Mask

I have been offering a process of mask making for a number of years now, both in the form of one-day and weekend workshops, and in individual private sessions. I see it as a valuable medium for releasing latent creativity and connecting with and healing the soul.

In Jungian psychology the persona archetype takes its name from the ancient Greek word for the actor's mask, and serves a similar purpose. The persona is the public mask we develop as a response to what we learn is required of us to be for others. Most of us have various masks for different roles and situations. If we become too identified with one, we may forget that's all it is, or that we have other masks we can choose to wear.

I designed the mask making process to help clients discover or uncover a more unconscious part of them, an aspect of the real and possibly hidden self that is waiting to show itself and speak.

In the workshop

Each workshop or series of private mask making sessions is a unique opportunity for an individual personal journey towards self-understanding. There are various stages to the process, and sufficient time is given at each stage to allow people to fully integrate their experience.

The initial stage includes reflection about what the mask means, and a chance to go inward using guided visualisation to 'meet the mask'. Each person now begins to develop their relationship with the unknown part of the self seen in the mask. Ideas start to emerge, and colours and decorating materials begin to suggest themselves, which may be natural or more obviously decorative.

The next stage is one in which the mask is created on the person, using Mud Rock or Plaster of Paris. This gives an opportunity for deeper meditation as they experience the mask being built on their face - much as the mask we wear in life is built up as a protective shield and barrier between our core self and the world.

The following stage brings about integration through supervised decoration of the mask. Advice and assistance are given, though people are always free to explore where their imagination leads. Sometimes the mask itself seems to dictate the materials needed, and the way they should be used. While the face of the mask is created, people also explore, either as a group or individually, what arises in the process.

The final stage brings about completion and closure, helping people to understand the deeper meaning of their mask, and what it perhaps shows about them that was hidden until the mask unveiled it. Some unexpected understanding about an unfamiliar part of them revealed in the mask may have arisen.

The mask may also help to point the way towards changes they might need to make in their life to allow this part of them to come more fully alive. Sometimes the mask may reveal some element of personality or experience that needs to be left behind, held in the mask.

This process encourages self-discovery and self-empowerment, and makes available a profound healing of the psyche, putting people in touch with deeper aspects of the self that are waiting to emerge.

What is the Mask process about?

Jean Cocteau said: "Art is a lie which tells the truth."

Masks can be used to express your spiritual self. Not masks to cover "imperfection" - not make-up, rather masks which allow you to express who you are and who you wish to be. They can be seen as symbols for the dream self.

The idea behind the Mask process is based on the teachings of Carl Jung, who believed there was an unconscious struggle between the individual and society and used symbolism to explore this. Jung meant by the unconscious that part of the psyche which lies outside conscious awareness, and expresses itself through dreams, fantasies, 'Freudian' slips and the like. Jung distinguished two layers of the unconscious: the personal unconscious derived from one's own experience, and the collective unconscious containing the universal patterns and images called archetypes. Our collective unconscious appears through our "persona" ("actor's mask" in Latin) It is the public face an individual assumes in relating to others. The persona is created from the expectations of society and early childhood training, and is useful both in making contact with others and being part of the tribe, but can be inhibiting when someone completely identifies with it.

Jung believed that we have a "shadow self", like a 'dark side' which harbours our more primal ideas and impulses. Most of us would act on them, given the chance. Most of us repress our shadow, or feel guilty when we "let it out" - feeling that this part of our being is like an 'evil twin.' However, Jung believed we should confront our shadow, explore it and make friends with it, and that doing so would bring sweet rewards. He thought that our shadows can help us to understand our motivations, inspire us to new thoughts, and become a source of invigorating inspiration.

The exploration of one's shadow can then become a process of "individuation" - the conscious realisation and fulfilment of one's unique being. It is associated with unconscious imagery and leads to the experiencing of the Self as the centre of the personality, transcending the ego. It begins by challenging egocentricity, producing the awareness that the ego is subordinate to a more comprehensive psychic entity - the Self. Coming to terms with one's Self - of which one's shadow is a part - leads one to be more centred in responding to social mores, ideals and norms, and in taking actions not driven entirely by Ego.

A desire to begin a process of challenging egocentricity begs the question of how one goes about exploring shadows. This is where the Mask process comes into play as creating imagery to mirror the Self. Sometimes a mask can allow more of ourselves to come out by hiding other parts and leaving us less vulnerable. Masks can allow one to paint a tear when sad, and put on warpaint when angry.

Art can allow us to assume roles outside the self and see our self through a stranger's eyes. Any form of creative art allows one to step in to a surreal playground. My own experience has led me to honour the power of the creative energy that surges through us when we free ourselves of the blocks that stand in its way. We know how powerful we are when we are little children, armed with colour and imagination with which to splash the sky and paint the world. How sad that we are often taught to forget, to close down, to believe we are doomed to a limited life. Part of my role as a therapist, I feel, is to help the child in each of us to remember.