Dia de los Muertos mask project

In recovery, our addictions can be viewed as masks.  We use our addictive substance or person to mask our feelings - even from ourselves.  In this creative activity, I asked everyone to draw on a mask.  With Day of the Dead approaching, they were invited to illustrate the outside of the mask Dia de los Muertos style - or simply as how they believe they portray themselves to the world.

Then, on the inside of the mask, they were asked to draw or write what they don't want others to see - whether feelings or character defects.  It was a powerful assignment, for me, too.

Supplies:

• blank female white mask
• blank male white mask
• permanent markers
• flowers, like this silk one or these felt flowers

Here is how a couple of the masks turned out:

The above mask actually used blank white masks from here, but the consensus of our group was that the matte texture of the masks listed above and the shape were both preferable to these shiny texture, full-face masks.

Here is a mask made with the blank masks listed under supplies.

Whether you celebrate the Day of the Dead or not, I hope you have a meaningful experience playing with masks.