Dia de los Muertos

By

 Virtual Open Studio



Sugar Skulls are a folk art tradition from central and southern Mexico, made as part of the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration.  

Traditionally, a sugar mixture was pressed into a clay mold to make a skull shape that was dried and then inscribed with the name of the deceased on its forehead. The decorations were used as a way to honor the deceased and enjoy memories of them. 

Sugar Skulls are still an important part of Dia de Muertos, and today they are decorated with colorful icing and sometimes non-edible sequins, beads, or feathers. They are designed to be whimsical and humorous icons. Colorful and ornate images of Sugar Skulls often decorate costumes, are painted on faces, or are worn as jewelry. 

Students can create and decorate a long-lasting skull from clay pressed into a common tablespoon used as a mold. Add colorful designs with paint or markers! 

 

Check out the video below to make your own Dia de los Muetros Skull Pendants!



Materials:

-Air Dry Clay

-Spoon

-Small bit of jewelry wire

-Paint, colored markers, sequins, or other decorating materials

-Glue


Procedure:

1.  Press a small ball of clay into the round scoop of a spoon and slightly down on the top of the handle. 

2.  Remove the clay from the spoon.

3.  With the flat side down, press down slightly with your thumb and index fingers.

4.  Form a loop with a little wire and twists the ends together. Insert into the top of the skull so the loop sticks out. 

5.  Give your skull some time to air dry before painting!

6.  Now it is time to decorate! Use paint, markers, sequins, anything you have around the house to bring color to your skull!

7.  When dry, string the skull onto a string to hang or wear as a pendant! 


Popular posts from this blog

Egyptian Soap Carving

By
Image
 Virtual Open Studio Welcome to this week's Virtual Open Studio! This week, we will be focusing on ancient Egypt. The first Egyptians were nomads (wanderers) who settled by the Nile River. The Nile River provided a source for crops and life in an area largely surrounded by deserts. The Egyptians were known for many unique historical developments such as pyramids and tombs.  Cats were revered in the culture of Ancient Egypt as being very important creatures. Some very important cats were even mummified in the same was as pharaohs were. Scarabs were tokens shaped like a bug with engravings that were supposed to ward off evil spirits or protect the owner from harm! The Egyptians also developed a written language, known as hieroglyphics, in which over 700 symbols were used to express ideas. These symbols were carved into pyramids to tombs.  Today, we will be making our very own scarab! Check out the full demo video below! Materials: -Bar of Soap -Carving Tool (plastic utensil...
Read more

Chinese Accordion Dragon Puppet

By
Image
Our Chinese Accordion Dragon puppet was a huge hit for our Chinese Art Summer Camp kids.  They loved decorating their own dragon, naming their dragon, and creating special powers! Materials : Dragon’s head and tail template (link at bottom of entry) Markers Scissors Long strips of construction paper Tape Straws 1) Pass out the dragon’s head and tail templates, markers, and scissors to all the students 2)  Have students color the head and tail (see template at the bottom) 3) After the student finishes coloring, have the student cut out the head and tail 4)  Have students write their name on the back of the head and tail 5) Let the student choose two long strips of construction paper 6)  Demonstrate to the student the accordion fold for the body 7) Take the ends of each strip and connect the corner so the strips make a right angle or L shape 8) Take the bottom color strip and fold over the top color str...
Read more

Paper Sculptures

By
Image
This project requires a few materials, but is so much fun!  Our summer camp kids enjoyed creating their paper sculptures.  Some kids made their sculptures really high, and some create words with their sculptures. Materials: Construction Paper Scissors Glue Sticks 1/4 Poster Board 1) Pass out poster board, construction paper, scissors, and glue sticks. 2) Glue down one sheet of construction paper on the poster board. 3) Cut out strips of construction paper, varying in size and color. 4) Glue the strips into different shapes to create your sculpture! NOTE: To ensure that the glue will hold, press down after gluing for roughly 15-20 seconds.
Read more