Dia de los Muertos
Created and presented by Ms. Steinmetz
Dia de los Muertos
November 2nd
•
Day of the Dead is a holiday (or festival) when family members who
have died are remembered. In Mexico, this festival is considered to be
the most important holiday of the year.
•
It is a period full of life, happiness, color, food, family, and fun.
•
Outdoor markets sell many symbolic goods, such as special breads,
flowers, pottery, baskets, candles, paper puppets, candy skulls, etc.
The main symbols of this holiday are skulls and skeletons.
Marigolds-"flower
of the dead”
believed to attract
the souls and draw
them back.
Sugar Skulls
•
Mexico, abundant in sugar production
and too poor to buy fancy imported
European church decorations, learned
quickly from the friars how to make
sugar art for their religious festivals.
Sugar skulls represent a departed soul
and honor the return of a particular
spirit.
•
Sugar skulls are labor intensive and
made in very small batches in the
homes of sugar skull makers. These
wonderful artisans are disappearing as
fabricated and imported candy skulls
take their place.
Why Skulls?
The skull is about the most important symbol in Mexican Day of
the Dead Culture, because it symbolizes the soul. The idea is
that just as the bones remain after the flesh has been rotted
away, the soul remains after the body is discarded.
Day of the Dead Altars
What are some characteristics
of these designs?
Pattern
Line and Shape
Vibrant
Colors
Black
outlines
Symbols
Sugar Skull Clay Relief
• Relief = means to
RAISE
• Skulls should include
several elements that
are raised above
(3D) the background
plan.
• Painted designs are
in addition to these
areas.
Sources of Inspiration
•
•
•
•
•
Aztec Patterns
Ed Hardy Designs
Henna
Intricate Line Designs
Symbols of personal
importance (avoid
clichés!)
Oil Pastel Resist
Day of the Dead Skulls
Created and Presented by Ms. Steinmetz
Oil Pastel/Watercolor Resist
• The word resist is used to
describe the action in
which two materials or
media repel each other
either chemically or
physically. In this art piece
we are using oil and water
based paint to resist each
other and repel.
• This mixed media work is
using the black paint to
show a contrast between
the shapes of oil pastel and
gives the illusion of a
stained glass window.