Sketchbook Sunday -Venetian Mask

Sketch Book Sunday is a feature that I have not shown here for a while but I have nearly completed a project with my students at school and wanted to show you some of my example work.

One of the Art projects that my students are involved with MASKS.  They have a range of cultures and styles to choose from and for my example I picked Venetian Masks.  

We needed to start by looking at the style of mask/culture chosen with research and sketches which explored the shapes, colours and techniques that could be combined to create a few designs.

I have not used watercolours for a while but over the past 6-8 months I have been using them as much as possible, so by the time I reached this project I was nearly back to my degree level.  Still a bit to go, rather rusty here and there you see............

With my textiles background fabric had to appear somewhere so several pages of experimenting with paints, 3D paints and fabric took off.  I had so much fun with this, this is the best kind if lesson planning......hands on stuff.  

I want to have some feathers on my mask and I found a Youtube video showing how to make card feathers.  I had a go and I have to say that it was not that great and even a good coating of gold paint could not improve it.  However, you do need to try these things and the students sketchbooks need to show the development of skills and ideas.  

This one is thick string glued down with tissue paper and then painted once the glue had dried. Looks tricky but it isn't really and dries solid and keeps the raised profile really well.

I have started the actual mask and it is drying off.  I hope to show how much I have done and the next stages tomorrow.

This project has been great fun, in fact all of the projects that I have done this year have been excellent and a good opportunity for me to explore ideas that I was delighted to find out last week that I shall be doing this project next year as well!!!

xx