I presented students with a unique art assignment that takes something we all consider to be a new normal (face masks) and makes them fun and personal. Face masks are now considered a fashion statement as well as a necessary preventative measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
This school year has been challenging for students, teachers, and our communities, resulting in a need to embrace new ways of approaching our classes and instruction. Some teachers are still teaching virtually, while our classes in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, have adopted a hybrid model where half of the school attends in person while the other half attends virtually, resulting in a safe, socially distanced environment.
One of the art projects I like to do to start the new school year is the creation of desk name cards. By creatively personalizing their names, students provide insight into who they are. (And the teacher gets help remembering the names of new students!) I modified this assignment in 2020 to make it even more relevant.
Incorporating the New Normal
I presented students with a unique art assignment that takes something we all consider to be a new normal (face masks) and makes them fun and personal. Face masks are now considered a fashion statement as well as a necessary preventative measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Like professional fashion designers who work to create unique masks that are both utilitarian and fashionable, students at Jefferson Middle School created face mask designs with the goal of selecting a few designs to be produced on a large scale so that our Parent Teacher Organization could sell them to raise funds for our art program.
Working with a Template
To begin, students received a template on a sheet of paper with the proper dimensions for a cloth mask. Using colored pencils, pastels, markers, and watercolor paint, each student created a unique design emphasizing patterns and colors, beautiful scenery, and whimsical imagery. This project can be easily taken home to work on the days students are virtual as the supplies are minimal, inexpensive, and easily portable.
Creative Reimagining
I have heard some students talk about the anxiety they are experiencing with all of the changes in their world. This mask project provided an opportunity to further explore these feelings and helped them reimagine their new reality in a colorful and creative (and hopefully less fearful) way.
Pictured are some of the masks my middle-school students in grades five through eight designed during the first semester of an unusual school year.
Jim Dodson is an art teacher at Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. JDodson@ortn.edu
National Standard
Connecting: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
Art teachers celebrate student success through a variety of collaborative and group-focused assignments. Two educators forge a partnership to teach students about African arts and culture, while another educator creates an opportunity for students to paint with their feet. Students also work together in small groups to complete table-sized craft paper drawings; team up with a Chicago muralist to complete an outdoor mural; participate in a school library sculpture challenge; and more.
