• All creations are made mostly from earthenware clay with a variety of glazes fired to cone 5.
• All are made to hang on the wall.
• All are handmade by me without the use of molds, therefore each piece will have slight variations. What you see on this website is not necessarily the exact piece that will come home to you.
• Sizes range from approximately 3 inches to 15 inches long and from 2 inches to 8 inches wide. You can expect the following size approximations:
  • Small masks – 3-4 inches long and 2-3 inches wide
  • Medium masks – 5-8 inches long and 3-4 inches wide
  • Large masks – 8-12 inches long and 3-8 inches wide
  • Extra Large masks – 12-15 inches long and 3-8 inches wide

Prices range from $45 to $150 and are based on piece complexity, not size. Often the smallest and largest pieces are most difficult to create, glaze and fire.

My Inspiration:

I spent a month in Namibia in September 2013. While there, I toured parts of the country, from Windhoek to Swakopmund through Damaraland to Etosha and many small towns in between. I met wonderful, kind and generous people: my guide, Forster whose enthusiasm for his country was contagious, the staff and volunteers at Harnas Wildlife Foundation and the doctors and volunteers at the N/a’an ku sê Lifeline clinic – all who give their lives to support the indigenous people and animals in their beautiful country in southwest Africa.

Namibia is a country of extremes, from the dry Namib and Kalahari deserts to the bursting wetlands of the Caprivi panhandle, from scorching summer heat to bitter winter cold, from towering elephants capable of knocking over telephone poles to insects that climb the thousand foot high red dunes of Sossusvlei to catch dewdrops, from Swakopmund city lights to the clearest Milky Way, from Windhoek taxi horns to silent Etosha Pan glowing like the surface of the moon.

I spent much of my youth dreaming of the day that I would visit Africa, the cradle of civilization, the start of the great human migration to populate the planet often to the peril of the earth’s most majestic creatures. I went to Namibia thinking I’d most like to bond with the big cats, but was chosen instead by the Chacma baboon on an afternoon walk through the bush with three babies in tow, hanging from my arms, neck and pants. I was also struck to the core by the people whose stories of hardship, perseverance and hope was a testament to their strength in the midst of great inequality. What I learned is that to go to Africa is to give yourself over to her stories and inspiration and to let her speak through you.

Back then, I was sent home with a muse who would push me into the most creative period of my life. I felt as if a voice had entered my conscience telling me “you make masks of my animals, now.” I listened. These creations of mine are the story of the animals I’ve met on my journeys throughout the world, and in my backyard.

Many of the animals I am inspired by will be extinct in our lifetime if something drastic isn’t done now to stop it. Part of the proceeds of these masks will go to the organizations set up to help support wildlife conservation and education.