Middle School Studio Lesson
More than
MardiGras
Telling art students to do anything they want can be dangerous. It’s not something teachers often do, but this is
a project where anything goes. Pull
out everything you have been saving
in the back storage room. (I know you
have a stash.) This is the occasion you
have been waiting for! Students will
create a Mardi
Gras type mask,
then incorporate it
into a mixed-media
composition.
I gave each
student a white
plastic mask and an 11 x 14" ( 28 x 36
cm) piece of white poster board and
asked them to think about how they
could incorporate a mask into a painting through an interesting composition. We reviewed the elements of art
and principles of design and discussed
successful examples of student work.
Motivation was not a problem!
Kathy Wilson
Design
I asked students to first draw numer-
ous thumbnail sketches showing the
mask in different positions, using a
variety of ideas for the background.
A few students made thumbnails
camouflaging the mask on the back-
ground, while others showed the mask
on a face. Some started with line
designs on the mask that continued
on to the entire background. Each
student consulted with me to choose
which thumbnail sketch he or she
thought would
be most success-
ful for the final
design.
Starting with a Mardi
Gras type mask, students
incorporate it into a mixed-
media composition.
Embellishment
Different kinds of paper
such as foil, magazine,
newspaper, tissue and
wallpaper were next
incorporated into the
mask designs using various techniques such as
curling, folding, fringing
tearing, twisting, folding,
and weaving.
I put out small plastic
containers that held beads,
buttons, feathers, raffia, ribbon, wire, and lots of other
shiny things. I told students
that if they thought of anything else to add, to just ask
me and we would find it.
At this point, students
were anxious to glue on the
decorations, but I encouraged them to first determine
the best placement for each
before they started gluing.
They began with raffia, yarn,
and ribbon and added beads and other
shiny things. Some students even
brought things from home. The final
results were striking and it was fun to
see students enjoying “no limits.”
