How to make a mask to represent a particular feeling or emotion as part of All About Me
Introduction, by Blue Cabin Associate Artist, Pady O’Connor
This idea will help you to work alongside your child or young person to explore their feelings. The activities will enable you and your child or young person to think about different feelings and then create a mask to represent the feeling of their choice.
All About Me theme: My feelings (find out more about the All About Me themes here)
Length of activity: One hour
Resources needed:
• Sticky tape
• Newspaper
• Glue (pritt stick and PVA)
• Carboard (a cereal box works really well)
• Paint brushes
• A selection of paints
• A pair of scissors
• Empty pots (washed out food tubs)
1. Print off the template below.
2. Cut out the template page including spaces for the eyes and nose.
3. Glue the template to the side of the cardboard box and once the glue has dried, cut it out.
4. Cut along the black lines to cut out the eyes (don’t worry about the cuts which reach the sides of the mask, you will be using them later).
5. Poke a pen through the nose to help you cut out the nose hole.
6. Flip your template over to the blank cardboard side.
7. Where you cut out the eyes, overlap the pieces slightly and use sticky tape to secure them. Do this on both sides.
8. Cut out the remaining templates and glue to the cardboard. Cut out once dry.
9. The triangular piece will be your nose. Fold the triangle down the centre to give a nose shape.
10. Use tape to secure your nose to the mask.
11. Push the eyelid template through the eyehole from the back. Secure the tabs on the back with tape. Repeat this process with the other eye.
For the next part, which gets a bit messy, put a piece of newspaper down to protect surfaces, and don’t forget to think about the emotion you want your mask to represent. This will help you to style your mask.
12. Rip up newspaper into smaller pieces.
13. Start to layer the newspaper pieces onto the mask, adding PVA glue with the paint brush. Cover as much of the face as you can.
14. To build up the nose, scrunch up balls of newspaper to make the nostrils and the tip of the nose.
15. To build up the mouth make two sausage shaped rolls of newspaper and add to the mask.
16. To build up the eyebrows make two sausage shaped rolls of newspaper and add to the mask.
17. Keep layering your mask with newspaper and PVA glue until it feels sturdy. Don’t forget to do the inside too.
18. Leave the mask to dry.
19. Once the mask is dry you can start to paint it. Start with a layer of white paint and then add colours of your choice.
20. Add elastic to make your mask wearable.
The Creative Life Story Work website is designed to share ideas, tools and inspiration for practitioners. It’s important that practitioners take responsibility for making sure the life story work they deliver is safe, high quality and appropriate for the children and young people they support.
