Erik's Inspiration

Erik's Inspiration - Facebook

Erik's Inspiration is a small business specializing in masks and the art of the Masquerade. What started as a creative outlet became a business providing artwork for the likes of Cirque du Soleil, mask shops in New Orleans, New York City and many other national and international shops, galleries and clientele.

Erik's Inspiration - Blue Gold Macaw  Erik's Inspiration - Copper Goddess



Realizing the versatility of paper, I began to experiment with adding other elements to my masks, including horns, wings and other embellishments. This process transformed my masks; however, cutting each shape with a craft knife became very tedious especially with larger orders. I decided to research automated systems and found several machines on the market, but needed something heavy duty and able to cut a variety of materials. My research paid off, I found the Silver Bullet Cutter and 4+ years later, I've never looked back. What normally took hours to cut was now being done in minutes, Wings, shapes, crown forms all cut to my specifications using a variety of weights of paper - Cardstock, construction paper, printmaking papers, watercolor papers, specialty papers all a breeze. And the reproducibility is outstanding, resulting in perfect shapes that can be layered on top of each other for strength and resulting in beautifully symmetric wings and shapes. 

Erik's Inspiration - Dragon Beauty   Erik's Inspiration - Scarlet Brigid



It all began with a simple inspiration - a bunch of leftover feathers from a set of bird ornaments I created for Christmas. My first attempt at making a mask was with a plastic form which I decoupaged, decorated and adorned with feathers - that first mask sold to a client in Greece. Now, 15 years later, I reinvented the wheel - bored with the basic mask form, I researched the techniques of the Italian mask makers and over the years developed my own twist to the paper-mache technique which they developed hundreds of years ago. My masks start with a clay sculpture which is used to create a negative mold. The mask forms are created from recycled papers which are layered into the negative mold to produce a lightweight but sturdy form. The masks are then hand-painted and embellished with Austrian crystals, lace, feathers and natural gemstones.  

Erik's Inspiration - Zebra Mask   Erik's Inspiration - Blue Dragon   Erik's Inspiration - Gazelle Mask

If you are an artist or crafter working with paper and want to create unique shapes or lettering and are looking for a machine that will create perfect, reproducible cuts and save you time, do yourself a favor and buy a Silver Bullet Cutter.