Africa Milk Jug Mask — Mr. Gilbert

Africa Tribal Masks

Disguise, Conceal, Hide, Deceive, Celebrate...Masks come in many shapes, sizes, and forms. They are used to escape reality and to see life from a new or different perspective. Cultures all over the earth use and have used masks for a variety of purposes. Halloween, Mardi Gras, and even at a football games Americans throw on their masks and head out of the house in search of a good time!

Today many tribes and peoples of the African continent live the same way they did hundreds of years ago. They live simple lives and do not understand our modern day cultures. Traditions have been passed down generations and the people have great respect for the land, their families, and their communities. Masks may or may not be a part of every African Tribe, but many images come to our minds when Africa is brought up. The Mask unit project is based on personal creativity and the ability to display your ideas in an artistic way. Every student is responsible for the creation of an original mask and writing an informative paragraph that describes the basic theme of your project. Have fun with this one!

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Mask Creation Directions

Step #1 - Pick a Theme for Mask ex/ Tribal Mask Replica, African Animal, General African Theme, Country Flag…you can honestly pick any “theme” you like…just tie it to Africa.

Step #2 - Pick a Mask Base Material…Milk Jug! Note: you DON’T have to use a milk jug, but thought that this might be a common household item that is readily available for you. In all honesty, you can use any base structure!

Step #3 - Plan before you Cut…make a basic blueprint for your creation before you start digging in.

Step #4 - Gather decorations, paint, duct tape, glitter, glue, yarn, etc etc etc…what do you have around the house that could be used to decorate/create your African Mask. Note: the fun/creative part of this art project is to see what items you have already sitting around the house to complete this project…no need head out to Target and pick up stuff! Get Creative!

Step #5 - Go…create your mask & have a bit of fun with this! (FYI - as 8th graders, this might be your last “arts & crafts” project for a regular education class ever)…BE A KID!! (also enlists Mom/Dad and the family to help out)

Step #6 - 3 - 5 Sentence Informative Paragraph describing your mask…what it it? Tell a story…maybe why you made it or what does it represent. REMINDER - theme it to some African Subject matter

Step #6.5 - Optional Step…if a student would rather create an original Haiku Poem that represents their mask (in place of the the 3-5 sentence Info Paragraph)…please follow the directions below!

Haiku Basics...A haiku is an unrhymed three-line poem. It is based on a traditional Japanese poetic form. Though there are different ways to write haiku, the traditional pattern in English is to write the first and last lines with five syllables each, and the middle line with seven syllables. In other words, the pattern of syllables looks like this:

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
OR
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5

An example of a haiku would be:
Tired cat sleeps all night.
He needs lots of rest for a
Long day of napping.

Step #7 - ALL Mask Write-Ups/Haikus must be artistically displayed on an 8X11 piece of art paper. (not lined notebook paper) This page must be uniquely decorated to reflect the theme of your mask! Mask themes come in my forms...think animals, specific tribal groups, a country, or a movie! (CREATIVITY)

Note: Write Up/Haiku MUST include...Title/Mask Name, the Haiku and Student name displayed neatly on front of paper

Example materials might include…Wood, Plastic, Beads, Wire, Thread, Leaves, Hides/Skin, Hair, Teeth, Fur, Feathers, Shells, Seeds, Bells, Horns, Paint, Bones, Jewels, Metal, Straw, Mud, Sand, Lights, Ribbon, Cloth, Flowers, Wrapping Paper, Old Magazines, Felt, Rope/Yarn... he list is endless and many of these items are hiding around the house!!