Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about sculpture and making a mask.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explore different mask designs and create a mood board to inspire your own mask creation.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are mask, culture symbol, mood board.

I'm going to say those again and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Mask, culture, symbol, mood board.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Let's take a look at each of their definitions.

A mask is a covering for all or part of the face used for disguise, protection or performance.

Culture is the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society.

Symbol is a mark or character used to represent an idea, object, or relationship.

And a mood board is a visual tool that gathers images, materials, and ideas for inspiration.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, exploring different mask designs, and creating an inspiring mask mood board.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to explore different mask designs.

Have you ever worn a mask to play a character or perform before? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

Have you ever worn a mask or did your partner? Well, a mask is a covering for all or part of the face used for disguise, protection or performance.

You see some masks here in this image.

We've got three very different looking masks.

Masks may be created and worn in different cultures for many reasons, including celebrations and festivals, religious or spiritual ceremonies, protection or disguise or artistic expression.

Masks can appear in many different forms, so they might be different shapes.

They might be round or angular or elongated.

They might be very different colours.

You might have a brightly coloured mask or one that is just black and white, or maybe some symbolic colours.

And some masks have a pattern that might be geometric shapes, organic shapes, or it might be abstract.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is one of the purposes of masks in different cultures? Is it for ceremonies, just for protection or just for Halloween? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think.

What is one of the purposes of masks in different cultures? And press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said for ceremonies, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

What is culture? Hmm, pause the video here, and have a discussion with your partner.

What is culture? And press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think culture was? Well, culture can be ideas.

It can also be customs. It can also be behaviour, it can be beliefs, it can be a language, it can be crafts/art/music.

So culture encompasses all of these different things.

These elements of culture are unique to each group of people or society.

So different groups might have different languages, different beliefs, different ideas.

Now, here are some masks from different cultures.

We've got an African mask here.

We've got a Venetian mask here, and we've also got a Japanese mask.

Take a good look at those, maybe pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner about what you notice about these masks from different cultures and press play when you're ready to continue.

What could you see? Any Similarities or differences? Well, African masks are often used in cultural ceremonies.

They are made from wood, natural fibres, and clay.

They often feature symmetry, symbols and geometric patterns, and they may be used to represent spirits, ancestors, or animals.

Venetian masks are used for carnivals, celebrations, and as a form of disguise.

These masks are ornate and decorative, made from plaster or leather.

They often feature metallic paints and feathers, and they're worn during the Venetian Carnival In Italy.

Japanese masks appear in theatre performances.

They are made from wood and painted with natural colours.

They feature different facial expressions, and they are used to represent emotions or characters in a theatre play.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which of the following statements about masks is not true? Masks are used in cultural ceremonies.

Masks are only used for disguise.

Masks are unique to different cultures.

So pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner.

Which of the following statements about masks is not true? And press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that masks are only used for disguise, you're right.

Masks are sometimes used for disguise, but they can also be used for cultural ceremonies, art and storytelling.

What elements might be used in a mask design to convey meaning or reflect a specific culture? Hmm, pause the video here to have a discussion about this question with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? What elements might be used? Well, Izzy says, "The type of materials a mask is made from might highlight its culture because of what is available to the craftspeople from their local environment and the traditional methods they use." And Laura says, "Colours, patterns, and symbols might be used to represent emotions, ideas, or cultural beliefs in a mask." Did you think some of these ideas? Maybe you had some others.

Let's take a moment to pause here.

What helps our understanding of different mask designs? Geographical maps, mathematical formulas, different cultures and their art.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about this question and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said different cultures and their art, you're absolutely right.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to collect at least five images of masks that inspire you and consider how each image could influence your own mask design.

Save or print these images for your mood board.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to collect those images and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you find that? Have you got your images? Well, maybe you've chosen a mask with intricate patterns for its creativity, maybe one with bold colours for its impact and a traditional mask with symbols for its cultural significance.

Maybe you've noticed that different cultures have unique mask designs and symbols.

Take a look at these five images here.

Maybe you've got a selection of images that are similar.

Well done for having a go at this learning task.

This brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to create an inspiring mask mood board.

A mood board is a visual tool that gathers images, materials, and ideas for inspiration.

They often include inspiring images, colours and patterns, annotations and notes.

How might a mood board help artists and designers to develop their ideas? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, they might help them in a number of different ways.

Colours, patterns, and textures can be included in a mood board to help develop an idea and can be referred back to later on in the process.

Words, annotations and notes can also be used to help identify what inspires you about the idea, an image or a colour theme.

Using a mood board in this way, artists and designers can organise their ideas visually.

They can explore creative possibilities and directions, and they can find inspiration for their own ideas and designs.

You can see in this image here how the artist has spread out lots of different items to collect for their mood board.

Some colour swatches, some textures and patterns.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is the purpose of collecting images for a mood board? Is it to memorise facts, to inspire ideas, or to create a final product? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about this question and press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that the purpose of collecting images for a mood board is to inspire ideas, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

You might fill a mood board with colours, some shapes and patterns, maybe some different materials that have different textures, descriptions and annotations, different symbols, and some images of masks.

So you'll have all these different ideas on your mood board to give you inspiration.

Mood boards can be created by using digital software, a sheet of paper or a sketchbook.

Try to capture what inspires you through images and words.

And this will be useful to refer back to later on in the project.

An effective board groups similar ideas together, and this can help to organise your thoughts, to generate new ideas and give you a clear sense of what inspires you.

Now, when searching for inspiring images, you could also look at different artists and craftspeople who make masks.

Examples of mask makers include Romuald Hazoume, Yinka, Shonibare and Hew Locke.

After collecting your images, you can include written notes to explain why you chose each image, element or colour and how it might influence your own design.

So Laura selected this image here and she says, "I like this mask because it looks like an animal spirit of a fox or a cat.

The white, black and light blue patterns and symbols look stylish.

I would like to use elements like this in my own mask design, but would make the colours more fun and bright.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What should you consider when selecting mask images for a mood board? Historical dates, mathematical formulas, or colours, shapes and symbols? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about this question and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said you need to consider colours, shapes, and symbols when selecting mask images for a mood board, you're absolutely right, well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

Using the images you collected, I'd like you to create a mood board by arranging them on a piece of paper or a digital platform, and you could add your own sketches or ideas to personalise your mood board.

So this is the first part of our learning task, so pause the video here and give yourself enough time to do that, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Hopefully you started to create your mood board using your images.

Now what I'd like you to do is annotate your chosen images and ideas, and you may choose to write why you found the images inspiring and why you chose certain elements, which culture the masks come from, the materials that you used, and keywords connected to the design.

So maybe you've got something that's angular or maybe there's repeated patterns, geometric shapes, organic shapes, or maybe flowing lines.

Take a good look at your images and see what keywords that connect to them.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to annotate your chosen images and ideas and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, hopefully you have something a bit like this.

Maybe you've created your mood board that has those masks, that have diverse themes, and you've maybe highlighted the different colours you can see, the different ideas and symbols that are inspired by different cultures.

Maybe you've considered the composition and you've used overlapping to create visual interest, and hopefully you've annotated your mood board, showing those key elements that you find inspiring.

Well done for having a go at creating your own mask mood board.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about mask designs through research and creating a mood board.

Masks are used for different purposes, including ceremonies and artistic expression.

Cultures use certain materials, designs and symbols to create unique mask designs.

And mood boards can be used as visual tools to help collect inspiration and generate ideas.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.