Narrative
There once was a time, not so long ago, that Man had to take on a new battle. The Covid-19 pandemic shook Man to its core. There was a heightened sense of confinement due to a newly isolated lifestyle. Alone and fearful, there seemed to be no way out. The most hopeless days turned into hopeless nights, and the darkest months turned into the darkest years. But, out of the ashes arose a small, yet mighty glimmer of hope. Nature, in all her beauty, stood strong. Where Man felt stuck, Nature began to thrive. Vibrant greenery and odorous flowers sprung up everywhere. A new relationship began to develop, not within Man itself, but between Man and Nature. In Man’s imprisonment, Nature reached out her hand to release it from its binds. She offered it an escape from its constraining way of life. Where there once lied two separate entities, now lies one unbreakable bond. While man still faces many challenges, Nature has planted a new seed of hope within it.
Research
When starting my mask, I had to research what material would work best. My original thought was to use cardstock and Bristol.
Paper tests
I liked the rigidness of these tests, but the paper would not give me the tight fit I was looking for.
I then began to experiment with fabric, and while I was in my dorm room, I saw some extra storage bins I had. They were covered in a rough, gray fabric, which I thought would work really well with my concept.
I was looking for a template to get inspiration from, and I found this one on Etsy. Unfortunately the link is no longer available, but the shop name is “Stassklass”
Iterations
In class, Megan and I created potential forms for our concept of Man and Nature. We traded forms every ten minutes and added our own elements on to them. Here are the results:
I used Sketchbook and Illustrator to draw other iterations of my mask.
View Full iterations pdf at Mask Iterations
Exercise 1
I listened to the podcast “Masking for a Friend” to learn more about the use of masks, and get a better foundation for my mask.
Production
I began my process by creating a template based on the one mentioned in the “Research” section.
I cut out two pieces of the fabric from the template. I used a “running stitch” to connect the two pieces of fabric. I used embroidery string to sew almost all of my mask.
I ended up disconnecting the neck and face parts because I found it looked better so sew them separately. In order to give my mask more support, I sewed in a wire into the neck part and the outer lining.
I felt the outside of the mask looked too bare, so I laced a leather string through the stitches.
I created a template for a lining on the inside to give it more support. I thought of doing it in green, but ended up using gray to emphasize the feeling of confinement.
On the outside of my mask, I added green fabric to the back, which tied it more into Megan’s.
For my “lock” mechanism I thought about using strings to tie it closed. However, that didn’t provide nearly enough support, so I decided to use the same wire I had sewn into the mask to make the clasp. With the lock, I also wanted it to tie into the idea that Nature sets Man free, so I used the same leaves as Megan’s mask. I punched holes into the leaves so my wires could connect and secure the back of the mask together. To put the leaves on my mask, I used hot glue.
The clasp was the last major part on my mask. I then secured some of the raw edges on the inside with hot glue to give it a cleaner appearance. I also added black string to the front of the mask in an “x” pattern to make the mask look even more suffocating.
The interaction between our masks was her unclipping my mask then taking a flower off of hers and handing it to me.
Final Images
Overall, this project was a great way to build my teamwork skills within my class. Along with working with another person, I was also able to develop my skills in other areas as well (sewing, hand-cutting, prototyping, etc.).
View final portfolio project at Mask-Up