UMass Amherst Visit

*This post was written last week, but I have not been able to get it up because the Internet was down*

This weekend I went to visit my cousin at UMass Amherst, and I had a really good time. UMass is famous for their Marching Band, and I got to see them perform on Saturday afternoon, and they were spectacular! Between the band, the color guard, and the twirlers, there are almost 400 students who all perform in unison, which creates a moving visual art piece on the football field. They sing and dance as well as marching and playing music, and they are so well coordinated. The band was truly a work of art, I had a great time listening to and watching them perform.

I did not do much work on my mask this weekend because I was away, but I am happy with the state it is in. I changed my mind a little bit for what I want it to help me with. I decided I want it to act as a connection between my father and me. He passed away from a heart attack when I was twelve. I decided that it does not literally have to cure me of an illness like the original purpose of the masks I researched. This meaning is also personal and purposeful to me, and it seems more appropriate based on the personal background the idea came from and it is also more connected to my idea of God. I think this form of the mask is like a sketch of what I would want it to be like in another material, like a wood carved mask.