Mardi Gras mask in watercolor by Denise Inge. (Press-Register/G.M. Andrews)
In Stanley Kubrick’s final film, “Eyes Wide Shut,” actor Tom Cruise wanders through a country mansion where members of a bizarre upscale cult are engaged in various erotic pursuits. The sequence is all the more discomfiting because the revelers wear a bewildering (and sinister) array of masks.
For at least 9,000 years the mask has been an object of mystery, ritual or theatrical performance. From Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” to the graphic novel and film “V for Vendetta” to the Lone Ranger, Zorro and the disfigured composer in “Phantom of the Opera,” it is all about the mask.
The allure is undeniable and the history long and colorful — and profitable for the savvy folks who cashed in on the “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” franchises. Thank you, Michael Myers; much obliged, Jason Voorhees. Who knew that a hockey mask could terrify movie audiences?
Gulf Coast residents have a somewhat different take, especially during Carnival season. Down here, the mask means there’s a party going on — or soon will be. For two wild ¤’n’ crazy weeks, libidos are unchained and in a relentless and hedonistic pursuit of pleasure. Let the good times roll.
Artist Maura Odom with the first mask she ever created. (Press-Register/G.M. Andrews)
That spirit of exuberance, and a well-honed sense of humor, is evident in a variety of masks one finds in local shops and galleries. From downtown to the Eastern Shore, the mask is a familiar symbol of Mardi Gras. (See information box.)
Cathedral Square Gallery in downtown Mobile exhibits colorful and ornate masks by Maura Odom and mask watercolors by Denise Inge.
Odom has been making Mardi Gras masks for three years, ever since she and a friend created their own before they drove to New Orleans. Her black-and-white mask caused a sensation.
“In New Orleans everybody asked where I got it, and they wanted to buy it,” Odom says. “My parents saw it and said I should start making masks and selling them. I started doing it for decorations and people wanted to buy them, so I started selling them that way.”
She says her materials inspire her designs.
“I might find one piece that I really love and design around it,” she says. “I use papier-mâché, plastic, fabric, metal, beads, feathers, paint, ribbon, wire, pieces of jewelry, Swarovski crystals — anything goes.”
Masks by Maura Odom at Cathedral Square Gallery in Mobile. (Press-Register/G.M. Andrews)
Although some of Odom’s more striking creations are in the Venetian style, she does not draw on a specific tradition. “I kind of just make it up as I go,” she says.
She also decorates her masks with flowers and butterflies, and some with black and gold ribbon and fleur-de-lis designs — a hit with New Orleans Saints fans. Each of her pins, like the masks, are unique. No two are alike, although her Crimson Tide masks — covered in houndstooth and festooned in school colors — are especially popular in the wake of another BCS championship.
In addition to her masks, Odom creates pins with tiny ceramic masks, bits of ribbon and old jewelry. These pieces can be worn as brooches or pendants. She describes them as “a little piece of Mardi Gras.”
Her work is also affordable, which is the way Odom prefers it.
“I think everybody should have the opportunity to own art,” she says. “It’s important to have (art) in your life, and I really try hard to make my work affordable.”
Odom is a Mobile native and attended Corpus Christi and McGill-Toolen; she is a graduate of the University of South Alabama, where she earned a degree in theater design with an emphasis in costuming and makeup. At USA she worked on costumes for productions of “Alice in Wonderland” and “A Raisin in the Sun,” among other productions.
She also has worked with Santa Fe Opera, Heritage Rep in Charlottesville, Va., and locally for Mobile Theatre Guild, Joe Jefferson Players and Pensacola Opera. Professionally, she is a spa supervisor for the Battle House Hotel and she works part time for Ashland Gallery in Midtown.
Odom says the appeal of Mardi Gras is obvious, and irresistible.
“There are no boundaries,” she says. “Anything goes, everybody is having a good time — it’s a unifying thing for Mobile, I think. It’s just kind of magic.”
David Crowder and Frank Ledbetter take dissimilar approaches to mask-making. Their work can be found at Kangal Gallery in the Sail Loft on North Royal Street.
Crowder is a local designer who specializes in wedding gowns, Mardi Gras costumes and custom-made masks. He learned mask-making from friends who own a shop in Key West, Fla. He uses fabric, feathers, sequins and Swarovski crystals, among other materials. Crowder’s masks have taken many shapes, from a ballet slipper to an artist’s palette.
At this time of year his schedule gets a bit tricky as he tries to find time for his avocation along with the responsibilities of his “day job” as a retail associate and passport agent for the U.S. Post Office.
“Not everybody can be a king or a queen of Carnival,” he says, “but everyone can get a mask to wear or display as art.”
Ledbetter, is a metal sculptor and found-object artist whose work can be found in private homes and public venues through the area. He recently collaborated with Fairhope artist Bruce Larsen on the outsized stainless-steel football sculpture at USA. He also created the sailboat sign, gallery sign and sandwich board for Kangal Gallery.
Gallery owner Susan Steber Kangal spotted Ledbetter’s masks at Serda’s coffeehouse and wanted to exhibit his Mardi Gras masks in her remodeled artspace. Ledbetter, whose commissioned work includes animal designs, tables and other forms, made his masks from discarded engine parts.
“I like to use the Mardi Gras colors — the purple, gold, etc. — because I really enjoy the painting,” he says. “It was kind of like a whim, you know? I didn’t promote it a whole lot, but I sold a couple.”
Frank Ledbetter, left, with gallery owner Susan Kangal and mask artist Davis Crowder at Kangal Gallery in downtown Mobile. (Press-Register/Victor Calhoun)
Stephanie Burks has been making masks for the wall and to wear since childhood.
“I had a mask-making craft book where I created with construction paper,” says Burks, a resident artist at Artology Gallery & Gifts on Cathedral Square. She was one of Mobile’s original “Dirty Girls,” a group of ceramic artists who liked to dig their own clay.
“Masks have always been intriguing to me,” she says. Her experience includes a few masquerade balls while she was in art school, wearing a disguise at Halloween, being part of Carnival in New Orleans on Fat Tuesday.
“I enjoy sculpting clay masks because they serve two purposes,” she says. “They are a work of art and can also be displayed on a wall or in a case.”
Burks started out using papier-mâché and has created mixed-metal masks with copper, aluminum, brass, welding beads and semi-precious stones. She also uses cloth, plaster, clay, resin and wire.
“When I create I’m not really thinking,” she says. “If I have an idea or sketch out a design, it may start that way in my mind but it never comes out that way. I let my hands create — I never really know how something is going to turn out. My mind is free; my hands lead the way.”
Ceramic artist Stephanie Burks models one of her creations at Artology Gallery and gifts. (Press-Register/G.M. Andrews)
Burks’ masks reflect her longtime connection ancient art.
“I have a connection with the trees, the stones, the earth, leaves, spirals, patterns in nature,” she says. “I’m in love with this beautiful planet. I see and feel intense energy from the beauty. . . . I love birds; I love the wind. Feathers are a gift to me (and) the tiniest little flower will bring me to my knees to have a closer look.”
Burks says her clay masks are rolled out with a rolling pin, all handbuilt.
“I form the shape (and) if for a male or female, the size will vary,” she explains. “I can make custom-fit masks, but most people can find the right fit for their face. Once the clay is leather-hard, I will carve or sculpt accents onto the piece.
“Each design varies (with) more intricate pieces from start to finish including glazing, perhaps four hours. My wall masks that are full face and large for hanging take longer depending on the detail I add. I can get very ornate with clay additions, wings, carvings. There usually are two firings in the kiln — both take a total of 12 hours. Bisque is the first firing; glaze is the second.”
Burks’ bird designs are quite popular, but she also creates “green women” and “green men” masks that are very distinctive. “I use a lot of greens, blues, yellows (and) also the Mardi Gras colors,” she says.
“Mardi Gras comes and goes, but people can buy art to display in their homes each year and the decorations have become more elaborate. People leave their Christmas trees (up), then turn them into Mardi Gras trees these days, so the art can be packed up only to come out for next year’s celebrations. Laissez les bons temps rouler!”
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RUSTY COSTANZA / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEMax Bernardi, float painter, at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans
