GC3/4: Yup’ik Mask

Step by Step Guide

First thing I did was find a piece of wood the

right size and draw on the design I wanted

Second thing I did was cut the piece of wood

out using a jigsaw

After I cut it to shape I used an electric sander

to remove the polished appearance and to make

it look more rustic

To create the eye holes I firstly drilled a small

hole then using the jigsaw I created the eye

holes

Using wood chippings I created teeth then

stuck them onto the mask with wood glue

creating a mouth

After the mouth was in place I drew on my

desired design and painted in the desired

colours

After I had added the colour I chiselled around

the nose and eyes to add a rugged/used effect

Once chiselled I went over with more colour

then sanded it down to look older then it is

Once I had the main design I plaited pieces of

string together to add to the mask

On the right hand side of the mask I glued on

a piece of rope and also made holes into the

mask

Once all the holes were drilled out I threaded in

the plaits

Final Product

Evaluation

I pleased of my overall product outcome even though it is not the same as my original design idea. I adapted the design due to the wood that was available to me at the time and the skill I had to create the mask with the tools I had. The main theme of a split design has still been maintained within the design due to different shaped eyes and the design with the rope. I chose the colour green as it was common in most Yup'ik masks and the mouths mainly used by the Yup'ik masks were smiling so my design was my own with large influences from the original creations. I did not add any handles or straps in the back due to the fact that the dancers of Yup'ik culture held the mask with there hands while they danced If I was to repeat the process again I would incorporate more of my original design to the final product.