Time is really flying and the masks are taking shape. We are adding a base layer of white paint to kill off the newsprint and make it easier to add the flesh coloured paint. The children seem to have an instinct about what to do and have been thinking about how their finished masks will look. While method and observations are informing and structuring the artwork, as with the watercolour experiments before Christmas there is room for spontaneity and imagination. All of our discussions about older relatives, all of the drawing and photos and the earlier thought processes are feeding into this work and making our masks richer and more characterful. The intention is that the masks will be worn. Character mask work always needs to have this kind of spontaneity built into it. Otherwise the completed masks will be hard for us to inhabit and bring to life.