Create Your Own Ancient Egyptian Mask

I posted five articles about ancient Egyptian art (read them here: 1,2,3,4,5) but I didn’t post any projects. That was silly. I’ll post a second project tomorrow.

Today, I’ll show you how to create your own ancient Egyptian mask. Egyptians never would have worn these masks when they were alive. Masks were tucked into the wrappings of mummies before they were put into tombs. You can enjoy yours now, though.

Supplies Needed:

Paper Plate
Construction Paper in several colors
Large Tongue Depressor
Scissors
Glue Stick
Tape
Red and Black Markers

I cut an oval out of cardboard but you should use a paper plate instead. It will be much easier to cut the eye holes!

Begin by choosing construction paper colors. I used red and blue but any two colors will work. Draw one side of your headdress onto a piece of construction paper. You will need to use the entire length of the construction paper. When you are happy with the way it looks, cut it out. Then trace it and cut out a second copy. You now have both sides of your headdress.
On another piece of construction paper, trace the top part of your paper plate to create a half circle. Cut out the half circle and glue it to the top of your paper plate.
Cut strips of your other color and use them to decorate the headdress of your mask. Next, draw the eyes onto your paper plate. The eye holes should be about the size of a quarter. Have an adult cut out the eye holes. Draw the rest of the features of the face, then trace the lines with your markers.
Glue the sides of the headdress to the back of the plate. Tape a tongue depressor to the bottom of your mask so you can hold the mask over your face. If you choose, decorate the tongue depressor to look like a beard.

Now you too can be an ancient Egyptian pharaoh!

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Make Your Own Mask Part 2

This Halloween, celebrate by making your own mask. You can even use it as part of your costume for trick-or-treating! If you need some inspiration, look back at the article about Venetian Masks and the article about African Masks.

Supplies Needed:

1 Round Ballon
Pencil
Masking Tape
Papier Mache (Please read the article Create Your Own Papier Mache Sculpture)
Newspaper
Scissors
Paints
Paintbrushes
Elastic


Blow up your balloon until it is slightly larger than your head. Tie off the balloon and tape the eraser end of the pencil to the end of the balloon. This will make it easier to hold the balloon.

Create your Papier Mache mixture. (Follow the directions on the Create Your Own Papier Mache Sculpture article.) Dip strips of newspaper into the Papier Mache mixture and attach to the balloon. You can cover the entire balloon if you wish to make two masks or just cover half if you only want one mask. If you make one mask at a time, you can create jagged edges if you wish. Lay two or three layers of newspaper over the balloon.

Let the Papier Mache dry over night.

When the Papier Mache has dried, pop the balloon. If you chose to make two masks, use a pair of scissors to cut the Papier Mache shell in half.

Use your own face to judge where to cut hole for eyes and a mouth. Decorate you mask any way you want. You can add a nose or a crown by gluing pieces of cardboard to your mask. Use strips of Papier Mache covered newspaper to secure anything you add to the mask. When you’ve finish, let it dry again.

Finally, paint your mask. To attach the elastic, poke two small holes on each side of the mask, one hole about a half an inch above the other. Tie a knot in one end of the elastic. Thread the other end through the bottom hole, from the inside out, until the knot catches. Then thread the elastic back through the upper knot. Pull the elastic across the back of the mask and thread through the upper hole, from the inside out, then through the lower hole. Make sure you’ve pulled the elastic tight enough to hold the mask on your head, then tie at knot at the end and cut of the extra elastic.

For another make your own mask project, click here.

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Make Your Own Mask

This is a classic make-your-own-mask project and is especially good for younger kids. Don't forget to look at the articles on Venetian Masks and African Masks if you need some inspiration!

Supplies Needed:

Paper plate
Elastic
Many colors of construction paper
Paints, Crayons, etc.
Glue
Scissors.
Anything else you might want to add, such as feathers, sequins, buttons, jewels

Begin by painting the back of the paper plate. You can paint it any color you want or use more than one color. Use your imagination.

When the mask has dried, cut out eye holes and a mouth so you’ll be able to see and breathe.

Use the construction paper and other materials to decorate the paper plate. You can try making a beak out of construction to create a bird mask. Or you could add construction-paper horns to be a rhinoceros or a dinosaur. Add just one horn to make a unicorn mask.

Poke a hole in each side of the mask and attach the elastic.
__________

Here’s another interesting mask-making technique. It requires a computer and is a bit complicated, but it’s worth a look. http://www.microsoft.com/athome/morefun/createmasks.mspx


For another Mask project, check back tomorrow.

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Venetian Masks and Carnevale

Venice, Italy is a city built entirely on water. Instead of roads, there are canals and instead of taxis and buses, boats. Venice was once its own country, the Venetian Republic, until 1797, and during this time, masks played a large part in the culture.

Masks were especially important during Carnevale, a two-and-a-half-week celebration in February that leads up to Ash Wednesday. Masks allowed all people to be equal: a peasant woman could be mistaken for royalty if her face was covered by a mask.

When the Venetian Republic ended, so did the popularity of Carnevale and the wearing of masks. Carnevale has made a comeback in the last 30 years and today there are mask shops on every corner in Venice.
Venetian masks come in many different styles. Some cover the entire face and are decorated by enormous plumes of feathers. Others are plain white and only cover the eyes and nose. And you can find everything in between. Click here for some great Carnevale mask pictures.
Later in the week, when you make your own masks, maybe these pictures will inspire you. Also look back to the African masks from Friday's post.

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African Masks

In Africa since the Stone Age, and in some parts of Africa even today, masks are used as representations of spirits of ancestors. During various celebrations and during the harvest, one person would be named the chosen “dancer” and would wear a special mask. These Africans believed (and some believe today) that the mask would be inhabited by the spirit it represented and the wearer of the mask would be possessed. This is why the dancer fell into a trance during the ceremony.

When the dancer is in the trance, he communicates with the spirit of the mask. The dancer relays messages from the spirit but they are usually just grunts and screeches. Sometimes a wise man will translate the grunts so that the other people at the ceremony can understand.

African masks sometimes cover the dancer’s face the way we usually think of masks, but sometimes they cover the entire head, like a helmet, or just the top of the head, like a flat hat. The masks can be made of leather, metal, wood, and fabric.

Because these ceremonies have been going on for so long, there are a lot of African masks spread around the world. They are considered objects of art and most major museums have a few in their collections. Look for them next time you visit a museum.

Click here for pictures of African Masks. Notice the three types of masks listed above.

Click here for an easy tribal mask project.

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