While the Wednesday class were making their sugar skulls, one student asked if we would be making Halloween pails like the year before.
I told her we would not be able to create the pails since I did not have enough of the clean paint cans left for everyone. Then another student asked if we could do some other kind of project for them to use on Halloween which sparked another student to remark, "Can we make mask?"
I hadn't planned on making mask, but why not? To me, this is their class and I do want to honor their request on activities they would like to create and so I came up with a mask making project.
They sketched out their ideas on paper first. One boy proudly brought his new sketchbook to the studio and did his sketching in it. I love that he has a sketchbook and encouraged him by telling him about all of Picasso's sketchbooks I had seen in Barcelona.
I also had some mask that I have collected over the years on display to help the students figure out how to build their mask with paper. They had a great time putting them all on too.
When they were happy with their sketch, they used them as templates when possible for their final work. I also had some templates for those who had drawn their mask too small so they would end up with a mask that actually covered their face.
They built their mask by adding paper parts with glue sticks after painting the pieces with acrylic paint. I had given them watercolor paper to work on since it was by far the heaviest stock paper I had in the studio. The patch on the above mask actually lifts up! And she worked quite hard to make sure the teeth on the mask look like they are in her mouth. She was quite happy with her results.
This girls' mask at first glance looks pretty simple, however take a look at that mustache! She built it so that her nose would actually fit through. So clever.
The Mario mask is actually five parts put together. He wanted the lid of the hat to stick out, so he created a separate piece there in order to fold it out. The nose and mustache are also separate pieces in order to create depth.
And finally this sweet mask. There was no convincing him to add any color or details to his mask. I discovered why when he stood next to the black refrigerator in the studio. His mask blends into the dark and makes him look headless! Oh my word, the creativity in this group of children knows no bounds.
I usually do not put pictures of the kids on my blog in order to protect them but since their identities are protected by the mask, thought it would be fun to share them wearing their creations. (I hot glued the black ribbon on the mask so they could wear them for the pictures)
I was thrilled with this project. Even more thrilled that the project was brought forth by the students in the class! I hope they have as good a time wearing their mask on Halloween as they did making them in studio.
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