Khrig, grade 4

mixed-media mask
STUDIO artist: Kristi Pfister

The students began this series of works by looking at artwork by other artists. First we studied an Andy Warhol print of a classic Pablo Picasso piece – a distorted head half in full-face, half in profile. Our drawings began with a focus on geometric concepts – shapes, asymmetry, etc. We then moved from drawing into collage, using the same references to make faces. The inspiration for the cardboard mask is derived from books about Picasso. In particular, we noted the influence of African masks, which was passed on to him by Henri Matisse. The students looked at a face detail of the African style face-mask in the painting Demoiselles D’Avignon. The class also looked at a book on African design. Then we went back in time and created African style decorative masks. From there we moved on to the collagraph.

(Click on the image to enlarge.)