Masked Singer: Open Access Sewing
In May of 2020, Joan Fearnley began her journey to becoming the “mask lady,” as she likes to call herself. In May, a webinar was held about singing and aerosols held by the University of Colorado at Boulder. Joan details that most of her choir director colleagues attended the pivotal online talk. When the pandemic began, choristers and their conductors were mostly optimistic that some form of in-person performing—distanced or reduced—would resume. However, the webinar shut down the hope for normalcy with their science on aerosols. Joan describes that her colleagues were completely baffled after the webinar and had no idea how to move forward. They were so shocked that for weeks after the talk, no one spoke a word of it. On the other hand, Joan chose to face science's harsh reality immediately and began devising a plan.
Joan became inspired by the science behind singing and aerosols and launched herself into a new project…mask making. She asked herself, “how can we make a mask that will enable singers to sing?” Furthermore, how can the mask be made as accessible as possible?
Joan's mask design began with the idea that singers needed room to move their mouths. As seen in the image, the mask features a large half-circle chamber that protrudes from the face of the wearer. This cavity also allows for sound movement and aids in the acoustic quality of the mask. The space between a singer's mouth and the fabric allows for both movement and un-muffled sound quality.
The mask itself has three layers, 2 layers of 100% cotton, poly/spandex, or sheeting, and 1 non-woven inner layer (Room to Sing 2020).
The mask has made its way to both Canadian coasts.
As well as the USA.
Grayson Nesbitt—Canadian tenor and UOttawa Alumnus—has created a resource on his YouTube channel about the singer’s mask. In his video, Grayson details how to use the mask and explains our body’s response to singing with a mask. The video is aimed at singers who are new to the mask or singers who are having difficulty getting used to the singer’s mask.
Joan’s mask project is an absolute success. She even co-wrote a blog that details the science behind singing with her singer’s mask. In the blog post with Dr. Jocelyn Songer, 5 main areas of inquiry are addressed.
1. Masks singing vs talking
2. Design considerations for masked singing
3. Making and buying masks for singers
4. Fabrics and Materials
5. Care and use of singer masks
Check out the article here.
During our interview, Joan spoke briefly about her mask engineering. In this, she stated that she is not paid, but she feels as though the singer’s mask gave her a purpose and a goal to work toward during the pandemic. As her original plan was to make the mask totally accessible, Joan had made a conscious decision to engineer the mask itself as a sewing pattern and to make the patent for the singer’s mask open-access. That way, businesses, schools, and individuals are free to make and provide the masks without any barriers.
Patterns and tutorials are available on her Youtube channel and on her Facebook group “Masks for Performers.”
References:
Fearnley Joan. 2020. “I love the colour combo, logo, and matching adjusting beads.” Facebook, September 12, 2020.
Fearnley Joan. 2020. “I promise I won’t post everyday but this is pretty cool.” Facebook, October 2, 2020.
Fearnley Joan. 2020. “My mask design has made its way to Julliard.” Facebook, October 20, 2020.
Fearnley Joan. 2020. “My mask design in action in Halifax.” Facebook, October 7, 2020.
Fearnley Joan. 2020. “On July 1st I posted about where I was at regarding this pandemic and singing.” Facebook, October 18, 2020.
Fearnley Joan. 2020. “This video was shared by a mask maker Susan Selim, based in Utah.” Facebook, October 1, 2020.
Fearnley, Joan, and Jocelyn Songer. 2020. “Constructing Masks for Singers.” _MakerMask_, November 6, 2020.
Nesbitt Grayson. 2020. “Using the Singer’s Mask.” YouTube, September 25, 2020.