In this bridge, the assignment is to make a mask by embracing and elaborating one of the peers’ personality and characteristics. Employed the inspiration from the interview with my partner, Jiyoung Lee, I chose the main themes for this mask making project: strength, purity, innocence and family which are the main elements that, in my eyes, impact who she is. During the interview, I got to know that Jiyoung loves freedom and the purity she has firmly kept as she grew up. Besides, I see the strong hope, ambition and curiosity she holds for her future. Based on the importance of culture and family to Jiyoung who has lived at different places for certain time period in her life, I dived deep into Korean historical culture during this project to convey the concept of tracing back to the origin, her hometown, cooperating with weaving techniques and cultural color patterns.
Construction of Clay Mask
I cooperate the structure of the clay mask with the primary elements with regard to Jiyoung’s personality–family, purity, strength/independence and ambition. The whole bottom base of
the structure means ambition. The nest-like shape on the top means family where protects and supports her on her way following the ambitions. The wing-shape means purity, which is connected by the family. Lastly, the muscle-like shape in the center, which is the main source that drives her ambition. Between each individual structures of the elements stand semicircles I used to illustrate the subtle connection and effects the elements have on each other.
Sketchbook
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- Mock-Up Sketches & Ideas Brainstorms
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- Sketchbook Development 1
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- Sketchbook Development 2
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- Color Palette
Studies on Color Palette
In the color study, I started by focusing on the traditional colors in Korean Culture–the three primary colors. However, due to the normality of the primary color, I decided to seek for colors that has values or saturations nuances the primary colors. Accordingly, I came up with a wide range of primary-colors-based hues and ultimately narrowed them down to a harmonious color palette I painted on the mask.
Acrylic Painting on the Mask
Studies on Weaving Techniques
Uniting Pieces
Repainted Mask
Compared to the repainted version, the mask was overwhelming and divided by the patterns. I repainted the mask by rearranging the lines in a more focused and organized way.
Inspiration Images
Final Completed Mask
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- Front
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- Back
Reflection
What was most successful about my project was that I involved yarns as one of my materials in the mask making, which is an innovative path to go along with. With yarns, I cooperated them with paper with special textures of holes which inspired me to employ the weaving and embroidery techniques in a simplified and creative way. The challenge I had was to transfer the abstract concepts/ideas I had to visual elements on the artwork. The fact that I made the structure of the mask abstract and abnormal concerned me whether or not the mask could speak for itself. I learned a lot about iterations through the mask making process since I realize the importance of experiencing with multiple ideas even though not all of them will serve for the final piece ultimately. The critique I received was to revise the pattern on the mask to make it more clear and not to add more elements. It is helpful because the critique also gave me a lesson on iteration. The other feedback was on the braids. At first I painted part of the braids in acrylic, which made the design distractive and took away the focus on the mask itself. Therefore, I remade longer braids and for the purpose of popping out them a bit, I employ the light yellow yarns and white yarns instead of black and white yarns. Only when I redid the part that I’m not so satisfied with and compared “before” and “after”, would I know the power of iteration to make the piece look totally different.
