Mask Project: How are you?

Materials: Felting wool, Felting needles, foam sphere, and elastic.

I think the material I chose benefits the aesthetic of the mask as a whole because there is something eerie and frightening about the felt although it is a childish, plushy texture.

Inspiration:

When we were first assigned the mask project, I immediately imagined a felt mask. I remember using felt and coiling techniques to make 3D designs in middle school and wanted to revive this technique in my practice for this assignment. After doing some research, I found the artist Paolo Del Toro. Below I have provided his website and an article regarding his inspiration and ideas.

https://paolopuck.com

Gargantuan Felt Masks of Beautifully Disturbing Characters by Paolo Del Toro

Concept:

The purpose of this character is to evoke mixed emotions. He looks angry, crazed, depressed, sleep-deprived perhaps? The mask is a reflection of mixed, negative emotions that we are not often able to let out or show in society.

I often feel as a young woman in society that I always have to act happy or am told to smile because that is what is expected of young women. This mask allowed me to project any negative emotion or feeling I have felt or can think of onto an anonymous, male face. It is more accepted for males to lash out. To be angry. To throw tantrums. To put on the mask is to be able to feel and show emotions one is actually feeling, rather than hide them. A mask is typically used for concepts along the lines of alter-ego, identity, or hiding something. In this case, this mask isn’t hiding anything all.