Seattle Press on Line - Mask Masters Hold Fremont Family Workshop

Mask Masters Hold Fremont Family Workshop

Zsa Zsa Belle Toms admires a mask created by her mother, Laura Baumwall (background).

Vida Wenokur's "Rexy the Unicorn."

Dana and Kestrel Wenig work on their design.

Mask for a giant puppet that will appear in the 2001 Fremont Solstice Parade.

Apr 18, 2001 -- Start with a vast unused warehouse space--the Red Hook building at 34th and Evanston. Add kids and parents, give them paper and wire and sticks and glue, and remind them that the Solstice Parade is right around the corner.

On Saturday, April 7, parents and children worked together to create huge, wonderful masks, both hand-held and movable, alongside artists and friends from around the city. Cameron Mason of the Fremont Arts Council (FAC) organized the project, called "Simple Masks and Body Puppets," aided by two visiting artists from London, Sofie Layton and Julian Beere.

Five families participated in the workshop designated for children and their parents. Dana Wenig and her daughter, Kestrel, came from South Seattle to make masks. Kestrel was excited about painting her larger-than-life-sized puppet head when she got home, while Dana was excited about finding a workshop where no child or parent feels they are in the way. That makes a big difference to the Wenigs, who homeschool. They say events like this are all too unusual.

David Ruggiero, who lives in Fremont/Wallingford, and Cathy Tuttle of Wallingford, agree that it's rare to find this type of creative atmosphere in an event that welcomes parents and their children. Cathy brought her three children for the day, and each of them went home with a mask.

Sofie Layton, one of the visiting artists, explains that the project uses simple mask forms that become animated in a simple way. She's pleased that participants took their unfinished masks and puppets home to complete in time for the Solstice Parade on June 16.

The FAC received funding for the current set of seven workshops plus a Visiting Artist program from the Department of Neighborhoods and the King County Arts Commission. Laura Baumwall, president of the FAC's board of directors, says the council is planning to incorporate more workshops like this for parade participants, "as long as the council can find space like the Red Hook warehouse at 34th and Evanston." Baumwall says, "It's becoming harder and harder to find open space in Fremont to do our community work."

The Fremont Arts Council would like to continue working with parents and children. Council meetings are the first Tuesday of the month and are open to the public. For more information, call 547-7440.

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