Sacred Mask-Making
The Ancient Use of Masks
Masks are an ancient tool to help us connect with nature, the animal kingdom, and the forgotten wisdom of our ancestors. Masks are beautiful, elaborate, fierce, grotesque and elegant.
Masks are traditionally used in rituals and religions, for example in shamanic practices, tribes and ancient communities from around the world.
You Don’t Need to Be an Artist!
Making masks is not about “trying to produce good art”. It’s about exploring, as a human, your sense of being in relation to nature, and finding what is meaningful to you as you give voice and form to your inner discoveries. You guide your own flow through your being, shaping and shifting into a sacred art.
In my workshops, you also have the opportunity to wear your mask in a Sacred Drumming circle. This adds to a sense of drama as you enter into a ritual experience, generating physical energy and a trance-like focus. Your mask can also be used to access guidance from the Medicine Wheel with the support of the drum, and it is a lot of fun!
This is an opportunity to become part of a growing Sacred Drumming community who come together once/twice a year in a woodland to take part in animalistic ceremony experience, both embodying and deepening connection to your animal nature and senses.
What it does ...
When using mask-making techniques, you start with realistic facial sculptures, based on your own face.
With mask-making, you can get to know your face in a whole new way, discovering its shadows and crevices to reveal a one-of-a-kind beauty and magic. As part of the process, you can take photos in different nature locations like woodlands or forests to deepen your feelings towards a particular tree, stone or another natural finding. It’s all part of an inner and outer journey to re-discover other aspects of your being.
In shamanic work, we often use access to other realms and to our own inner guides to help us find clarity, healing and direction in our lives. This happens through the use of journeying/Guided imagery which can lead us gently into a realm of the subconscious that connects with our ancestors, totem animals, guardian angels, or an inner healer. Creating internal images isn’t easy for everyone, but mask-making can support this process.
When using mask-making techniques, you start with realistic facial sculptures, based on your own face. Once the mould is made, you can use it with guided imagery to access your guides. When you make a connection with your guide, it will then inspire you to paint, decorate, and transform your personal mask from the mould of your own face to another form that has the potential to captivate and enrich your everyday life.
How it helps ...
Your mask, like your sacred drum can be a legacy, a life companion, a gauge of your personal growth, and a personal guardian for your altar or sacred space.
This is an opportunity to develop your skill at generating your own internal images into a life force that is special and awe-inspiring. On making my own mask, I found myself mesmerised by features appearing on the plaster sculpture that I never knew were there.
We all get trapped in certain ways of being or feeling at times, and mask work can help you change energy states and shift out of stagnation. For example, a friend of mine felt stuck in the past and her mask represented that feeling. She decided she wanted to have a fire ceremony to transform the situation and bring about the healing she sought.
Another person saw in her mask an animal that she identified as a beaver. At first, she saw it in negative terms, until we explored the beaver’s nature and the powerful force it embodies. This reframed my friend’s thinking about her own internal world and she began to recognise strengths she never knew she had.
In our busy society, we often get caught up in the pressure of what’s happening around us and what’s expected of us. This can result in a feeling of stress and disconnection from our inner world. We end up struggling to access the internal resources that can help us deal with life’s challenges – and feel cut off from the joy and excitement of feeling truly alive. But working with masks can re-wire these connections and give you a new confidence as you navigate through your everyday with more vigour and delight.
Where
Private Setting in Bramley, Surrey or Chichester, Sussex
When
Dates coming soon
Cost
To be confirmed
Please email for all booking enquiries
jeanie@sacredguide.co.uk
Website by Trish Fitzroy. © Jean Hammond 2023.