Sans Souci Studios is the maskmaking and costuming shop of central Vermont artist Carrie Rouillard. While I have been making masks all my life, I officially started Sans Souci Studios in 2000. The question I'm asked most frequently is, why do you make masks? (I never got this question when I painted landscapes....) The short answer is because I think it's fun, but you can read the longer answer here if you really want to.
I started working primarily in paper mache because it is strong, comfortable to wear and traditional in appearance. And... let's admit it... also the material about which I could most easily find information. I had a fair bit of success in this medium, with my work appearing in video, theater and TV and being purchased by collectors around the world. A resume of specific achievements can be viewed here, and a TV interview I gave a few years back can be viewed here, if you'd like more details. In 2014 I discovered the Furry world and realized somewhat queasily that these were the masks that I had wanted to make all along. So I set about teaching myself the skills I lacked- quite a few, most significantly sewing and airbrushing- and finished “Max”, my first Furry mask, in June of 2016. This blog post further details my adventures. I hope to make more of these masks in the future, particularly using resin parts of my own design and manufacture. When I'm not making masks, I enjoy reading, hiking, collecting model horses, and spending time with my husband Brian, daughter Isabelle, and kitties Ezzy (the mellow guy in the pic) and Teaze. I hope you enjoy your visit and thank you for dropping by! |