Mask Project

Description: This is the a mask that portrays the spirits of the nature. It is where my original idea came from and appears to look like a bird. There is a large beak for the nose and a tall wood piece coming out the top that appears to be feathers. The eyes are large and appear to be looking directly at you. There are only two colors used, black and white.

Analysis: This picture uses the black and white values and does a lot with lines. The lines at the top of the mask draw your attention in but also lead the eyes to the mask because they are pointing in the direction. The beak is large and the top and beak are over emphasized. There are two primary colors used, black and white, with the eyes being in black but outlined in a large white circle. The texture appears to be smooth but also a bit jagged because it looks as if it is carved from wood. The patters are consistent and vary from repeated lines to dots.  

Description: This piece is a North America Sun Mask. The eyes are outlines in white and it appears as if they are looking upward. There are five oval shapes coming from the outside of the mask that all have equal patterns. The lips are red and flat and the nose is outlined in green and black. The patterns used are circular with all different sizes. The piece is symmetrical and very bold.

Analysis: The use of line is the main element used in this piece. There are many different lines that point in all different direction and sizes. The boldness of the eyes and eye brows pulls the attention in and the pillars on the outside draws the eyes directly inward. There are repeated patterns on each pillar and each side of the face has equal patterns of dots and lines. There are three basic colors used and they all blend together. It also appears as if this was carved out of wood, with the eyes being raised.

Description: This mask if from India and is portraying King Ravana. It uses black and white combined with all shades of reds/oranges with a gold background. The eyes are droopy and emphasized along with the mouth. There is a circular object hanging below the middle of the mouth and on each side there are layers of threads. There is a repeated pattern surrounding the outside and the ears. The whole mask is symmetric and is very neat.

Analyze: There are many examples of texture and patterns portrayed in this mask. The texture from the hair on the bottom appears to be very rough and the texture from the string hanging from the mough appears to look smooth.  The mask is symmetrical and there is a lot of emphasis on the shapes at the top of the head by being outlined in silver. The use of line draws the attention from the top to the bottom and keeps the eyes moving.

Thumb Nail Sketches

Explain how you used the Elements and Principles in your finished mask.
-I focued on the elements of line, texture and pattern. I used the dark green lines around the top of the eyes to add emphasis to the eyes and added a purple line down the middle of the face to separte the mask into two seperate parts. I used a dot pattern that is the same on both sides and the also on the top and bottom of the eyes. There are triangular shapes that each have the same pattern on them and really give the mask a different but fun look. There are also feathers at the top to give it the nature spirit and bird look but also add texture. The texture appears to be soft and smooth due to it being feathers. Also, there is a texture with string hanging from the bottom of the mask that catches the eye and adds depth to the bottom of the mask. I used the feathers at the top as my focal point and used the three colors found in the feathers: blue, green, and purple.

Share your opinion of your finished mask and what you thought about creating the mask.
-I thought my mask was differnt but yet fun. It is not the best it could be but was a lot more difficult than I ever imagined it to be. I can not even imagine the time that had to go into all of these masks because this one seemed to take me forever and is not nearly as detailed as theirs. I thought my creativity was fun and different also. I went for a more female look and think it turned out just like I wanted. The colors all blended well and the patterns I used were very simple but made the mask look very cool and unique. Overall it was a fun assignment and really put into perspective the amount of time it takes to create something like this.