gaming Platform
This is such a retro concept. I have a visceral loyalty to Nintendo and I like Sony's controllers better than Microsoft's. I have never had a gaming-ready computer.
Tools of the Trade
Mech pencils, cheap sketchbooks, my tablet. Cowhide & acrylics. Knives. Sleep deprivation.
Other Interests
In short: everything. I'm usually good at spinning a conversation from most anything.
News: Life's in a transition space and I've been in a touch of a slump, between not being able to work when I'd like to (such as now) and not feeling up to working when I can (the last couple of months.) But things are on the upswing, I believe; I've been not formally studying for the longest period in the last seventeen years of my life (doesn't that seem like it should be remarkable, even though it's not?) and my brain's begun actively striving for material again. I'm going to have an entire, lovely page of beautiful essays I've read in the last few months to post at my website before long - and I'm looking forward to updating that too.
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News: Hi, everybody! I'm posting and such, all of a sudden, and as usual that means that I'm about to go flat-out missing again. This time, it's another out-of-continent experience - six weeks in Taiwan. I should have somewhat more reliable internet access and considerably more spare time, as I won't be attending classes - I'm there to practice speaking, and reading traditional characters - but hopefully I won't be on the internet too much, except to upload photos and blog. I'll be posting some photos and such at Flickr and blogging, probably at my Yahoo page as Livejournal is not always family-friendly. Too bad Yahoo's new interface has ex
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News: Man. School and life have eaten me. I'm also realizing I've experienced a considerable dry spell - the first since I began leatherwork, actually - but there's enough stirring that I'm not worried. The dry spell hasn't been nearly so bad as my dA gallery would have it and hopefully there'll be a blitz of work, both new and old, to post before long - if for no other reason than knowing I won't have time after this semester ends, and I have to go out into the wide world and find a job. I've been sick, lately, and with the forced downtime and absolute beyond-question inability to do proper homework or study I've been doodling more than us
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Profile Comments 189

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I'll be tickled pink if you are around here again. Best.
I talk about you far more than to you. All good things and praise, of course, as The People Have a Right to Know, but it's still a pity. I'm sorely behind on your life and art although catchup on said was one of the things I've most looked forward to in getting everything else under control. All well and flourishing there, I hope?
(I turned stockbroker, too, so I can't even sell my work anymore without advance notice and approval, but that's the price of a paycheck nowadays. Before in sales it was just noncompete agreements....)
Thank you for the faves.  Also, your masks are beautiful.  ;-)
excuse me madam, but i have seens your masks and i must say they look well made, if it isn't too much trouble you'd please tell me how to make a simple columbina mask? i would appreciate if you would also list out the materials
Thanks for the fave! :P
I figured we should take this off Pika's comments.

I actually am Taiwanese, born and...well, partly bred.... DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN.

Well, if you look at Asian myths, there are less examples of mystical creatures stealing children. There are virtually no goblins, so I'm inclined to view them as a purely Western concept, originating largely in Northern Europe. However, there is a large tradition of half-animal, half-human creatures that eat children. Much of this might a result of the geographical differences in Asia and Northern Europe as well as cultural differences. Being more acquainted with China and Chinese legends, I'm basing most of these hypotheses on China, of course. Also we have to take into consideration that China has warmer climates and milder winters, with its population more heavily concentrated in the southern half. It's harder to imagine Winter as its own minor deity, even though elemental forces such as Thunder and Lightning have concrete forms.

It also bears nothing that Chinese myth/belief is a hodge podge of local beliefs, ancestor worship, deification of spirits, and Buddhism. Also a point of interest is the lack of magic in Chinese superstition. Actually, this is a gross overstatement. But have you noticed that Asian conceptions of magic is inherently different from Western magic? It's much more... spiritual and tied in with the flow of energy than an ability to twist reality.

Also I want to point out that the Snow Queen is a Hans Christian Andersen story. I love how his stories have been accepted as fairy tales on the same level as the Brothers Grimm's, but they're really not the same thing at all. The Brothers Grimm went around collecting folk tales, many of which had magical elements. Hans Christian Andersen made up his own stories, even though he borrowed heavily from local folk legends.

As for the parallelism between the Snow Queen and Jareth, well, it's purely subjective, I think. The beauty of fairy tales is the ability of the reader to project their own understanding and identity onto them. At first, I saw the similarity between their roles -- a stolen child, hidden in a faraway castle, and the heroine must travel through dangers unknown and hardship unnumbered to reach the castle. So I should say that I saw the similarities between Gerda and Sarah first. Then the stories began to merge together. The Snow Queen and Jareth would be two rather unwilling villains, acting not so much out of malice than ammorality (not to be confused with immorality) and their very natures. It is the Snow Queen's nature to be cold and unfeeling, and the Goblin King's obligation to steal children, any child. At the end of the story, Kai is able to leave when he manages to spell out the right word in the ice puzzle, and Sarah defeats Jareth with her right words.

Okay, I'm going to stop here, because I'm becoming increasingly incoherent, I think.

PS. I love your masks!