3D Design - African Masks

 

Description

I made this mask after learning about African masks and everything they have been used for in the past. We were taught about the history of these masks and then got to create our own. We first sketched out an idea of how we wanted our masks to look. Once we got an idea, we got to start on the actual mask. We picked our color of construction paper and then had to have at-least three 3D elements and three features on our mask that did not include the eyes, mouth, or nose. I picked orange because my goal was to make my masks look like a lion/cat. I then put on the nose, eyes, and mouth. After that, I added eyebrows, whiskers, and freckles. I also added triangles on the top and bottom to add some pattern. Once that was finished, I crumpled up tissue paper and glues it to the sides. After that was completed, I glued my mask onto a piece of cardboard. We glued our masks so that they were 3D and sticking up off of the cardboard. I then put tissue paper behind it to act like a mane/hair. My three 3D elements were the nose, tissue paper, and the paper sticking up from the cardboard. My three elements I added onto the face were eyebrows, whiskers, freckles, and a triangle pattern. Once my mask was completed and assembled, I named it. I named mine "The Lion!" You also had to write down two facts about African masks and your name on the notecard and glue it to your final art work. This was a fun lesson and I learned some new information!

Extension Activity 

An extension activity for this project could be writing a story about your mask. You could incorporate Language Arts by allowing the students to get creative. They could say what the mask was used for, when it was used, and give a backstory of the mask. You could also go more in depth with the history of these and learn about specific people and specific masks in a Social Studies lesson. Students could do a research project about these masks and those who used them.