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most prized treasure and loyal follower of her father’s knowledge as shown in the name of Agostino’s small, enchanting establishment: Alice’sWorkshop . Abrief historyofmasks and theirmeaning Man hasmademasks since theStoneAge. They were used in rituals and ceremonies related to hunting success, the fear of certain animals of celestial phenomena, as a kindof protective shield. Some of them, especially inGreek andRoman times, were used as a helmet against an adversary, while at the same time representing facial expressions that were supposed to intimidate their opponent.With the popularisationof Greek theatre and later onduring theRenaissance, themask acquired symbolic, funereal and alsoburlesquemeanings, reaching a kindof universal adoption in the 18th century under the guise of the carnaval masquerade.Maskedballs became very popular amongst 17th- and 18th-century European nobility. Deathmasks –usedby the ancient Egyptians–were very popular in theWest during the 18th and19th centuries andwere cast using the deceased’s face. Noblemetals like gold and silver were used for these as theyweremore resistant toorganic decomposition. In some culturesmasks are still used to evokemagic and fantastical,mythical or spiritual characters. In fact, according to legend,masks bear a strong link to their wearer, hencemany cultures fervently believe in their unswerving ability to summon thepowers and attributes of whatever themask represented. It was not until the early 1980s that theVenetian Carnavale regains its previous splendour by recovering the traditionof artisanmasks, both inVenice and in Florence. Theart ofmask-making It is aprocess that requires time andpatience, especially until theplastermould ismade, as this piece canbe usedover andover again. Thebase of themask ismade in clay, although this is only used as abasicmould topour thePlaster of Paris, so there is no need toworry about removing any air bubbles. This clay doesn’t require firing. A simplewetting every now and again and a goodwater-tight fit will ensure it stays inperfect condition for future use. The choice of the right papiermâché is very important. It needs tobe absorbent, long-lasting and the surface must be sufficiently smooth. It canbe cottonpaper, felt paper, newspaper or blottingpaper. Inmost cases, youonly need a few sheets of paper: a finer layer on the outside and something thicker for thedeeper layers. Both sides of the sheetsmust be glued to each other using abrush to apply thePVA, which is thebest adhesive for the jobdue to its flexibility after drying, stopping themask from cracking. The last step is painting thepiecewith an initial and very fine layer of acrylicpaint toprime thepaper. This 71