Plaster Masks

 

We've finished the masks!  They were constructed using plaster gauze, tag/thin cardboard, paint, hot glue and random collage items.
To see the the process click on video below

Plaster Gauze Mask Making from Gabriela Elizalde on Vimeo.

Mask/Armour- If You Can Dream It, You Can Make It!

These masks/armour pieces were done by my 5th grade boys. I started off by telling them they were going to design some type of armour  (of course this instantly got their attention!) but they could not copy anything from a game, movie, etc.     There design could be for the past, present or future and it had to show all or most of the parts of a suit or armour.  To help them with this I gave them a few handouts that I found  here,  here, and here.  After their designs were complete I told them they were now going to make the head piece  they had drawn. If you look at the pictures, you can see  the ideas came straight from a drawing because most of them are missing  a back panel.   I showed them how to do a basic head band mask and they had to go from there.  Yes, there were many doubts as to their ability to make this happen!  I could only assure them that it was possible and encouraged them to try and fail, try and fail, try something else, and one of those times...it would work!  Voila!

Transformation

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Masks

Transformation
What does it mean?   What can transform? Are humans the only things that can transform?    All of these questions and more were discussed at the beginning of this mask making project.  Students realized transformation goes on all around us (seasons, animals, people) it's just a matter of looking closer.   What fun it was to see personalities come alive through mask making. While some students decided to transform themselves in ways they felt comfortable with others ventured out onto unexplored territory.  Either path, the results were wonderful to see and share.


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The How To:

1. Cut poster-board into desired size.
2. Draw, paint or color mask.
3. Provide extra poster board to add other elements such as hats, ears, random shapes, etc.
4. Staple to the main piece. 
5. Cut a slit leading to each eye then cut around to form the eye shape.
6. Tape the slits closed on the back of the poster board.
7. Add a pop-sickle stick to hold mask.
8. Voila!

Middle School Plaster Gauze Masks

                                                                               

I'm super proud of my elective class not only for the way the masks turned out but I am very proud of  how well they worked together during the process.   I observed  the students  learning  from and about each other while discussing their artworks.  Another great thing was that the students could follow their own learning path;  kinesthetic, verbal, logical or spatial.



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