I didn’t intentionally leave the masks until last, but I’m really glad I did. Although they’re a sideline in many ways to the books, somehow, they seem to tie everything together.
Therefore, this week will be a little different. I have three masks to make so I’ll tell a bit of a story as I make each one. I’ll also introduce my practice pineapple pyramid, and how masks came to be a Violetta mascot.
First comes the challenge of trying them all on as quickly as possible with the help of fast forward. Now the mask parade is out of the way, as I make the Violetta 1 mask, I’ll share some mask history.
Throughout time, masks have been worn for many reasons varying from war disguises and religious ceremonies to entertainment and dancing. As long as 9000 years ago, masks have been discovered made of seashell and stone in places like Israel and Palestine, and we know that Egyptians wore them long before, but unfortunately these relics haven’t remained. Later they were used to protect from disease, which of course we are familiar with too. However, these types of Venetian-style masks come from the Masquerade tradition of the Italian Commedia dell’Arte.
In the 13th century, the Venetian Carnivale celebration emerged, starting from the 26th of December until the beginning of Lent. People used the masks as a disguise to conceal their identity allowing peasants and aristocrats to mix in the same company. There are many stylesbut the ones I make are in the Columbina style which only cover half the face and are often decorated with sparkly things and feathers.
The Violetta books are set in Venice in the 18th Century around Carnivale. At the time, there was a group of individuals employed by the State of Venice to investigate people who disobeyed.. This also involved wearing the wrong clothes, saying the wrong thing, or playing the wrong type of music...Violetta and her friends refer to them as the Fashion Police, but they were really called the Inquisitori di Stato. Like Violetta and the gang, the masks protected people in real life too.
Darth Vada, Batman and Catwoman, Zoro, and the Phantom of the Opera might be characters you are familiar with who have worn masks. There are many more characters throughout history too who have used them to disguise their appearance or abilities... and a few sequins never go astray.
Now the first Violetta mask is made, I’ll tell you a bit more about why I started making them as I make the second one.
When it came time to start sharing Violetta’s stories, and the music, I was really nervous about it. Of course I’ve been playing the violin for years, and have performed in front of an audience many times, but I’d never really put anything on the internet. This was about five years ago, however, all I watched at that point were videos of my classical idols. I wasn’t on social media, much less TikTok, so I didn’t see all the other people practicing. Now I love seeing those videos! There’s so much we can learn from each other, and Hillary Hahn’s 100 days of practice continues to inspire people all over the world.
Anyway, I often have voices in my head saying I’m not good enough. The novels are one thing, but when you’ve been playing for as long as I have, and studied at Conservatoriums, you have a lot of...instructional noise. Everything from bow arms to interpretation, and let’s not forget the nemesis of the fretless fingerboard...intonation.
Therefore, I needed a disguise. A bravery shield, like slipping on a catwoman mask so I could scale my imagined rooftops. However, now I have such a great time making them, and the reason I think they tie everything together is that they make me seem strange. And I am strange! I have weird ideas all the time, my imagination is often on overdrive, but at the same time, that’s how I’ve managed to do many of the things I’ve been scared about. I can take my mind elsewhere.
I like to think it’s a very silent and secretive super power.
When I was growing up I was painfully shy and people told me so often to come out of my shell, I started feeling like a turtle! I can’t count the number of times people have told me I’m too quiet, but we’ve probably all been told we’re too much of something. Today an echidna crossed my path and it reminded me that it’s okay that we’re all different.
An orchestra of tubas might sound lovely, but the repertoire is fairly limited, and I think it’s time we accept people for who they are, rather than trying to change them.
After all, people are multifaceted. We can’t put them in boxes of quiet and loud. In my case, music always drew out the noisy me. I’ve always danced like no one's watching, played strongly and when I’m performing on stage I often get those tingles of joy up your spine when you’re doing something really exciting. I hope you’ve experienced that too, but if it hasn’t happened yet, it will. All you need to do is follow those breadcrumbs of joy and sparkle.
This last mask I’m making, I call my Sarasate mask. Never did I think I’d be brave enough to perform the Gypsy Airs! It’s not the whole piece, but it’s still difficult... for me at least. This piece appears in Violetta and the Paganini Poltergeist and Pierrette le Bon and All the Magic of the Universe set in Paris.
Sarasate travelled from Spain to Paris by train to study at the age of eleven. He tragically lost his mother on the journey, and was consequently adopted by the director of the conservatoire and his wife.
I find stories like Sarasate’s so inspiring. He became one of the best violinists of all time and that must have taken extraordinary strength, courage and resilience. His adoptive parents no doubt did all they could, and by the sounds of his letters to Amelie, he was happy there.
But how did the mask become a mascot for Violetta’s musical adventures? Well, I think it’s a combination of all of those things. There’s the history and the mystery of who might be wearing them, and the secret magical powers that person may have. Wearing one can allow you to play a part, imagine becoming someone else, someone braver, or...it can help you become who you really are.
By the way, here I’m making my practice pineapple pyramid. Another slightly crazy idea, but as it kept niggling me for a whole month, I decided spending an hour or two on it couldn't hurt. Creating something as big as my dreams will take a long time, therefore I’m planning to do six days of practice and writing, and read a book each week. For every week I stick to it, I’ll pin up an origami flower made from scrap music paper, or maybe yellow paper, or black...I haven’t quite decided.
So what do you want to create in the world? Is it something that makes you scared? Or do you think it’s a waste of time, and that no one will care? Well, I care and I'm sure many other people do too. I believe we’re all here to create and those weird ideas have come to us for a reason. However, sometimes big ideas mean committing to doing a little every day. If you’re like me, and you have a big dream, I’ll be here every Wednesday morning to check in on my pineapple practice pyramid progress.
Why Wednesday? Because it’s hump day, the day when plans often go awry, and it fits the Egyptian pyramid theme. I’ll also be sharing something every Sunday from Violetta’s musical world.
For me, wearing a mask has enabled me to step outside my comfort zone...and I’m so glad I did. I’m learning that no matter how scared you feel, it’s possible to follow your dreams. It takes hard work and determination, but a few feathers, some sequins and some nail polish make it a whole lot more fun.
#creativechronicle, #violettabooks #creativelife #writinginspirations #maskigmaking #venetianmasks #middlegradebooks
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