Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Art with the kids: Masks

The other week with a Pinterest Friday post I showed you some of the masks I’ve been finding inspiring and how I intended to use them as a basis for a kids art lesson.  After the kids drew them at ArtWorks, the last two weeks we have been making our own versions out of fabric.
Using iron-on Vilene as the base, the kids loaded their basic shape with fabric, cut the eye and mouth holes, then stitched the mask to give it a better form.  The fabric was all donated by Snapdragon, a fabulous local business which makes lovely things sold online and on Notonthehighstreet.
The stitching bit was fun and I was kept on my toes threading endless needles!  We stitched everything using a doubled thread knotted at the end so that the needle wouldn’t fall off.  Some of the children then had time to add more details using extra fabric, ribbon and beads. 
I’m really pleased at how they turned out and it was a great final project to finish my regular contribution to ArtWorks.  For the past 3½years, I’ve spent virtually every term-time Saturday morning running the kids classes.  Much as I enjoy it, I can’t do everything and this is something I decided I could cut out, as I want to concentrate more on my own work, writing and teaching adults.  I’m still going to do the odd Saturday and am looking forward to doing some felting the next time I think.
I still find the masks inspiring and am tucking away ideas of how they may appear in my own work soon...
 

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