Día de los
Muertos
Day of the Dead
What is Day of the Dead?
• Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and
in certain parts of the United States and Latin
America.
• The holiday focuses on gatherings of family
and friends to pray for and remember friends
and family members who have died.
• The celebration occurs on November 1st and
2nd in connection with the Catholic holidays of
All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls'
Day (November 2).
How do people celebrate?
• People visit the
cemetery where their
loved ones are
buried.
• They decorate
gravesites and homes
with marigold flowers
and candles
– The candles help to
lead the souls of the
dead back to their
families.
How do people celebrate?
• Toys are brought for dead children
and food and liquor for adults.
• Celebrators sit on picnic blankets
next to gravesites and eat the
favorite food of their loved ones.
How do people celebrate?
• Families build altars in
their homes, dedicating
them to the dead.
• They surround these
altars with flowers, food
and pictures of the
deceased. They light
candles and place them
next to the altar.
How do people celebrate?
• People don wooden skull masks called calacas and
dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The
wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are
dedicated to the dead.
• A relative or friend eats sugar skulls made with the
names of the deceased on the forehead as tribute.
Day of the Dead
Traditional Art Work, Crafts,
and Decorations
Sugar Skulls
What are Sugar Skulls?
• Called "calaveras de azúcar" in Spanish,
these sugary sweets are sold
everywhere on the days and weeks
leading up to Day of the Dead.
• Market stalls are lined with rows and
rows of colorful skulls, created from
sugar and decorated with multi-colored
icing, shiny foil, sequins and glitter.
Sugar Skulls
• These festive treats are also made at
home. Sugar skulls are given as gifts to
both the living and the dead, often with
the name of the recipient written on the
skull's forehead in icing.
• When they are offered to the dead,
they are placed lovingly on an altar for
the deceased along with other ofrenda,
such as the person's favorite foods and
drinks when they were alive.
Sugar Skulls
• Keeping with the true spirit of Day of
the Dead, sugar skulls are not creepy or
morbid.
• Instead, they are happy, vibrant
candies that are often smiling or
laughing. The bright colors and sparkly
decorations on the sugar skulls are
cheerful enough to clear away any fear
or concern about what they stand for.
Sugar Skulls
• There is a lot of room for creativity
when it comes to making and
decorating sugar skulls.
• To start with, designs and patterns are
added with icing made of eye-popping
colors like bright yellow, hot pink, neon
blue, vivid orange and glowing green in
various combinations.
Sugar Skulls
• They can be decorated with glitter,
beads, rhinestones, feathers, and
anything else that can stick to the icing.
Día de los
Muertos
Inspired
Artwork
How can we create
sculptures that relate?
• Take inspiration from some of the
images shown
• Create a closed form pinch pot
• Shape the closed form pinch pot into
the desired shape of a skull (human or
animal)
• Carve in designs that are reminiscent
of Day of the Dead
But what is a closed form
pinch pot?
• Good question!
• A closed form pinch pot is two pinch
pots scored and slipped together to
create a hollow form
• Remember a hollow sculpture will
explode in the kiln
• YOU MUST HAVE 1 HOLE FOR AIR TO
ESCAPE.
Today
• Take a skull handout
• Using colored pencil (and Sharpie
Marker) create a design. Use this as
inspiration for your project.
• Think about making intricate,
thoughtful, and creative designs.