Day Of The Dead Inspired mask:

From being around the age of 13 I have always held a strong interest towards Sugar Skull/ Catrina masks. What pulls me in about these masks is how unique their designs are and how not one single one is the same, these masks are always portrayed in such a colourful manner.

Katrina masks situate from 'The Day Of The Dead’ which is a traditional Festival that is celebrated in Mexico to remember the dead. The Sugar Skulls masks are worn to represent their loved ones who they have lost and the bigger the mask the more older their loved one were. During the event ,which is also known as Dia De Los Muertos, you will see these masks all over as they’re the most important part of the celebration and each one is beautifully made up.

Each mask is decorated with the most elegant patterns ranging from swirls, webs, roses and so on. The masks all have a stunning headrests of flowers overflowing from the top of the frame, I love this idea as it is so eye-catching and gracefully set out. All of the masks are bare hand painted which gives them that extra special touch, it is amazing how they make all the colours work so well together.

I decided to make a Sugar Skull to represent the Mexican Culture in my project. I painted my mask using Acrylic paints as I feel like it is the easiest to use when you're wanting to add multiple layers also due to how fast it dries. It was important to choose a paint which dries fast as I would be adding my pattern on top as soon as it had dried so the faster it dried the better. I went for a light theme for colours by using light pinks and creams but when it came to adding detail I took a black marker pen to produce a bold outline. I also wanted my flowers to match in with my paints so again I stuck with my colour scheme then added in some green leaves to create a little bit of a contrast, I used a hot glue gun to stick my flowers as this would give the strongest hold. After doing my research I made the choice to create swirly,curvy, flower patterns that spiralled all around the facial structure. I included a spider web upon the forehead as this is a very popular design that they illustrate a lot. My mask measures just under 30cm in height and 17cm wide.

I did have other plans towards this piece such as going out with a family member or friend and photograph and video them in certain locations wearing my mask, due to the Virus outbreak this became no longer possible but I will be keeping this idea in mine for future preferences. For the locations, I had in mind areas such as Forests and Graveyards. I also wanted to make another mask so that the both would become a pair but the materials that I needed were no longer available which was sad. I would like to make many more of these pieces in the future by using different colours, flowers and so on.