Africa is an enormous continent. The Sahara Desert in the north sets apart the countries near the Mediterranean Sea from the lands of the south. South of the Sahara the continent stretches from seashores to mountains, jungles and forests to grasslands, rivers and waterfalls to deserts and volcanoes.
Millions of people live south of the Sahara. They belong to hundreds of tribes, all with different styles of art. Most African art is made for religious ceremonies. The ceremonies are closely connected with daily life, with planting, harvesting, having children and hunting.
African art forms and styles are centuries old. The arts have been carried on by the different tribes for a long time.
Yet, until less than a hundred year ago, African art was almost unknown to people outside Africa.
It now has it's place along with other great art of the world.
Balance.
Symmetry. The same on both sides. A-Symmetrical. Not the same on both sides Radial. Based on a circle with the design moving away or out from the center.
Color & Repetition in Balance.
Using repetitive shapes to create design elements in and around the mask.
Color completes the balance of your creation.
Objective: You are completing a symmetrical mask. Half will be drawn on your folded sheet of paper, the other half will be complete using the light box. You will then be selecting colors to complete the symmetrical mask by coloring in the variety of shapes with symmetry in mind.
Examples will be shown.
This will then be your base for your paper or clay mask creation.
