Animal Masks

Our annual Art Show is a highlight at our school and each year we engage with the local community by inviting artists from our local area to deliver a lesson. The children create artworks based on these lessons and the pieces are exhibited at our Art Show.

The links to the broader community are valuable to the learning and engagement of our children. We have engaged professional artists living and working in our community but often we have discovered that many of the parents in our school community are highly skilled and talented artists and willing to share their skills with the children.

In the past two years we have been fortunate to have Lesley Paxinos work with our Foundation students. Lesley is a functional designer and traditional doll maker at Olinda Collective and enjoys producing whimsical creations for young and old. Olinda Collective is a small boutique that operates as a permanent market, right in the heart of Olinda. They showcase a range of products including locally handmade items, vintage clothing, upcycled products, local art and designers.

The students made papier-mâché animal masks with Lesley supporting and guiding the children through the process of art making. The children created a base for their chosen animal mask using a balloon covered with layers of papier-mâché. They identified the animal’s unique features and created various shapes utilizing cardboard and other recycled materials. After fitting their balloon shell to their head and cutting eye holes they attached their individual features to the base.

The next step the children completed was experimenting with paint and colour to enhance their animals attributes. Finally the children were encouraged to add paper fringing, fur and yarn to add layers of depth and texture.

Liz Kennedy and Lesley Paxinos
Mt Dandenong Primary School