Schools • Communities • Families

By creating together in these workshops, participants can heal rifts, strengthen bonds, and come to new understandings of themselves and their relationships with each other and the world. These shifts in understanding expand our sense of possibilities for social justice, peace and personal joy.

Shadow Mask Workshop
The creation of the shadow mask is about learning to integrate the hidden parts of yourself into your total experience through mask making. These hidden parts can range in expression from sorrow to anger, weakness to strength, joy to wisdom and all shades in between. The basic concept is built upon Jungian discussion of the shadow present in all of us.

These shadow aspects manifest in our lives as struggles, suffering, and inhibited or misdirected life force. The process of revealing these parts and bringing them to the light of our attention and awareness presents the opportunity to accept and integrate these aspects, which in turn can become valuable sources of energy and positive, beneficial expression within our lives.

Creating shadow masks is an exceptionally dynamic medium for facilitating receptivity to personal and social change. See photographs.

Papier Mache Sculpture Mosaics

Our Waters Our Wetlands

Lake Ontario Water Project

Reach for the Stars, Affirm Your Roots

A Papier Mache Sculpture Mosaic project integrates well into a school curriculum via Art, History, Geography and Language. Visually, the intention is to reflect various themes that are being studied, as well as facilitate cultural diversity. For community development and team building, the theme chosen would reflect issues of relevance to that group. The possibilities are virtually limitless.

The completed installation is a sculptured mosaic composed of many small painted pieces, each constructed from papier mache, newspaper, masking tape and cardboard. The communication and collaboration develops new bonds and strengthens relationships. Everyone gets a small piece of the big picture. This project visually demonstrates, that doing one’s best, small as it might seem, does make a difference in the larger picture.

Stone Mask Workshops
This workshop would appeal to families seeking greater understanding and closeness, community groups developing the ties that bind, or corporate groups promoting the collaboration and creativity that sets apart a successful business. The construction technique allows for all ages above 5 years to participate. Participants of mixed ages work together in groups of about 20. Using a stone as the base mold, a mask is designed, sculpted, papier mached, dried, removed from the stone and painted. A completed mask requires two sessions of about 2 hours each.

The culmination of the project is a community celebration that can include a pot-luck, music, and dancing. The construction of frames for mounting the project commences. Large dream-catchers have been the frame of choice so far and there are many other options. A string is attached to each mask in preparation for hanging. While this is going on, other community members may be organizing the pot-luck and celebration. Following the feast, the dream-catchers with the masks mounted on them are hung in a location that is easily viewed by the community.

The collaboration not only builds a unique art installation, but also develops new understanding and new bonds, highlighting communication, creativity, and community.

The Wolf Howl Project
This community arts education project created 75 wolf masks in workshops, and used these masks to:

• Raise awareness about the plight of the wolf.
• Explore native culture as the wolf is a central creation figure in native mythologies.

The project was a partnership of the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, Earthroots, Wolves Ontario, and Masque, and was sponsored by the Ontario Arts Council. See Wolf Howl website.

Stone Puppet Workshop
The faces of these puppets are designed using a stone as a source of inspiration, similar to the Stone Mask and Mask Theraplay workshops. The size of the stone for the design is chosen to accomodate the puppet-maker's hand. A face is designed on the stone, papier mached, removed from the stone, and painted. Hair, hats and other decorations are added. A simple sleeve is sewn & glued to the puppet face. Working with stones usually evokes a highly expressive design, making for an enchanting and communicative puppet. Photos to come.