Education

As participants arrived they were asked to quickly draw and colour-in a mask, which would tell us a little about them - whether they chose to become someone or something else.

All aspects of mask making were discussed including meaning and history.  Participants were told that Henry Moore’s interest in primitive art and culture inspired his mask drawings and sculptures. Such art and culture was then discussed in terms of mask making, including: the symbolic meaning behind Egyptian masks; why African masks were made from very natural materials and how this affected the spirituality surrounding the mask maker and wearer; the Venetians and the mischief they got up to when they wore masks all day every day, and ended by showing pictures of their very elegant style with feathers and glitter.

Everyone was asked to put on the paper masks they had made previously and we talked about how wearing a mask made us feel different and how we felt about looking at others in their masks.

Participants then set about making the three-dimensional masks. papier-mache cats and human face-masks; cardboard animal and African patterns provided the base for most of the these, although a few brave people made a mask completely from scratch using cardboard boxes or coloured card. Then a wealth of paints, feathers, cotton wool, sequins, pipe cleaners, glitter, coloured paper, card and tissue were added to bring the creations to life. On seeing their reflection in the mirrored doors of the Aisled Barn when trying on their masks, everyone found it quite easy to explain the ideas and influences that inspired them.