Art Activity Video: Faith Ringgold

Create a mask inspired by your family!

Activity best for children age 3 and up

Faith Ringgold is an artist who creates a variety of art forms. She paints, makes collages, sews artistic quilts that tell stories, writes and illustrates children’s books, and makes sculptures inspired by the African “ Dan” masks of Liberia and by women in her family in Harlem, New York. Harlem is a city that is very well known for its music, art, culture and people from all over the world. Faith’s art is based on her family’s experience of being African-American and growing up in Harlem.  She always makes art about what she thinks is important.

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Where did your Mom and Dad grow up and where did past family members come from? Sooner or later your family came here from another country. You may look a certain way or have family traditions, speak languages other than English, or practice a different religion, all based on your family history. Today, you’ll create a mask based on your family’s history. 

Materials you’ll need:

Large paper grocery bags for masks and/or small paper lunch bags for mask puppets

Different colored papers and fabrics you can cut and glue (raffia, ribbon, shells, buttons, pennies, etc.)

Glue 

Scissors

Directions

STEP 1
Poke holes in your paper bag for eyes and a mouth and cut them out. Think about your mask’s expression. An expression is how a face shows emotion. Smiling lips and big eyes means happy and surprised. Frowning lips and eyes that are closed mean sad. Your mask’s expression will let other people know about the personality and emotions of the person or creature your mask is telling us about. When you draw in your mouth and eyes think about what they will say to those looking at it!

STEP 2

Once you have the eyes and mouth cut out, cut and arrange materials, like buttons, ribbons, colored paper, foil and fabrics on your mask to make beautiful patterns and designs with bold colors and different textures. 

A pattern is a repeated line, shape, or color like the round polka dots on a cheetah or the stripes on a zebra. Nature is full of patterns, and our eyes like patterns! 

Texture is the different way things feel to us and that we see. Texture can be smooth like foil, rough like burlap cloth, soft like a feather, and many more objects you experience with your hands, mouth and eyes. 

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STEP 3
Draw with markers, pencils or crayons the details that will give your mask or puppet personality. Share your mask with the person who inspired it and tell them why you chose them and how your mask reminds you of them. You can even make a play using the masks you’ve created!

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