5th Grade Metal Masks

5^th Grade Metal Masks

In art class 5^th grade studied the art created by the ancient Incan, Aztec and Mayans from Central America and South America.  We learned that gold, silver and other metals were commonly used to create pieces of art.  We looked at many examples of ancient metal art and then focused on masks.  We started by discussing how different cultures around the world have different purposes for masks and found that masks look different in different cultures. We found that many Aztec, Mayan and Incan masks were made out of metal and were not worn but created as gifts to gods and goddess and left in temples as offerings.  Students began by drawing their own ancient mask and then transferred their design to their choice of silver, bronze or gold colored metal.  They worked from both sides of the metal to push designs and decorations out or in using a technique called tooling.  By repeating designs close to one another they found they could make textures.  When they were finished adding designs students carefully cut out their mask and added black paint to make it look like it was ancient.

Great Job 5^th Grade!