Inspiration/Theme
Faith Ringgold is a mixed media artist that excels at displaying African American culture and struggles through her work. Her work inspired me to capture different cultures in a series of masks that function in the pandemic. Ringgold essentially bring two sides together in her art work, similar to my mask making. The other inspiration pieces are authentic articles of Indian dress wear, courtesy of my friend. All three masks are inspired by each of my friends respective cultures: Scottish, Indian, and Spaniard.
The red and gold was directly taken from the dress. I tried matching the colors as close as possible to the original fabric as to incorporate it into the outfit. I chose a decorative gold material to mimic Ringgold's use of simple jewelry to heighten the clothing. I also chose gold since it was an accent color in all of the fabrics of the outfit.
Process/Experimentation
This was my first idea for the mask. I wanted to use the gold as a veil of sorts, to eliminate one of the scarves. After seeing both the scarves with the outfit, I decided to keep them both. I then realized that a veil would be too busy with the outfit.
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My second drawing became my final piece. The gold overlay on the red base just made the most sense when creating it as part of the ensemble.
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Here, I drew how the outfit would look with the mask. This gave me perspective on whether I wanted to change the design of the mask to be more modest, go with the veil, or keep it the same. After seeing it with the outfit I decided my second idea was the best route to go.
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Here is a side profile of the mask. This gives me an idea on how to incorporate the elastic part of the mask. Since this piece has a bit more of a finer look, I decided to use ribbon to affix the mask to the person.
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Here is a front profile of a person with a mask. This tricked me into thinking that the veil was a good idea, since it would've looked presentable from the front. After seeing the side view, I realized that it wasn't the case.
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When creating the masks, I used two templates to cut. Large 1 was for the outside layer of the mask, while Large 2 is for the inside. I used the Large 1 template for the decorative gold fabric and red fabric. I sewed the pieces together and that was my outer layer.
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Then I cut another layer of red cotton for the inside layer to make it more COVID safe. The second size allows for the mask to have a 3 dimensional shape.
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Here you can see the different layers. I cut both and laid the gold on top of the red. Then I sewed the pieces together. Then I turned the sewed pieces backwards to stitch them. I then cut along the inside part that wasn't sewn to help it fold.
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Here you can see the top stitch for the two layers. When sewing, the string doesn't stop magically. It needs to be cut and trimmed down so that it doesn't show.
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This is me top stitching. I also folded and sewed the sides down for a cleaner look. I sewed the pieces together backwards. Then I flipped it inside out. This allowed for a clean look. I also sewed elastic pockets on the side of the mask. I later substituted the elastic for ribbon.
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Here I had mom model my mask for me. Here you can see the clean sewed edges, the top stitch, and the layers. The ribbon is tied in the back to hold it up.
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Compare and Contrast
Similarities:
Black Light Series #12: Part Time, 1969, oil on canvas, 59 3/4 in x 84:
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Differences:
Black Light Series #12: Part Time, 1969, oil on canvas, 59 3/4 in x 84:
Indian outfit
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Reflection/IB ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
- My theme of identity and relationships through culture and my color scheme were directly influenced by my inspirations.
- Faith Ringgold's approach to displaying the cultural aspect identities and relationships is displaying caricatures in such a way that their positions imply societal concepts.
- Generalizations a made while creating this mask were what fabrics are representative of Indian culture.
- My central theme for all of my projects is identities and relationships.
- I made inferences on what designs would effectively represent Indian culture.
Bibliography
Faith Ringgold. (2020). Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.faithringgold.com/