Masks

Artist statement:

For this project we made masks , my mask is inspired by the Vejigante mask from the Caribbean. This mask that I was inspired by is from the Caribbean but more specifically Puerto Rico and the mask has a African culture influence. Vejigante masks can date back to the 12th century. This type of mask was usually too expensive to wear to a Ponce or San Juan Carnival so it is more or an art piece. I really liked how colorful the mask is and how much texture there is.

To make this mask I first made a ball out of newspaper and then I draped a slab of clay over it to make the shape of my mask. Then I used very thin slabs of clay to make layers around the eyes and nose, then I cut holes for the eyes. Then for the mouth I cut out half and made teeth for the other half. I added some textures around the eyes and glazed it with a bunch of different colors. For the glazes I used Obsidian (C-1), cobalt (C-20), yellow (SM-63), blue green (SM-29), blue midnight (PC-12), red (SM-51).

Overall I really like how this project came out. I like how many colors there are. If there was one thing I would change I would add more textures or maybe add some dots with the glaze.