Dia de los Muertos: Celebrating Ancestry

 

I love Dia de los Muertos!  It's a Mexican holiday that celebrates our loved ones that have passed on, leaving what ultimately is a skeleton.  Skeletons aren't feared or considered to be anything other than their loved ones' remains.

Here's an explanation by Judy King that touches my heart:

 “The Mexican flatters death and woos death, he sings to her, dances with her, he laughs at her. Finally he challenges her and in the challenging, death loses her power to intimidate him. Once he knows death intimately, death is no longer wrapped in a cloak of mystery or causes him to fear the darkness

Once the fear of death has been defeated, the clutch she has on the hearts and minds of the living is lessened once and for all. Death’s morbid side is buried under music and remembrances, while skeletons laugh and dance and sing as Mexico celebrates life in its embrace of death.”

The photo above is a ceramic box I made years ago.  It has a skeleton couple on top (a very common scene in Dia de los Muertos art)

 

In this closeup of the shrine, you can see that I added tiny photos of my parents in their youth.  All the decorations on the cake are ceramic.  The tryptic frame/stand is painted foam core board. I added lots of glitter, skulls, angels and the Virgin of Guadalupe at the top.

For the typical 3 day celebration, the families of the town would clean up the graves sites of their loved ones and decorate them with marigolds and candles on the evening of October 31st, and then the celebration begins. 

The Mexican s believe it would be an insult to their ancestors to be sad during the celebration.  I read somewhere that the road the spirits follow back to home would be made slippery with tears.  Instead, they laugh and sharing memories, feast together, making sure to bring the favorite foods of their ancestors (the delicious smells help them find their way home).

Here are some history links for more info:

AZ Central and Sugar Skull Tradition

I highly recommend visiting the Crafty Chica.  Kathy's whole family does wonderful Dia de los Muertos art!

Also, this post is part of Mary England's Celebration Blog Party

A Dia de los Muertos Angel on the 7th Day of Creepmas

On the 7th day of Creepmas Smeared and Smudged blog hop my true love gave to me a Dia de los Muertos Doggy ornament!  Don't you just love all the fabulous projects all the bloggers have created for the hop?  In case this is your first visit to The Smeared and Smudged 12 Days of Creepmas blog hop,  click in here for all the skinny

If you're hopping, you've arrived here from the very awesome Ike's World.

My project is below the blog roll.  Be sure to visit all the creepy bloggers and leave some comment love!

Blog Roll

Smeared and Smudged

Lady B

Silvia

Wendy

Carla

Leigh

Shell

Loren C

Kelli

Black Dragon

Suzi McKenzie

Windy

Glittery Kate

Alison

Julia

Jane

Monique

Jenn

Ike

Candace - You are here

Lisa Hall

Steph

Susan S.

This little guy is made from polymer clay, black paint, glitter and wire.  The steps are so easy.  I want to refer you to Cool2Craft for the tutorial and video.  That project is assembled in the same way.  

You'll need white clay for this version.  

Assemble the dog and make joint marks.

Bake according to the directions and allow to cool.

 Paint with black acrylic and quickly remove the paint from all but the recesses.

Add the jewel eyes and tie a ribbon just under the halo.

 Now, off to the lovely Lisa Hall for some more fabulous fun!

31 Days of Halloween - Day 17 - Day of the Dead Cameo

Yea! It's day 17 of Smeared and Smudged Forum's 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop!   This has been so much fun, hopping and commenting AND I thank everyone for the awesome comments you've give me! 

Dia de los Muertos. or Day of the Dead, is a wonderful, colorful celebration of life. In the days of celebrating, people groom the gravestones of loved ones, hold candle light vigils, break bread and share memories.
The skull is a symbol of loved ones passed and is loved, not feared. It can be a super fun decorated sugar skull that is made even more exciting if it has your name on it! It can be part of a vignette with whimsical skeletons portraying loved ones' occupations and family gatherings. 
My shrink plastic sugar skull sits atop a piece of polymer clay mounted on a cardboard pendant.

Materials:
Cardboard - a cereal box or something similar will work
Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue
Die cutting machine
Sizzix Frame and Flower die
Black paint
Inka Gold metallic paste - Copper
Shrink plastic - white
Martha Stewart Skull Punch
Permanent markers - fuchsia, purple, blue, orange, lime green and black
Polymer clay - a small amount of black
Clear gloss sealer

	I used Sizzix Frame and Sculpted Flower die to cut 3 frame pieces from cardboard.
	Glue all 3 pieces together and allow them to dry. Paint the cardboard with black acrylic paint and allowed it to dry. I used my fingers to apply a thin layer of the copper paste so that some black showed through.
	Condition a small amount of black clay.
	Click here to see how I made the sugar skulls The skull had a hole in the top to put a jump ring in. I chose to cover it with a tiny gem. Form the clay into an oval that fits inside of your frame and is big enough to put the sugar skull on. Bake the clay as directed.
	Cover the black backing with clear glossy sealer and set the skull in it. Add a bit more sealer on the skull. I can't wait to make this into a necklace!

---

Crown Zero - The Beginning

This was my very first crown.  I made it 4 years ago.  I'm currently working on my fourth - the Pink Crown.  This post was written for a challenge blog that I used to have.  I'm reposting here because I'm closing the old one down and this seems to be the only post that still gets comments.  Enjoy!

This is my Crown.  I am High Priestess of Dark Whimsy, Mistress of Delicious Mischief!  It's a wire frame with ceramic, polymer clay and glass bead accents.

Check out the purple coffee cup with a blue jewel and meandering wire steam.  The cookies and skulls are also polymer clay.

 

Hey that cookie has a bite out of it!  I used pearl and crystal beads from my grandmother's broken jewelry collection.  She was an artist, too.

Chocolate frosted doughnut with sprinkles!  Bonus!

The base is wrapped in strips of valour.

This was a labor of love...crazy, warped, art love!

What are you queen of?  What would your crown look like?  Use you imagination and make it fabulous!

I Did Not Start My Day This Way! Interactive Art

Some days you feel this way.  Life turns you all around and you can't predict how you will end up each day.  This whimsical skeleton is a reminder that, no matter where you go - there you are, and no matter what - you are who you are.

The frame back is fitted with crossed hanging wires so that it can be turned any direction.  The skelly's head is pinned beneath the glass, but as the frame is turned, the body flops this way and that. 

Here's the link to him on Etsy

My Inner Misbehaver is Out

“My Inner Misbehaver is Out”  is a polymer clay articulated skeleton sprawled on top of a 4" x 4" wood frame.  Her bones are "tattooed" in purple ink.  The frame is worn and decked out with fabulous paper.  A handmade ceramic moon charm is suspended from the inside top.  There's no back to the frame so your wall will show through.  Total height is about 6".  Thickness is 2".
Click here to see the Etsy listing

My Art Show at the 30th Street Grounds For Coffee

I love the space Grounds For Coffee has in their 30th Street location!  It's big, but cozy and inviting.  It's always hopping with friendly locals and college kids.  I have 40 some odd pieces hung there this month.

I have a new series of pieces I'm working on.  They feature skeletons in dimensional frames.  The piece below is called Noir.  He stands beneath a lamp post, holding a lit cigarette in one and and gestures a melancholy greeting with the other, gently touching the brim of his fedora. 

Mum and Skull Fascinator

New on The Bone Tree - A purple silk chrysanthemum with swirly copper wire and handmade ceramic skull, secured to an alligator hair clip.  This skullfriend is looking for hair with body =0)
Click here to view this on my Etsy shop - DeliciousMischief

Bone Tree Jewelry

Etsy recommends having interesting photos of your product and I thought long and hard about it.  This is what I came up with.  It's The Bone Tree.  It's visually exciting to me!  I knew there was a reason I saved those vine wrapped branches all those years!  Soooo I'll be posting what's new on The Bone Tree occasionally, just because I like the sound of it! =0)

Frida Kahlo Inspired Self Portrait

Last week The Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano Murillo, challenged her blog readers to paint a Frida Kahlo inspired self portrait to honor the artist on her birthday.  I don't really paint, but I loved the idea.  So, I started with a box of chocolates, which I happily ate.  Then I sketched the portrait to go on the top of the box.  I cut it out, put it on, added colors, inks to age the box and attached some dangly earrings.

Note the uni brow and hint of moustache! Very Fridaesque.  I decided the piece would be about my inner artist, so the inside of the box would have to reflect the joy of creating art!  I love sculpting food!  Especially chocolate and coffee!  I used polymer clay to make the skeleton bits and chocolates.  Of course I had to add jewels and wire work.  Those things bring me joy, as well.

Then there's the Sacred Heart that my ribs can hardly contain.  That's all about my spiritual life.  You can't see it here, but I lined the inside of the box with a sparkly ribbon.  I do love to have sparkle and brilliant colors around me.  They feed my inner artist.

If you're not familiar with Frida's work, click here to see her work and read about her amazing life.

Day of the Dead Shrine for My Parents

This is a ceramic sculpture box I made last year. I love Dia de los Muertos! It's a Mexican Holiday that celebrates ancestry. This quote really speaks to me...

“The Mexican flatters death and woos death, he sings to her, dances with her, he laughs at her. Finally he challenges her and in the challenging, death loses her power to intimidate him. Once he knows death intimately, death is no longer wrapped in a cloak of mystery or causes him to fear the darkness

Once the fear of death has been defeated, the clutch she has on the hearts and minds of the living is lessened once and for all. Death’s morbid side is buried under music and remembrances, while skeletons laugh and dance and sing as Mexico celebrates life in its embrace of death.”
Judy King

So, the Crafty Chica (http://www.craftychica.com/) had a Day of the Dead Shrine contest and I was so excited about it! I knew I would enter, but had no idea where to start. My dad died in May. He was a rocket scientist, so I had visions of rocket ships and skeletons. I just kept mulling it over. Then, last week, my mom passed away in her sleep. The ceramic cake box jumped into my mind while I was laying in bed on a sleepless night.

I decided to use a photo of the cake as a place to start. I printed three different sizes and pieced it together on foam core board. I used printable, white and clear shrink plastics for the photos of my parents, the candles, skulls and angels as well as a photo of a beaded Virgin of Guadalupe. I did the beading with some instruction from my buddy, Beth. Check out her web site, it's awesome! (http://sparklingsoulstudio.com/default.aspx).When the glitter came out, that was all she wrote. It's everywhere now. I'm not sure I'll ever get it cleaned up. I'll be blowing glitterboogers for a week.
The finished product is below. I shouldn't say "finished" because I'm sure I'll come across things now and then that remind me of my parents and I'll just have to add on. But, for now...