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Maria Grujicic Studio
Montessori-inspired,
nature-based creative learning through art
From Colour to Mask
How a Picture Book Grew from Years of Creative Exploration
Sometimes a book does not begin as a story.
Sometimes it begins as colour, play, and experimentation.
The picture book From Colour to Mask grew slowly over many years through my own sketchbooks, art experiments, and creative work with children. Long before the book existed, I was already exploring how simple colours and shapes could transform into characters, masks, and stories.
The idea fascinated me:
How does colour become a face?
How does imagination turn shapes into characters?
This curiosity eventually became the heart of the book.
Where the Idea Began
Many years ago, while teaching children in Germany, I began experimenting with mask-making activities that combined colour exploration with storytelling.
Children mixed colours, painted masks, and then invented characters and performances.
Each mask became part of a story.
One of the children's early mask creations looked like this:
These early projects deeply influenced the way I began thinking about colour as a character-making tool.
Children instinctively understand something many adults forget:
Colour can become a personality.
The Teacher's Mask
When teaching mask-making, I always create an example first so children can see how ideas develop.
This mask was one of my demonstration pieces.
This mask grew from an idea I have carried for many years — creating theatre performances through handmade masks and characters.
For me, theatre, storytelling, visual art and movement have always belonged together.
Children rarely stop at the mask itself.
They begin to move differently, speak differently and invent stories.
A mask invites a character to appear.
A Montessori-Inspired Exploration of Colour
More recently I returned to the idea again, this time exploring colour mixing through a Montessori-informed approach.
In Montessori education, colour exploration is often introduced through clear, sensory experiences.
I adapted this idea using plasticine, watercolour, and drawing.
The goal was simple:
Let children see how colours interact and discover how those colours can grow into expressive characters.
One of my recent mask studies looked like this:
The colours spread, blend, and form shapes that begin to suggest faces.
This process — watching colour evolve — became the narrative structure for the picture book.
The Story That Emerged
The book From Colour to Mask follows a quiet creative journey:
Colour appears.
Colour moves.
Colour gathers.
Colour stretches.
Slowly, something begins to form.
A face.
A mask.
A character.
By the end of the story, imagination has transformed colour into friends ready to play.
The book invites children to observe the process of creation rather than rushing toward a finished result.
From Book to Workshop
The story now forms the foundation for a new workshop series.
During the workshop children:
• explore colour mixing through playful experiments
• paint their own masks using watercolour and pencils
• create miniature mask maquettes using plasticine
• observe character design techniques
• invent their own stories and characters
The focus is not perfection, but confidence in creative thinking.
Each workshop builds on the previous one, allowing children to gradually develop their artistic skills and storytelling abilities.
The First Workshop
The first From Colour to Mask workshop took place recently as part of my Sunday Art Circle series, and the children immediately began inventing their own characters.
Some created playful creatures.
Others imagined theatrical personalities.
These early maquettes are wonderful examples of how children naturally develop stories when given open creative materials.
A Book That Continues to Grow
Although the book is now finished, the creative exploration behind it continues.
The ideas inside From Colour to Mask connect to:
• drawing
• sculpture
• theatre
• storytelling
• movement
• imaginative play
One day I hope these characters may even appear in a small theatre production created with handmade masks and stories.
For now, the journey begins with colour.
The Digital Picture Book
From Colour to Mask is now available as a digital picture book.
The book can be used for:
• shared reading
• classroom inspiration
• creative workshops
• art and storytelling activities at home
It invites children to slow down and discover how imagination transforms simple colours into meaningful creations.
Upcoming Workshop
The next From Colour to Mask creative workshop will take place on:
Wednesday 8 April
Children will explore colour, mask-making, and character creation through drawing, painting, and sculpture.
Places are limited to keep the workshop calm and focused.
Bookings are available through the website.
✨ Sometimes a story does not begin with words.
Sometimes it begins with colour
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