Bonus material: The monkey and the cat

by Gisela Posted on October 14, 2014

Kitten Xilo was a little scared of me today. Maybe because I looked like this. And maybe because I could not talk and was breathing weirdly (covering your mouth and nose with sticky derma wax does that to you).

And to again illustrate how little I usually plan my masquerades: When I started smudging the derma wax all over my mouth, I still didn’t know what I was going to be!

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Day 283

by Gisela Posted on October 10, 2014

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Today is World Mental Health Day. A lot of people out there have a neuropsychiatric disorde and the stigma surrounding it must stop. The silence must be broken, the knowledge increased. The understanding of the struggles of mental illness must improve.

My “disorder” is a real struggle, but it’s also a gift. It allows me to make 365 Masquerades. I’m convinced I could NEVER do this without my “disorder”. I’m 33 and I got diagnosed as late as this year, during this project, #onDay136.

This mask is my own interpretation of how it feels to have the specific disorder that I have. This is my brain 24/7. Extreme creativity, thinking outside the box and being extremely efficient (this was a 30 min mask) – and a struggle to do “normal” things such as cleaning, concentrating, planning, focusing combined with frustration, exhaustion, enormous changes of mood and energy levels.

Do you like 365 Masquerades? Thank my chaotic brain for it! I do, sometimes. Can you guess which one I have?

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Some thoughts on creativity and the creative process

by Gisela Posted on October 6, 2014

Some thoughts on creativity and the creative process.

I just bought 150 wooden barbecue sticks. I just saw them while buying food and immediately the thought in my head was: I wonder what I can make out of these.

So, I still don’t know. But I’m gonna start on them now.

Most of the things I do are process focused and the drive is creative problem solving. The result is sometimes surprising, never expected but most important: it’s not the most important thing.

Trying to control or plan the outcome of a creative process is not only nearly impossible for me, it would also be a huge kill of lust.

It’s natural for me to work like this also in this 365 Masquerades project of mine. This is why I always answer the same thing when asked the question “How do you come up with all your costume ideas?” (which is a FAQ):

I HAVE NO IDEA. It’s like trying to explain miles of associational thoughts from hours or years back.

Anyone recognise this? Or not, at all?

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