African Masks 6th grade

As part of a Global Unit, my 6th graders studied African Masks from different tribes, regions and cultures.  We learned about the animals and what each feature and characteristic represents.  We watched videos that showed how they were used and the actual size of some of them.

I made a worksheet that students had to complete and then from there, they got to design their own mask using the characteristics.  One really helpful website can be found here.

On the worksheet, students looked at masks from 5 different tribes.  We answered some basic questions and then students created 3 different sketches of what their masks could look like.  Once they were happy with one, we reviewed clay vocab and examples and we started building!

Students were really engaged and had a lot of fun with this!  The only bad part was that some students made some parts of their masks too thin or some details of their masks too thin, even though we learn about the ideal thickness.  In class, I tell them they need the thickness of their pinkie,  not too thin, not too thick.  And some didn't score and slip, but what are you going to do?!

Next time, I want students to write about their masks and the characteristics they chose.  I want to add a writing piece to each artwork so students have a chance to reflect and really think about their artwork.  Plus it gives me a chance to add to our writing program review and help with all those misspelled words!

Here are some of our African Masks:

8th grade selfies

The self-portrait, the landscape and the still life.  The Big 3 for 8th graders. Atleast those are the Big 3 that I have worked on with my 8th graders.  Not all at once, I was testing the waters first.  So far so good.  In the past we have looked at the Illuminists, made Still Lifes from their own personal objects (because it all means something) and now, we did Self Portraits.

(future thought: draw landscapes, paint self portraits, printmaking still lifes) or (draw self portrait, paint landscapes, printmaking still lifes) I like that one.

We looked at Masters Kehinde Wiley, Henri Matisse and Fracis Bacon.  We responded, we compared and they chose which ones "style" they wanted to practice.  Most picked Kehinde.  Only a handful picked Francis, but it was interesting to see who....

I noticed 8th graders are still ALL about the realism, as much as I try to incorporate abstraction, they just want it to look "right".  I think I need to either 1) practice realism or 2) limit their materials so they HAVE to experience abstraction.  I'll probably try both.

The Self portraits were fun.  I think only 3 in about 65 kids didn't take it seriously.  You know, the kind of self portrait that makes you want to prescribe a trip to the therapist.  But, for them, I focus on the process.

In reflection, we practiced value shading facial features in pencil for practice, but that concept didn't transfer to shading in paint.  I would like to add a study in proportion, practice shading in paint and then maybe make them smaller.  I wanted to go big, and it took FOREVER!

So, add proportion, practice shading in paint, and 8x10.  Below are some of the Selfies from my 8th graders.