African Masks Kindergarten April Art Project West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program

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Lesson Overview 1 Lesson: Proportion and Balance Time: 60 minutes Volunteers: 4 Medium: Mixed – markers, tinfoil Curriculum connection: Africa Project Overview/Skills – Children will gain a basic understanding of facial proportion and balance by creating a reflective African mask with indenting and colorful design details. Resource Prints (cabinets in the library) Print suggestions – African mask poster- kept in art room Resources- books from KCLS – “Can You Spot the Leopard? African Masks” – “The Art of African Masks” by Carol Finley Vocabulary – Proportional facial features – indenting/relief – Reflective – transferring

African Masks- Materials Needed Chip board – precut into ovals 10” long by 8” wide. Sketch paper – trace oval onto sheet for each child. Heavy duty tin foil – tear sheets large enough to sandwich completely around chip board oval. Permanent markers – variety of colors. Glue sticks Pipe cleaners – variety of colors – cut in half. Raffia – variety of colors – precut 8” long pieces. Scissors Tool with smooth rounded tip (such as paint brush handle) for making indents in the tin foil without tearing it. Hole punchers Beads (to tie onto raffia or pipe cleaners, if desired)

Parent prep NOTE: If you don't have a lot of help for this project, you are strongly encouraged to prepare the masks prior to the lesson Lay tin foil sheets, shiny side facing up, on desk. Spread glue on one side of chip board oval and place on right hand side of foil. Spread glue on exposed side of oval and fold tinfoil over onto the chip board pressing and smoothing the foil to the edges. (Dull side of foil should be surrounding the chip board.) Trim excess foil from around edges of chip board.

Display Once the project is finished, student work should be mounted on colored paper and displayed either in the classroom or in the designated area in the hallway. If there are some who have not finished, please check with the teacher on how they would like to proceed. Do not assume that it ok to continue the project after the allotted time. Masks can be hung from the ceiling or a wall. Tie hanging wire/string to hole at top of head to hang from ceiling or to holes at sides of mask to hang on wall. End result is a colorful, hanging reflective mask with some relief (indents).

Mask Notes Discuss how people wear masks to pretend to be someone or something else. Masks allow us to temporarily change our identity. What are some occasions when we see people wearing masks? (Halloween, costume parties, carnivals, circus, special festivals, in the theatre, etc.) Ask children what types of masks they like to wear. Why? How does the mask make them feel? What new characteristics do they pretend to possess when wearing the mask? Powerful? Fierce? Magical? Invisible? Superhuman powers? Royal? Like and animal? Like a princess/king? Like a bird? Able to fly?

Mask Background Masks have been used for centuries in many different cultures around the world. In Africa, masks are made with both human face features and animal features and play an important role in African life. There are hundreds of different tribes of peoples with different traditions and their masks are varied and distinctive. African masks are used in a variety of ways. They may be worn for important ceremonies, such as the initiation of youth into adulthood, a wedding, or a funeral; to help a sick person heal, to ward off or frighten away evil spirits, to make crops grow or bring rain, or to celebrate a bountiful harvest. They are often worn in ceremonies and celebrations to honor the chief of the tribe and to symbolize prized characteristics such as courage and wisdom, kindness, power, and peacefulness. In many tribes in Western Africa, masks are used to symbolize different spirits and to bring the spirits closer to the people through special ceremonies. The mask is just one part of a whole performance ensemble consisting of elaborately costumed dancers, vibrant music and highly stylized dances. The individual wearing the mask assumes the role of the mask and is transformed from his or her everyday personality into an expression of a spirit force. The mask spirit comes alive through music, dance, and the social context in which it appears. These complex ceremonial events express important social, religious, and moral values for the whole community. With careful attention to the masks artistic and symbolic detail, it is possible to perceive these same values within the masks themselves. For example, the Nuna people of the dry Savannah use carved wooden animal masks to represent the protective spirits. The hawk spirit is believed to be a protector. The hawk mask has wings that have geometric patterns that refer to moral principles of goodness and peacefulness. The zigzag lines signify the path of the ancestors, a difficult moral path that all people must follow if they are to succeed in life. The checkerboard pattern represents ignorance (dark squares) and knowledge (light squares). The mask honors the spirit of the hawk in order to enlist the spirit’s help to protect the people in the village. The dancer wearing the mask imitates the movements of a hawk in flight, rotating the mask around his face and swooping his body from side to side in a vigorous dance, following a special rhythm of the drummers standing nearby.

Today’s Project What kind of mask would you like to make? Heal the sick Make crops grow Protect people Celebrate an event Show courage of wisdom Honor elders

Step 1 – Face Sketch Think of the expression the eyes and mouth will have based on the type of mask they are making. Draw facial features onto sketch paper – eyes – Nose – Mouth – Draw big facial features- cover the entire oval.

Step 1- Notes Discuss the proportions of the human face. Draw an oval on the board or oval sample to represent the head. Have children look at each other’s faces and notice where the eyes, nose and mouth are located in relation to the top of the head and the chin. Now draw the eyes so that they are located about halfway down the oval, between the top of the head and the chin. Draw the nose so that the end of the nose is about halfway between the eyes and the chin. The mouth is just above the halfway point between the end of the nose and the chin. When children are ready to sketch their masks, emphasize the placement of the eyes first. The position of the nose and mouth will be easier then.

Step 2 – Trace Place sketch of face over the foil covered oval trace the features with the handle of the paintbrush press firmly so that the indent is transferred to the foil Remove sketch paper. Still using the paintbrush handle, retrace the facial features and add design details to the rest of the face on cheeks, chin and forehead.

Step 3 – Color Place sketch of face over the foil covered oval trace the features with the handle of the paintbrush press firmly so that the indent is transferred to the foil Remove sketch paper. Still using the paintbrush handle, retrace the facial features and add design details to the rest of the face on cheeks, chin and forehead. Use permanent markers to color and decorate.

Step 4 - Hair Punch holes along top half edge of oval ½” in from edge. Thread pipe cleaners and/or raffia through holes and gently twist or tie to secure. This is the “hair.” You also may add beads, if desired.

Step 5- Finished Mask Make sure your name is visible on the back and then you are all done!