Design Resource
Mukha Shilpa Assam
Traditional Art of Mask Making
by
Tools and Raw Materials
Raw materials used for mask making are obtained from locally available materials. The mask makers take pride in their use of eco-friendly materials. The mask makers use their hands for most of the work supplemented with a few tools like:
• Knives, both to split the bamboo and for making it into strips.
• Spatula to sculpt the mask, both bamboo and metal spatulas are used.
• Bamboo, among the locally available bamboos Jati bamboo (Bambusa tulda) is considered suitable for the making the frame of the mask.
• Cow Dung : It is mixed with clay for elasticity.
• Cotton cloth : Strips of cotton clothes, dipped in clay-water mixture is used to cover the frame.
• Clay : It is the basic raw material.
• Brushes : It is used to paint masks.
• Kerosene: It is used for the protection of cow dung and clay mixture against bugs and worms.
• Kuhila (Aeschynonene indica), a locally available shrub species.
• Colours: Natural and organic colours are used for painting masks.
