In this mask making workshop we will draw inspiration from a variety of masks from around the world; fire breathing Chinese dragons, vibrant and celebratory calaveras from el Dia de los Muertos and mysterious Venetian Bauta masks are a few of the disguises we will explore. Experimenting with different materials, methods, and designs and choosing which ones inspire us the most, we will become familiar with building and decorating techniques to make truly unique and dynamic pieces.

Michael P. Gillane is a multimedia artist and educator whose work can best be described as expressive realism, a style in which the viewer can almost recognize the content of the image but must imagine for themselves what is being described and what story is being told. After earning his BFA in printmaking from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Michael completed the Master Printer Training Program at the Tamarind Institute of Lithography in Albuquerque, NM. He then went on to receive his MFA in printmaking from Pratt Institute. In addition to being a working artist, Michael has taught Visual Art in public schools in Amherst and Springfield Massachusetts. He currently teaches Visual Art at the public Provincetown Schools, an IB World School in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His prints, paintings, and drawings are in private collections and have been shown in galleries nationally.