Total transformation: mask making.

Total transformation: mask making. MATERIALS * Photos and slides of different cultural masks * Paper * Markers * Tissue paper * Glue * Scissors * Clay (cone 06) * Rolling pins * Coffee cans * Kiln kiln(kĭl, kĭln), furnace for firing pottery and enamels, for making brick, charcoal, lime, and cement, for roasting ores, and for drying various substances (e.g., lumber, chemicals). * Glazes LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will ... * appreciate the culture of different masks and "why"they were made. * explain how lines, shapes and colors can reveal emotions. * show how the exaggeration of facial features Facial FeaturesSee also anatomy; beards; body, human; eyes.gnathismthe condition of having an upper jaw that protrudes beyond the plane of the face. — gnathic, adj. conveys emotionsmore powerfully. * show symmetrical balance and pattern in the designs of masks inthe past and also of the mask they made. * complete masks that convey emotion, show balance, and use colorto emphasize features. * hone their previously learned clay skills Children enjoy putting on masks and feeling transformed. It'sfun to have a "new face" with which to amuse a��muse?tr.v. a��mused, a��mus��ing, a��mus��es1. To occupy in an agreeable, pleasing, or entertaining fashion.2. people. Icertainly enjoyed this as a child, and used this memory In create thefollowing two-part mask-making study. In ancient cultures, masks were made by "mask-makers" andsometimes took years to make. The masks were believed to hold magicalpowers such as protection against supernatural powers, honoring of thedead, ensuring victory in war, and having power over crop production bysending rain and sunshine. Masks were used in initiation rituals andreligious rituals. In the Orient, masks were made with brilliant colorsand expressions. Today, masks are still made, but in the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , when many ofus think of masks, we think of those sold in theatrical shops. Theskills used to create these masks are still specialized. It takes muchskill to create the mold for a mask of a president or movie star. The first masks my students and I chose to study were from Africantribes. Many of their masks were used as a great communication tool. Thelines, shapes and color, and the exaggeration of features in the masks,helped convey emotions. We also examined masks made by several American Indian tribes. As aclass, we discussed the cultural significance of masks in the past andpresent civilizations. We noticed the symmetrical balance and pattern inthe designs. PART I: PAPER MASKS Our first mask was made of paper, marker andtissue paper. We selected a previous portrait drawing and extended itinto a mask design, transferring the portrait to a piece of paper.Students then discussed color as a mood reflector reflector:see telescope. before using markersand colored tissue paper on their masks. These intial, simply made maskstaught the students a great deal about the appreciation of the role ofmasks in cultures. It also allowed them to work with easily manipulatedmaterials when making a mask. The students held the masks up to theirfaces, excited with their transformations. PART II: MASK STUDY IN CLAY Using the knowledge gained from ourpaper mask study, we were ready to begin our clay mask study, which Iwanted to show in more depth. We sketched a face based on the masks we had seen and studied. Thestudents then decided which emotion they wished to portray and how toexaggerate features to depict this. We experimented with using one ortwo hands to add to the expression. The mask shape was then cut out. With a rolling pin, we rolled the clay slabs about 1/4-inch thick.The cutout cut��out?n.1. Something cut out or intended to be cut out from something else.2. Electricity A device that interrupts, bypasses, or disconnects a circuit or circuit element.3. mask drawing was placed on the slab and cut around, giving usour mask face shape in clay. Students were given the option of cuttingfacial features out, leaving open spaces or adding features that stoodout such as noses, eyelids eyelids,n.pl a moveable fold of thin skin over the eye. The orbicularis oculi muscle and the oculomotor nerve control the opening and closing of the eyelid. , decorative motives, and so on. After thesewere attached securely, we draped the mask shape over a tin coffee canso it took on a curved mask shape. Because they are a very expressive part of us, many of the studentschose to attach the hand(s) they had experimented with to further theirmasks' expressiveness. These shapes were also cut from slabs ofclay and attached securely to the mask by the use of slip. The maskswere allowed to air-dry and then were fired in the kiln. Glazing was an exciting step for the students. After looking atsamples, the students glazed their masks and then anxiously waited forthem to be fired. When the kiln was unloaded, the students couldn't wait to holdthe masks up to their faces. As a sort of "critique," wediscussed which culture was depicted by each mask, and the emotions thatthey conveyed. Karen Skophammer teaches art for the Manson Northwest WebsterSchools in Barnum and Manson, Iowa Manson is a city in Calhoun County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,893 at the 2000 census. GeographyManson is located at (42.530690, -94.534673)GR1. .