I have begun working with carving the physical mask! Up until now, the work has been mostly uncovering what it will look like, what it means, and how it can be used. The wood itself is a very beautiful, dense wood that goes by the name of Zebra wood. Interestingly enough this wood can be seen across cultures. Although it has a different name in each culture, the purpose generally tends to be the same. The wood is used to create masks. Yesterday I spent a few hours carving into the mask with a hammer and a chisel. It felt very much like carving into myself, as I could feel more of myself being put in a transformational space as time goes on.
Because of a shoulder injury I decided to leave my work a month earlier than I originally planned. I feel that with the way things are coming along, I will be using every minute of that time off! Things are pulling together quickly. I sent out many, many emails to communities that I have scouted out. At this point, most of them haven't responded. But I do have a large amount of communities interested so far!
I also set up a page on the website gofundme.com to help receive funding for the trip since I am working with donations. I am really glad that I am working off of donations too. Although I have a suggested minimum to help make my way from one place to the next, I know that there are people out there who don't have a lot of money and still wish to attend (I've been there before!)
Check out the page! The picture that I used was taken by my brother and is very beautiful, as are most of his photographs.
www.gofundme.com/ancestralmaskceremony
Ciao!
