The Art of Ancient Africa- African Masks

Part of the fourth grade curriculum in my district, is to learn about the art of Africa. This year we did that in the form of masks. At first I thought about using paper mache, but let me tell you, that is the my least favorite of mediums. Also I had other classes working with clay at the same time and those two materials mix only with deadly consequences so I opted for paper masks.
We began the discussion with some student-led research on African art and African masks, then we discussed what the students had found. After establishing some basic facts about African art and African masks, we took a look at images of many different kids of African masks. My challenge to the students was to see what the found in common with all the masks.

As a class, we made a list of the similarities between all African masks, here is what they came up with that they all seemed to have:

- basic line designs.
- earth tones
- exaggerated facial features
- yarn/twine used for beard and facial hair
- animal and human features mixed together

Students had to choose at least two of these items to show in their interpretation of an African mask.

During the next class, I show the students how to fold and tape their paper to make a more three dimensional paper mask. For the rest of the class, they used only scissors and paper to cut out and add details of the face.

During the second class, I introduced pipe cleaners, feathers, twine and yarn, as well as paper, for the students to use to create details on their mask.

On the last day, they were able to use paint to complete the look, making sure they included two of the items from our list about what is usually seen in African masks. The results are very striking and each has a different personality and theme to it.

A Peek Into my Portfolio

Some of you might remember that I painted a red panda for my brother, who is an animal enthusiast, over the summer. He asked me to to do one of a one-horned rhino right after he got the red panda. Of course, it has taken me from the summer until this week to finish it. Getting married and beginning at a new school put a stop to extra creative projects for a little bit. Anyway, it's done and I love it. What's better, my brother loves it too! Here is the progression of my one-horned rhino painting in oil paints:

These are obviously just in the beginning stages, laying down a lean layer of paint to block out where I want the basic shapes, and then beginning to fill in darks and lights.

I finished filling in the large areas of dark and light and begin on the background. I used a metal palette knife for the background to give it some texture and suggest foliage.

Then I added texture. As you might imagine, there is a ton of texture on a rhino. In a lot of places, I only hinted at the texture.

Then I decided that I didn't like the muzzle portion so I painted over that area, re-doing the darks and lights and then blending them together and re-adding texture. I also redid the horn.

And here is the finished piece! Thanks for taking a peek inside my portfolio!

Cupcake Containers- Kindergarten

In Kindergarten, our curriculum calls for teaching the students how pinch and roll clay to make a piece of artwork. We decided to make clay cupcake containers! The kinders were so excited!
First we had a day where we just got comfortable with the clay. Students smushed and smashed and made all sorts of things, but at the end of the day, they had to give the clay back.

During the next class, we talked about how air bubbles can form in the clay and how we need to get rid of those so our pieces don't explode in the kiln. We all wedged our clay and then rolled into a ball. Using thumbs and then pinching, students made a hole and then enlarged it. This created a small pinch pot. I showed everyone how to use their fingers to smooth the top edge. Then using a small wooden tool, students created a cupcake holder texture on the outside of their pinch pot by lightly etching vertical lines into the clay.

For our third class, students rolled out a looooong 'snake' of clay. A lot of students had trouble doing this at first, but after a kick start from the teacher, they got along just fine. Then the clay was laid on the edge of the cupcake bottom (which is by now dry so it's more sturdy!) and coiled around until it came to a point. I did a quick demo on how to lightly smudge the clay together so that the coiled 'snake' would stick. ( I also went back after the kids had left and made sure they were all secure, mostly on the inside of the coil so as not to ruin the frosting effect.) The kids then rolled out small balls of clay to attach to the top as cherries!

Out last class was painting/glazing the cupcakes. Since I have a limited amount of glaze, the students got to select a glaze for the icing and then we painted the cherries red. We're still waiting to do the last step, which is to paint the cupcake holder or the bottom of our cupcake container. We will be using tempera paint for this so that the kids have a wider variety of colors to choose from. They are so cute and charming. For the record, I borrowed the idea from a picture I saw on Artsonia, found here. I modified it a bit for kinders and I simply used this project to teach clay techniques, we didn't talk about Wayne T. It was so fun to do this project, the littles love clay!