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Students were given the opportunity to participate in a photoshoot showcases their masks in the  PMA's gallery space. Considering the colors, textures, and forms of their masks; students worked with museum photographer Tim Tiebout to capture the characters from their masks living within the walls of Philadelphia Museum of Art!

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Students were given the opportunity to participate in a photoshoot showcases their masks in the  PMA's gallery space. Considering the colors, textures, and forms of their masks; students worked with museum photographer Tim Tiebout to capture the characters from their masks living within the walls of Philadelphia Museum of Art!

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We also feature shots of our students unable to come to the museum, in the great outdoors!

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What inspires me to do art is my imagination. Sometimes, I would imagine something really cool and would try to draw it out. This process ultimately leads me to questioning how I’m going to draw it out. To answer this question, I research online models and other artists. My online models include gesture models, medieval armor, and Greek statues. I like learning from the artists TB Choi and George Bridgeman. After doing this research, I use a mechanical pencil and a sketchbook to start my drawing.

What inspired my mask was the idea of being greedy in life. I define greed as being selfish and a drive to get as much as possible. When I thought about greed, a goblin appeared in my head.

However, this goblin was greedy for something other than gold. He wanted to be the most successful person for his family. This is when the duality for my mask comes in. You can be greedy for the wrong and right things in life. Overall, I believe everyone needs a bit of greed in their lives to progress at something.

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There are several varieties of religion. More than I can count. I don’t really feel attached to any of them. I do believe in a “higher power,” or perhaps several “greater powers,” nevertheless. Greek mythology are stories which I find most interesting. I honor both Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, and Hera, the Goddess of women and childbirth. Fantasy paintings and women of color make up the majority of my artwork. I often use acrylic paint, colored pencils, and graphite, but I am open to a wide variety of artistic mediums. This includes, clay sculpture, photography and collage making. Murals throughout the city and artists I follow on social media inspire me.

Sofye is the name of my mask. She is inspired by Greek mythology. I perservere to get good grades and I enjoy learning, so I created her as the “Goddess of Intelligence”. Since she is the Goddess of Intellect, Sofye has an enormous mind, and doesn’t need eyes because she is all knowing. This also explains Sofye’s internal dualism. Although she is all knowing, she has close to no common sense. I envision that she can name every, state, city and county but never knows where she is or was. Another form of dualism shown within Sofye is that she is made of plants, yet she is horrible at taking care of plants. Sofye is the daughter or Gaia (the goddess of earth) and the mother of Athena (the goddess of wisdom), I imagined that she is mostly green in appearance (because she is made from nature). Cardboard, styrofoam, aluminum foil, and a lot of papier-mâché were used to create my version of Sofye.

Sophia is my name. I am in my second year of high school and want to be an artist. Even though I wish to paint professionally, I have an interest in all forms of art. I am especially interested in African American art history.

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Beautiful, yet so tragic. An unjust society, a complete opposite of an ideal one. The following project persuaded me to try out things I've never tried before. I mainly work with paint or pencils, so when I found out this project involved mask making, I was very excited. When it comes to art, I get inspired by things I find on the internet. Typically, my artworks don't have a certain subject to explore. I simply love to portray the things I find, in my own style.

The featured mask is a combination of nature vs industry aimed to create a sense of dystopia. The contrast between the two creates a duality concept. For the base of my mask, I used a paper mâché, then I layered plaster cloth on top to make sure the mask is stable. I combined painting and craft materials in an attempt to make my mask unique. I hand sewed a cape to finish up the complete look.

Currently, I am an art major student in the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush. I am a sophomore, and this is my second year at Teen Sketch Club. I am still not sure what I want to do in life, so I pursue art hoping to find it. I think it's a great way to express my character.

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This project is a little different than what I’m used to, I’ve never had to make a mask from scratch, but it was a fun experience to try something new. I normally work with mediums like pencils, pens, markers, watercolor, and acrylic paint. I like to make collages and jewelry. I mainly gravitate towards brighter but some of my favorite art pieces I’ve done were in black and white.

This mask is called confliction because love and hate are casted upon its face, the two conflicting feelings, at constant war. Love is warm and colorful; something that you feel comfortable looking at. While hate is rough and destructive something that may make you uneasy. On the side of love you’ll see the blossoming paper flowers laid on top of the brilliant green acrylic paint while the paper butterflies are ascending the mask by copper wire. But this mask isn’t perfect, following the burnt paper and overall destroyed side which represents hatred. I used gauze, newspaper, cardboard, hot glue, and staples.

I go arts academy At Benjamin Rush, and I’ve been in Teen Sketch for 2 years.  I plan to keep art as an important role in my life, I will continue to learn how to improve my craft. After high school I will choose a profession that involves art some way somehow. I want to be a photographer/visual artist and sell and display my artwork.

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I’m Maimoonah , a 17-year-old Senior at Julia R. Masterman School. I started Teen Sketch fall of 2022 to continue using art as a coping mechanism when I get overwhelmed with everything around me. Ultimately, I hope to make pieces that I can eventually sell. Sporadic thoughts inspire me to create new perspectives, some of which I find in others' work. Due to my health issues, I get tired easily, so I struggle finishing projects. Slowly but surely, I’m working towards trying new mediums and concepts even if they prove difficult. Clay and paint are my favorite to use because I’m able to take a pile of mush, decorate it, and transform it into something beautiful.

The concept of my piece is a moon goddess, for people say I resemble the moon. She controls the moon’s phases and notions to make sure everything stays on track. The duality of the piece is light and dark, representing the pros and cons something needs to display its maximum beauty. Without the stars you can’t see the moon and without the moon you can’t see I also forgot about the gibbous moon phase. Overall, I'm proud for being able to create a piece out of mediums I rarely use.

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Art has always been an essential part of my life and myself, and my artwork is an extension of my thoughts and emotions. When I create, the only real driving force is whatever’s on my mind at the moment, and I find this allows me to make authentic and expressive artwork. I am primarily an acrylic painter, so this adventure into the 3rd dimension was very exciting!

“Loop” explores the duality of time. Time offers us both the freedom to live, but is also of a finite supply. “Running out of time” is a concept that never fails to haunt the average overthinker, but at the same time, we should be grateful to have time to run out of. I hope my use of hard shapes and soft ribbons, eye-catching metallic and dull colors, and movement and stillness portray both the compassion and cruelty of time.

My name is Emily. I’m a 16-year-old junior at Central High School, with two years of experience with Teen Sketch Club. I plan to pursue art in college and then pursue a career in the field. But even if I don’t follow this exact path, I know that art will never leave my life.

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My name is Carolina, high schooler, 3rd year. I, as an artist, tend to work best with drawing characters. With materials mainly being markers and pencils. With a bonus of creating digital art! Gaining inspiration and letting the ideas flow in is never a problem. Finding out that I would have to make a mask from scratch was interesting to say the least.

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I find inspiration in many ways: what I watch, listen to, and read, my feelings, and the people and places around me. When I make something, I ask myself about the process. How can I experiment with new ideas and mediums? The process I go through when making is more about discovery than just creating for the end product.

My mask was inspired by my feelings on the state of the world we live in, the spirit tree from ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and ‘The Legend of Korra’, and nature, specifically the oldest tree in the world. The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine is over 5,000 years old. Being so ancient, this tree has “seen” more than any human has in its lifetime, felt the changes around it, and all while being rooted to a single place. I created the rough exterior of the tree bark and used the white flowers at the top to represent the purity that exists in nature. This project was very fun and exciting, but of course, it came with its ups and downs, the main challenge being creating the base, but in the end, it was worth it for the finished product.

I attend the Academy at Palumbo and have been in Teen Sketch Club for one year. I want to develop my artistic skills to work in the art field, during and after high school. After high school the default plan is college, maybe to study art.

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What inspires me the most in art is other artists. I love watching others as they fall into their own worlds and start creating life. Watching others pursue their passion makes me want to try as well.

Black cats have often been considered bad luck and associated with witchcraft and evil, while the butterflies are often associated with hope, and positivity. I wanted to show the contrast between these two symbols in my mask. Throughout the creation of this mask, there have been a handful of challenges. When I first created the clay base, it was hard to measure it to the exact length of my face. So, after it dried, I realized it was slightly too small. When I tried to open it up a bit, the entire mask cracked, then shattered. I wanted to make the wings to evoke hope, I decided to use rainbow wings to contrast the monotone colors of the cat. I really liked how not only the colors, but also the textures contrasted.

Currently, I am 10th grader at Central high School. This is my second year in the program, and it has taught me to open my abilities to so many different mediums. I want to enter the engineering field. I hope to continue pursuing art in the future and continue exploring all the different mediums and techniques, allowing that to inspire me and help whatever career I may choose and through life.

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Ideas come to me randomly as I stare blankly at my surroundings. Evolving from how light hits, reflects, and casts shadows. I mix these observations with emotion and sometimes color in order to create pieces. Or I will just throw things randomly onto the canvas until I get something acceptable.

Light is blocked by curtains. However, light will filter through with time— no matter how thick the material. Time will strip it, holes will come out of nowhere, and they will shred. So, why cover yourself with a curtain so old, so thin, and tattered? The painstaking work and needle pricking, was it all for nothing as you watch it fall apart? Those "tassels" you wear, "tassels" that have developed over time, only accelerate the process; it is a weight you refuse to get rid of, refuse to cut off. Yet, you continue to use this "mask" to cover yourself as you tread through life.

As life flows from one place to another, art has been what threads through those places and pulls me about. With that in mind and college on my horizon, I plan on studying fine or interdisciplinary art. But I have not seen past that to something I wish to pursue, so I hope to find my true calling in college. (I will continue to leave my doors open even when I find it, though.)

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Good is Evil, and Therefore all Evil is Good. How can you tell from evil and good?"

-Jekyll and Hyde

What is good and evil? Is good always beautiful and pure, and evil is dark and bleak? What happens when the lines between good and evil blur?

While we believe good and evil are definite concepts, they tend to overlap each other. When does good become evil, and when does evil become good? Human nature tends to be two sided, no one can be purely evil or good.

In this piece, I try to represent the beauty in the madness, as 'evil' isn't always 'evil'. 'Evil' can be a misunderstood child hiding under a black facade, hiding from the cruelty of the world.

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I'm always driven by strong emotions in my art, whether as fuel for my work or as a statement. Much of my inspiration comes from other artists I see - this can be as sophisticated as walking through the Baroque section of the PMA and appreciating the contrast and drama, or as casual as scrolling through Tumblr and seeing something I like. While I mainly work digitally, I like to get my hands dirty with acrylics, or crafts like this one.

This mask is a depiction of a character I made independently. They take on the personas of Charon and Apollon, based on Greek myth. The Apollon persona is an oracle with a wrathful side who wants to punish what he sees as sinful, while Charon is a more subdued caretaker who deals with the dead and manipulates more subtly.

The main contrast here is the yarn and velvet used for their hair. The velvet is more sophisticated, while the yarn is playful and soft, hiding what’s underneath. The painted sides of the mask are also reminiscent of a tragicomedy mask to reflect a dual nature.

This was my first time making a mask, and it was ambitious. It took about two months, and I was improvising the entire time. Figuring out how to create the top of the mask was my biggest challenge, but it was overcome with a lot of covering up with some base fabric and the ribbons/yarn itself. I’m content.

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When I make art, inspiration comes to me in bursts. It hits me like a speeding car when I see something whether it be another artist's work, a material, or even an everyday object I just feel the urge to create rise in me. When trying to inspire myself I scroll through the various artists I follow. When beginning a new project, I get very distracted. I get so excited that I find myself zoning out throughout my day planning what I will do in my head, in this way I have most of my project planned out before I even get the materials or put pencil to paper to draw out my ideas.

My mask was inspired by the classic Jester/ harlequin image as well as a medieval fantasy setting. My character is a young Jester traveling the continent trying to make their way as a bard. They want to make people happy but have a strange idea of what is considered cute and fun. The people who meet Jester remark on their bubbly happy personality but can't quite get it out of their minds that something about them is off.

My name is Abigail, I am in my senior year of high school and have been a part of a teen sketch for 3 years. After high school, I hope to attend college to gain a bachelor's degree in chemistry and then move on to medical school with dreams of becoming a medical examiner.

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Costumes are a crucial part of storytelling. Many ballets incorporate elaborate masks to identify characters and to contribute to the rich visual experience of their productions. In partnership with Philadelphia Ballet, Teen Sketch students learned about the use of masks in ancient myths, modern storytelling, and classical ballet. Students created masks out of a variety of materials, including clay, papier mâché, and recycled material, exploring the duality of utopia and dystopia. As part of this partnership, students attended Philadelphia Ballet’s program The Sleeping Beauty, which features many examples of costuming with masks like Carabosse’s sidekicks, The White Cat, Puss in Boots, Blue Bird, and the Wolf.