Year 5 – Sculpture – Maya Masks

Year 5 – Sculpture – Maya Masks

This half term year 5 have been expanding their sculpting skills. They have made links to their History work, looking at the Maya culture. The children began by looking at what a sculpture is and what do they look like. The children looked at famous sculptures by artists including Antony Gormley, KAWS and Auguste Rodin. The children looked at pictures of famous statues and annotated their work with their likes or dislikes about the sculptures. There were some interesting thoughts about which sculptures they liked/disliked and why.

Next, the children looked at images of Mayan sculptures. They thought about what the sculptures were made from, how they were made and how they had been painted or decorated. The children then created sketches of the images they had been shown in their sketch books. The children really enjoyed the opportunity to create their sketches and produced some fantastic work.

The children were introduced to images of Maya masks and studied why the masks were created. This included battle masks, sports masks and masks for celebrations. The children then created an idea for their own mask in their sketch book.

The children used clay to create their own masks and enjoyed using the tools to add definition to their designs. Some of the designs looked brilliant and the children were very happy with the outcome. 

What The Student Says

"I really liked making the mask out of clay. I enjoyed the feel of the clay which helped me feel relaxed. I really enjoyed painting it, it was really fun."

"I found it tricky and we didn’t have a lot of time. I enjoyed making and painting the mask."

"I really enjoyed the art. I enjoyed using the clay and it went really w36ell. I really enjoyed painting my mask. I used modelling skills like rolling clay into a sausage."

"I really like the art project, I loved modelling the clay. I love history so really liked the project being about Maya Masks. I made a celebration mask for a party."

What knowledge and skills have been developed?

  • Drawing skills were developed.

  • Scoring clay, in a hash pattern, to join two pieces of clay together.

  • Using a clay tool to make markings in the clay.

  • Making simple shapes including sausage shapes and balls of clay.

  • Using larger pieces of clay as smaller pieces will break off when drying.

  • Mixing colours to create a colour the children wanted to use.

  • Applying colour to dried clay using paint brushes.

What the Teacher says

“The children really enjoyed their time looking at different sculptors and using their knowledge of Maya history to create their masks. Some fantastic designs were created making use of different animals including tigers and koala’s. The children really enjoyed using clay and took great ownership of their designs. Some brilliant work was created and the children felt really satisfied with their work (although some of the more delicate pieces of clay did break). Overall the children had a great time making their masks.”

- Mr Gardner - Year 5 Class Teacher.

School Address:

Clapgate Primary School
10 Cranmore Drive
Belle Isle
Leeds
LS10 4AW

School Contacts:

Headteacher: Mrs Singleton
Deputy Headteacher: Miss Taylor
SENDCO: Mrs Lawton
Office: Mrs Austin, Miss Johnson, Mrs Belt and Miss Stamp
Chair of Governors: Mr Bache

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