Experience Louisiana Festival: Veteran Mardi Gras mask-maker to show craft

Just because her children are grown does not mean the making of Mardi Gras costumes is over for Jackie Miller.
“I started making them when my sons were younger and ran Mardi Gras in Tee Mamou,” Miller said. “You have to have the hat and screen mask at Tee Mamou Mardi Gras. It grew from that. People just started calling me, wanting me to make their costumes.”
“I have no idea how many I have made — a lot,” she said. “Some years I make more than others.”
Miller has made traditional Cajun Mardi Gras costumes for 35 years, and in addition to the shirts and pants — made from a men’s pajama pattern -— Miller also makes the traditional wire mask and capuchon.
Miller estimated that she made about 20 complete costumes for this past Mardi Gras, as well as about 100 masks and 75 to 80 capuchons each year.
“The masks are harder to make,” she said. “I make just hats one day and just masks another. The costumes, from start to finish, take about a day and half to make. I use the fabrics the person wants and then I fringe it.”
The Mardi Gras costume maker will make capuchons and masks at the Experience Louisiana Festival Oct. 17-18 at the LSU-Eunice campus. Miller looks forward to sharing the Louisiana culture with others at the festival.
“I enjoy seeing crafts from different places,” Miller said. “This is chance to learn about our culture and the things that make up the culture and exchange culture views.”
“I always attended the Folklife Festival and enjoyed it.”
Contact Claudette Olivier at claudette.olivier@eunicetoday.com.