DAVID KNEZZ

David always wanted to be an artist in college, but gave it up because he struggled with drawing. In 2004, he was assigned props work for a production of The Hobbit, which needed some masks made. He bought a ‘How To’ book, made the masks and received the compliment, ‘You should become a professional mask-maker,’ that compliment changed his life. He says, “I couldn’t draw, but I could sculpt. I signed up for sculpture classes to hone my skills, opened a website and have been doing it ever since.” He mentions, “Maskmaking bridges the fine arts and the performing arts. You can hang it on a wall and admire it, or wear it and immerse yourself in another character.” David is always looking for ways to inspire himself. He wants to get into making more abstract masks as well as painting more exotic finishes on the masks. His advice to aspiring young mask artists - hone your sculpting skills. The mask always starts out as a sculpture. Take classes, study great artists. Like any art, you need a foundation. Once you know the muscles that make up a human expression you can be free to add your artist vision to them.