FolkEast 2018

 

Wow, this year really has flown by!  I’ve just got back from a lovely long weekend at FolkEast where I ran mask decorating workshops for the second year in a row. Big thanks to everyone who stopped by the stall in the Art Arcade to take part, try masks on, or have a chat.  We met so many friendly people and makers – FolkEast really is something special!

A very nice gent showing off his new Green Man mask

Here are some of the masks and skulls, painted by participants of all ages across the weekend. And once again I’m blown away by how awesome and different everyone’s ideas have been. Aren’t they great?

And here are a few of the masks that I was working on between sessions:

This past year I’ve mostly been posting things as I make them over on Instagram, but haven’t posted any blog-worthy projects on here for a while.  That should change soon though, as I’ve just got a brand new workspace that I’m very excited about.  I’ll get that set up, and then hopefully I’ll get stuck in to some of the many ideas I’ve been hoarding over the past few months!

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FolkEast

I spent last weekend at FolkEast, one of the biggest Folk festivals in the area.  It was my first visit to a festival (apart from an afternoon many years ago at Jimmy’s Sausage Festival…) and my first attempt at running a public mask-decorating workshop, so all in all I was a little nervous!

I shouldn’t have worried: everyone I met there was lovely.  I met so many interesting people who stopped by the stall for a chat about everything from folklore and masks to woodcarving and leatherwork.  The workshops were great fun, and it was wonderful to see people’s own designs emerging as they worked on them.  Everyone who took part, children and adults, were all so creative.  It actually brought a tear to my eye at one point!

I’ve added photos from the workshops to my Facebook page but here are just a few of them.  In all the busy-ness I didn’t manage to snap photos of them all, so if you have any I’d love to see them!