- The first mask I thought to create was of a butterfly, a monarch butterfly to be specific. This is because I feel a close connect to them. My uncle passed away a couple of years ago and whenever my mom and I see one we like to say it’s him saying hello. When I searched for a mask to help me along, I had already drawn one out. There were plenty of designs to look at but one stood out simply because it was large and bold. Ravenwoodsmasks.com designed it and the other thing that I liked about it was that it didn’t look manufactured.
- The second idea that I ended up choosing to design was of a pumpkin. I researched holiday masks and got a large variety of just about every holiday known to man. I narrowed my search to Halloween specifically because my mom was born on that holiday and I felt I could incorporate both aspects in my representation of a mask. The only problem I found when searching for “pumpkin masks” was that they were scary masks. Because a pumpkin isn’t too complex, I chose a very simple model and used the elements of art to make it more meaningful.
- My final idea began with wanted to use stars for eyes because I have a deep passion for astronomy. When I thought of another object having to do with the sky I bounced my thoughts between outer space and actual weather elements. I conducted a Google search and found rainbows to be a perfect choice. They’re colorful and would make a perfect smile! The image I found inspirational was a mask that a little girl was wearing and most likely made. Granted it’s not complex but it was fun, youthful, and made me smile. I also liked that it was made from paper and supplies easy to find around the house, which was exactly what I was eventually going to have to attempt!
As mention, I chose to re-create a pumpkin. I used the traditional color orange with a green stem. The mouth is made up of green candles to symbolize my mom’s birthday and the eyes are glass beads purchased from a craft show. I thought the beads worked perfect because within the design there are smaller dots that helped to represent pupils. The stem of the pumpkin has two green dice, one turned over to show the number three and the other to show the number one. This of course was done because Halloween is on the 31st of October. Off of the stem I placed a dead leaf that I saved one day because it was in the shape of a heart. I feel it ties my emotional connection to my mom and it reminded me of vines that grow off of pumpkins.
I enjoyed creating the mask because I used to have container on top of container filled with beads and other various art supplies and I would spend hours with my mom over the years doing similar projects. I literally cried at one point because it reminded me so much of how we used to bond. As I’m sure you can tell I’m rather an emotional person.
Below are four links to my photobucket account:
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n563/marchetti7588/004.jpg
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n563/marchetti7588/003.jpg
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n563/marchetti7588/005.jpg
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n563/marchetti7588/006.jpg
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