Article: Masks for Mardi Gras Merrymaking

On Twelfth Night-Jan. 6-the pre-Lenten Carnival season officially begins. It is a time of plenty that culminates on Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday." In many places, masks are part of the merrymaking before the 40 lean days of Lent begin.

"There's something magical about masks," says mask maker David Scalzi. "You can actually watch someone's entire personality change while they wear it. Masks are liberating; they are revealing and concealing at the same time."

In anticipation of Carnival masquerade balls, Scalzi is teaching two mask making classes sponsored by the Torpedo Factory and the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program.

Both classes will complete plaster-impregnanted gauze masks ...

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