K – 6 Art

Our fifth graders are starting their mask unit, just in time for Halloween. We kicked off the project with ‘Mask Day’: the kids tried on my entire international mask collection, plus an assortment of  student-made masks.

I placed masks on all the tables and the kids rotated through. To keep the students even more engaged, I asked them to guess which materials were used to make the various masks. It turns out the hardest to identify were 1) the bark cloth on the Peruvian jaguar mask and 2) the coconuts on the round Indonesian masks.

We are now building our own plaster masks.  You can see last year’s mask-making process and final results in this post, this post and this post. Kids look forward to this project for years – it is messy but so totally worth it. Stay tuned for updates!

Wow! We had a fantastic group of plaster masks this year.  Here is the entire 2012 collection, fresh from the art show.

Way to go fifth graders!!!! You are all so creative.

Want to make a mask? Check out this post and this post for all the details. Messy but so much fun.

The 5th grade is just about finished with the annual mask project.  I wrote about it earlier in this post.

Some students used sculpted foil under the plaster.  Wow! The effect is fabulous and rock hard.

This mask uses foil as an armature. Student also added wire antennae.

After completing the sculpture, we sealed the masks with matte medium and painted them with tempera.

Here are some more 5th grade masks:

Pineapple 'hair' made of sculpted foil covered in plaster wrap.

Student separated strands of roving yarn to make fur.

Elmer's Glue works great for adding yarn hair.

Glitter looks great on this fish.

Snowman's hat is made from a yogurt cup.

Angry birds are popular this year. Beak and antenna made of foil and plaster wrap.

Can’t wait till all 75 are up on the wall….

Update: Do you love plaster sculpture? New project now online! Click here and here for our plaster sport trophy posts.

Cat mask under construction

Oh boy!  One of the most anticipated projects of the year is under way. And one of my biggest logistical challenges is under way as well.

The 5th graders are making plaster wrap masks.

We are using Pacon plaster wrap in the 20 lb. box. We started with a dollar store bowl as the armature, and wrapped it in foil.  Next, we applied four layers of wet plaster wrap. Now we are adding the facial features.

I used to make papier-mache masks on a balloon armature, but this year a student has a latex allergy so balloons are out. A blessing in disguise! Plaster wrap dries quickly. It is only week 3 and most students have a good start on their faces.

We have 75 students in three 5th grade classes. We are using up every free inch of my horizontal drying space to accommodate the masks week to week!

Here are some logistical tips:

*Use pre-cut foil to cover the armature. Don’t waste your time cutting foil! I get mine at Costco.

*Cut the plaster strips on the paper cutter. Double up the thickness and go twice as fast.

*Use a dedicated set of ‘plaster scissors’. Don’t bother scraping off the plaster. Use same set every year.

*Use a different color armature for each class.

*Tape off a dedicated drying area for each class.

*Use a big pitcher or watering can to refill the dipping bowls (we use old Cool Whip tubs for dipping bowls).

*Don’t you dare let the kids dump the dipping bowls down the sink at the end of class! Use a 5 gallon bucket and let the sediment settle before pouring off water.

Update: The plaster mask project continues in part two of this series.

Drying masks. Each class/table has a dedicated drying area to speed prep.

Your scissors will get yucky. Use a separate set for this project.

Dollar store bowl makes a nice armature

Cut plaster wrap on paper cutter.