Very interesting...sorta...

[thedarksiren2]

I like masks, collect them, find them beautiful, and fascinating.


I am glad, however, that certain masks, particularly those of the human-sort, eventually fall away, no matter how much effort and time a person might have put into upholding them.


I see your truuuue colors shining through!

Comments

[revsphynx.livejournal.com]

Check out tommie_angel sometime. He makes some interesting masks.

(I know half of this post was metaphorical, but he really does make some really cool masks)

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

oh no! I appreciate the info, regardless of the intent of the post!

I have masks from all over the world, and admire them tremendously, so thank you! I will check him out.

[ciani.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you're saying..

And.. I made a mask in high school once. It was fun and I'd love to do it again. I now have images in my head of having a mask making day at my house. I know at least a couple people would do it!

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

One of the best gatherings we've ever had in Jawndomay was a mask-making gathering back last winter. Some of those masks were so pretty!

[bigjohnsinging.livejournal.com]

hi there,

no offense, but... i hate masks, of all kinds. real, emotional or political. i feel their main purpose is often evil or at least deception of some sort and i hate deception.

i've always been afraid of masks, whether it be some evil voodoo mask or kermit the frog. scary, scary oooohhh... really.

and the emotional, political kind can even be scarier.

hope to see ya at taco night tonight.
have you tried the new crunch taco at taco bell? it's $1.79 and awesome.

love ya,
big john

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

I am surprised that my apartment didn't freak you out then, John. It's covered in masks.

[bigjohnsinging.livejournal.com]

maybe this can be described as my mask, i am able to tune out things that bother me, sometimes consciously, but mostly i do it subconsciously.

also, you're a dear friend and it was your place and i didn't feel threatened.

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

Everyone does to some degree.

I am glad you weren't bothered at my home.

[bigjohnsinging.livejournal.com]

i liked your home, it felt... homey... for three single people living together with a dog and a bird, it was quite nice.

great to see ya last night.

have a safe trip.

love, john

[lemonmerchant.livejournal.com]

Uh. I'll stick with:

I can see through you
See your true colors
Inside you're ugly
Ugly like me
I can see through you
See to the real you

Thank you ladies and gentlemen. And goodnight.

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

niiice.

[android23.livejournal.com]

I had a jacket of masks once.
They all smoked cigarettes too.

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

*smiles*

that would be gross, I think.
I dunno...the smell of tobacco would drive me bonkers.

BTW, sorry I didn't call you back last night. I was lost in the abyss known as Walmart until almost 11PM with wraptboy. what's your schedule like tonight, Wed. & Saturday (pre-party, of course)? Lemme know, OK?

[android23.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm practicing with Jim and Adam this evening. You can stop by and belt out a number if you'd like (we're meeting around 7pm).
tomorrow I work from 11-4, and I'm probably going to a movie.
Saturday we're setting up for the party, but I may be able to get some time then. I'll let you know!

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

Had plans this evening for tacos, and they lasted well into the night. Now, taking a break from packing and yeah...sleepy is an understatement! LOL

As for Saturday, I am not certain what time I'll be back here, prolly around 12 or 1PM. Please let me know what's up, OK?

masks are wonderful tools of contemplation and growth

[exina.livejournal.com]

I've made masks inspired by the characters I've met in dreams and trance work. A year later, after having the mask on display in my house, wearing it for costume events, and thinking about what that character meant to me; I dismantled it and burned the parts of it that could be safe to burn (the paper mache parts and the feathers, for instance). I put the other unburnables like beads and wire frames, back into the craft boxes for future projects.
I make masks for spiritual purposes, it seems. I don't get to keep them long, even if I want to. I always lose them anyway if I try to keep them.

Belated thoughts...

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to this, but with moving, the internet has taken second-place as of late.

I like your description of how masks come and go in your life. It reminds me of phases, changes in personality and beliefs. I think it is wonderful that you are able to utilize the skill of creating them in your life, and the symbolic nature of their departure seems to equate to further changes/ growth/ rebirth of your spirit.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me.
~8)

[edenellenpoe.livejournal.com]

I've often wondered if tears were a dissolvent of masks, that run their course over someone's mask, causing it to fall away. That, or, it builds an entirely new one with the sediments.

Thank you for the thought of masks. I collect them too... but I collect the ones that I've already used, I see the scars from the me who tried to claw my way out of them, and they hang on my wall, like theatre replicas. Some smiling, some frowning. All empty, because I am no longer behind them.

Where are you moving to? I'd love to take you to lunch if you happen to be moving to Los Angeles! :)

-- Eden

very belated thoughts, but necessary no less!

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

First, let me apologize for taking so long to reply to this. I have been meaning to, but I've been out living life and getting my world together in order to move and adjust, so I hope you understand the delay.

I really like both ideas, and can see the combination of the two working together throughout our lives.

Tears flow when the body can no longer contain the overwhelming nature of life, be it joyful or filled with sorrow. We share those moments with those we trust, and so masks are shed in that way (I LOVE this image, btw!) In a similar light, those tears assist us in creating masks, or perhaps even shields to protect us from those who would slash our faces with cruel rods. Isn't this why people put up those walls/ emotional barriers, to protect themselves from hurting again and again?

Or maybe those masks are merely the scars of experience building up, revealing to the world all our pasts, and how we've endured them...

things that make ya go, "Hmmm..."~;)

Well, if I were moving out your way, I would be delighted to have lunch with you. However, I moved to a small town in southern OH called Athens to attend Ohio University, and will be here for the next three years or so.

BUT, the long-range plan is to move to San Francisco (2007-08), so maybe when I am a li'l closer, or if I happen to visit sometime in the time between then and now, we will definitely have to make plans!

[roses-rejoice.livejournal.com]

that's interesting.
setting aside masks for fun, and focusing on masks in (sometimes deadly) earnest,
i don't think a mask is necessarily a bad thing. if someone is using a mask to be fake or deceptive you can usually spot that. if someone is simply masking themselves a bit in order to preserve a zone of personal privacy, or to make the statement, "I wish to be selective about to whom I show my self," then I think that is fine.
different people have different levels of comfort with masks...and privacy. i know people who think that anyone who is not 100% forthcoming is probably bad, or at least unfriendly. i know other people (including myself) who are very uncomfortable with too much openness. if someone were to demand that I take off my masks at once, or suspect me of evil for wearing my armored visor, well, that's probably somebody i just don't care to be around, because they're not going to understand me.
i guess to sum up, if it's for fake it's bad, if it's for protection it's OK, in any case when you get to know someone it has to fall away to a level you BOTH are comfortable with.

[thedarksiren.livejournal.com]

Sorry this is so belated...been getting life together a bit for the move. But I have wanted to respond to this, and it has been in my head since you replied, so...

I agree that some masks are OK, and that indeed, a person wearing a mask as a front or for trixie purposes will be fairly self-evident. When I made this post, it was in reference to a particularly trixie person whom I had seen through a couple years ago, but she somehow managed to keep those nastier parts hidden from a mutual friend until recently. It really was sad though, as said friend was given a first-hand blow from the monster behind the mask, and although I hated to see my friend harmed, I am glad this person is now out of her life, as she would only cause more problems the longer they were friends.

As for wearing the mask as protection, I think everyone does this to some extent, and know quite a few people who would not give themselves away so easily, as those masks have built up over time as a result of life experiences, and are there for a reason. Besides, what fun would it be to see a person for everything they are right away? I think part of the fun of making new friends and/ or lovers is slowly peeling away the layers and discovering all the wonderful, colorful layers within them!

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I really appreciated them!