The Venetian masks of Tihomir Marinkovic

Tihomir Marinković is an artist and designer from Croatia who specialises in sculpture and mask making. Born in the capital city of Zagreb, he uses tec glue guns and tecbond glue to decorate these beautiful masks.

Tihomir showed creative flair early in his childhood, and was spotted transferring some of his ideas to paper at a young age. Whilst at school, he developed a preference for painting and sculpture, and went on to attend the School of Applied Art & Design in Zagreb.

In 1993, he began his studies at the Academia di Belle Arti in Venice. Here, he showed an interest in the creation and development of masks, which are major symbols of the Venice Carnival. In Venice, masks played a major role in everyday life, and the first records of carnivals date back to the year 1286.

Following his graduation in 2001, Tihomir returned to Zagreb, where he opened an art studio to create traditional and modern masks. He later opened a second studio in Velika Gorica, the largest city in the county of Zagreb.

Masks are traditionally made from leather, but modern masks are commonly made of woollen paper. To make each mask, a clay model is created into which liquid plaster is poured and left to harden. The plaster is then coated with a substance such as Vaseline to stop the paper from sticking. Masks are prepared with two or three layers of paper, depending on the size of the mould, and are left to dry completely. Specific designs are then applied to the mask, before it is painted and coated with a clear protective varnish. Tihomir uses the tec 805 glue gun and tecbond clear glue to decorate his masks, both of which are available from Hobbytec.

Tihomir has taken part in a number of solo exhibitions held in galleries and museums throughout Croatia, as well as smaller displays and group exhibitions. His work can also be seen in a selection of multimedia projects, including films, plays, music videos and television shows.

To find out more about Tihomir and his work, visit http://www.masks.com.hr/.