During Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), I love to introduce to my students to the celebration of the Day of the Day (Dia de los Muertos). Through an investigation of the meaning, history, and culture of this traditional celebration of Mexico my students really grow an appreciation for Mexican art in the process. Many of my students are familiar with this celebration because of the Disney movie Coco. To give them more of a realtime visual connection beyond Coco, I begin by showing them this video by The British Museum. After watching it, we discuss the video with questions such as…
How would you describe the overall mood of the people? What types of images/artwork did you see? What colors were observed? What sounds? How is the passing of a loved one viewed by the people of Mexico? How is this different than your own culture?
Next, my students create an original paper sugar skull mask (or calavera). This blog post features all you need to know to make your own mask including a video tutorial, a free printable mask template below, and some completed photo examples. Enjoy!
Student examples:
Below are some examples of finished masks created by my middle school students. I printed the templated on a thick white cardstock paper. Students sketched out symmetrical designs and then used markers and colored pencils to decorate. Once masks were colored, they were cut and assembled into a 3 dimensional mask. Then, we hole punched the sides and added string so they were wearable.
Video tutorial:
Here is a video I show my students to help them with the process of creating their paper sugar skull mask.
Printable mask template:
Below is a download for the free sugar skull mask template featured in the video above. Enjoy!
Create using plaster strips
Another option for this project is to have students trace the template onto a cereal box or cardboard. Then, students will cut it out and apply plaster strips. Once the plaster strips have dried, students can prime and paint. Below are some really cool examples created by middle schoolers using plaster.
I also gave students the option to create alebrije masks. I love all the variety of colors, patterns and textures in these creative solutions.
Thanks for checking out this blog post! Feel free to leave feedback, comments, or questions below. I love to hear from my readers!
-Stephanie Villiotis