Semmerling & Schaefer Mask Artists Studios

How's it going? I was just writing to say thank you for the amazing workshop you orchestrated with our kids! It is something that they will remember for a long long time, and not just because they grew in confidence, flexed their creative muscles and got to have fun in a parade. It was also because of the way you talked to the kids... very few teachers have as much patience or encourage as much fun as you did. It was truly a pleasure to work with you and see how you do your thang!

Thanks again,

Thank you so much for getting that mask to us in such short notice. We did receive it Tuesday afternoon and your masks were a major hit with our guests. We gave your name out to everyone who asked and we took dozens of pictures. When we get them all developed, we'll send you some through e-mail. Again, thank you so very much.

Chris had emergency eye surgery earlier this month and we didn't know if he was going to be able to even be up and present for the wedding, so we hadn't been able to order the mask until his eye doctor gave him a thumbs up. But all is fine now and our wedding was the most wonderful evening ever. Thank you again, and I'll make sure everyone knows who did them for us and how wonderfully helpful you were on incredibly short notice.

S.C.

I bought the mask to wear to Duke basketball games, where the goal of all the fans is to support the team, as loudly and as visibly as possible. The mask doesn't help me with the loud part, but it does help a lot with visibility. When dozens of people will go so far as to paint their entire bodies, you have to have something unique to stand out and get attention, and your mask is that unique something. Everyone at school recognizes the mask (even if they don't recognize me) and shots of me (hiding behind my mask) have been seen on TV by over 7 million people, including 4 million who got a long shot of me during the NCAA Women's National Championship Game on ESPN. If that isn't "getting attention," I don't know what is. It surely wouldn't have happened without you.

And not only has the mask had a great impact, you guys have been great. Sonja and I talked long and hard about making the mask work with my glasses (my vision is about 700/20, so watching a game would be no fun without them) and when I mentioned that the mask was not as blue as I had expected, Jeff immediately offered to repaint it. Everyone else liked the nearly all black tone that it came with, so I never took him up on it, but it was nice to know that it was there. Plus, the mask has held up great- it has been worn to more than 50 hot sweaty energetic games and hasn't even picked up a smell, much less required cleaning.

Anyway- you guys produce great art, and I'm happy to wear a piece of art on my face. Good luck to you in the future-
Luis Villa

I just thought you might be interested that the mask you sold to me on Lundi Gras made it into the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Mardi Gras Day. I have enclosed a copy of the picture.

I had a very good time wearing the leafy mask on both Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras. It evoked a lot of comments from people I passed in the crowd. I also had my picture taken with several visitors to New Orleans during the two days. It was worth the money for the fun it created.

Last Halloween, I wore the mask to Anne Rice's party in New Orleans.  It was a tremendous hit!  I can't even begin to count how many strangers came up and asked to have their pictures taken with me.  It made for an unforgettable evening, and my mask experience would be duplicated every time I wore it to a party.

Every time I look at it, I'm continually amazed by the bright colors, high quality of materials, excellent craftsmanship, and exquisite attention to detail.  The whimsy and character expressed by the mask always brings a smile to my face.  It has quickly become one of my favorite possessions. I'm looking forward to having you create more masks for me in the future.

I'm a rather timid person by nature and it was amazing to me how putting on these exquisite masks can let you explore different sides of your personality. Until you've experienced it for yourself it's somewhat hard to explain, but you can be anything you want to be behind one of their masks.

For example in 1996 at The Renaissance Festival ("TRF") I wore a S&S feline mask which had an extravagant boa that hangs down like a mane and I felt very exotic and got more attention than I can ever remember getting in my life. It was a very wonderful experience! It was kind of like becoming slightly feline, I was on the prowl.

At my first Mardi Gras (1997) I wore a bird mask from S&S that was done in purple and blue hues. It had magnificent detail with luminous feathers coming from the top of the mask that came up like a crest. I had several people come up to me and tell me how beautiful I looked and the funny thing was that they couldn't really see what I looked like they were in actuality complimenting the workmanship of the mask.

Then my girlfriend and I went to TRF (1997) and I wore a mask S&S that was made from black leather and a little devilish. She's kind of a cut-up and put on a pig mask. We had the best time! You can let loose a little and not feel so self-conscious that you may be doing something silly or embarrassing. You just put on a mask from S&S and let yourself become a little like your mask. Explore!

This does not happen with all masks. Only masks made with such imagination and whimsey, coupled with such extreme attention to quality of materials and realism coupled with fancy.

One beautiful leather mask I have had for 14 years. It is the centerpiece of my Mardi Gras outfit, and when I wear it I become the center of attention. The 2nd one is a donkey mask that elicits a truly extraordinary response in me. I start braying like a donkey while talking; I can't help myself! This causes those around me to explode into paroxysms of laughter. Thus I can say that Jeff's masks have truly made me more popular and funnier, less self-conscious, and happier!

These masks are by far the best masks I have ever come across.

I also use them in my work with students, who lose their inhibitions and find true creativity just by losing themselves in the character the mask helps them create.

Thanks, Jeff, for the fabulous contribution your care in mask making has made to easing the cares of my life.

I just had to take a moment and write to you concerning my masks. After seeing your masks used at the Disney/MGM Studios Screen Test attraction I felt compelled to join in the fun. I was very impressed by the quality of workmanship and durability of the masks.

I own a commedia, a trout (favorite!), a cat, a cow, a pig, and of course a rat. I can't begin to thank you enough for the hours of fun my whole family has derived from these masks, (let alone the hours of therapy they have saved!) Every day is Mardi Gras when I'm wearing a mask! And I haven't needed my Viagara since I started wearing the pig mask to bed!