Masks to Masks

When I decided to end my "mask factory" I had a list of things I wanted to do when I returned to making art.

The funny thing is, I wanted to make masks!  I didn't connect the two ideas until today.

So, in mixed media art, there are "stencils" and "masks".  If you have a stencil, the areas that will print are cut out.  With masks, the area you print will be the outline of the image.  I had this photo of my nephew who was wearing a cowboy hat and  his shadow was projected on the ground.  I loved the image.  So I printed out the photo and traced it on a sheet of overhead transparency plastic I had in my stash.  (you could use anything -- mylar, etc).  I cut it out and painted the edges with acrylic black paint.

The image on the left is the mask, on the right is what it looked like on a journal page.

Simple, easy to do and fun.  So look through your photos and make some original masks for your self.  A fun day of art-making.