~ About Sugar Skulls Masks ~
(with a very brief history of Dia de los Muertos!)
The Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 1-2. This religious holiday is a blend of Pre-Hispanic (Aztec) rituals with traditional Catholic festival days (All Saints Day), and is one of the fastest growing religious holidays in the United States. Almost every large city now marks the occasion with festivals, sugar skull and ofrenda-making contests, fiestas, artisan displays, etc., For example, my life-sized skeletonized Frida Kahlo was on display with other Day of the Dead-themed works of art at the show, "Crossings", held at the Lakewood Community Center (a suburb of Denver, Colorado) throughout October and November, 2006. Many elementary schools in the Denver area took classes of children to see this wonderful show and I was told by the Curator that their favorite piece was my Frida -- she said they enjoyed finding all the little bugs and spiders 'crawling' all over the statue. But, I digress...
On November 1st and 2nd, the barrier between the living and the dead dissipates and allows the souls of the dearly departed to commune with their loved ones. It is traditional for families to set up ofrendas in their homes or at the gravesites of their dead. The ofrenda (literally, "offering") is similar to an alter and may hold religious objects, photographs of deceased friends and/or family members, candles, favorites foods and beverages, marigolds (cempasuchil), pan de muertos (bread of the dead), candy skeletons, sugar skulls, and even bottles of tequila, beer, cigarettes and cigars! These familiar items, along with the smells of their favorite foods, are meant to guide the spirits home. Rather than mourning loved ones, Day of the Dead is an opportunity to honor, celebrate, and remember the lives of those who have crossed over to the Other Side.
The Sugar Skull Gallery focuses on sugar skull masks but also contains pictures of three-dimensional sugar skulls I created over the past few years. Enjoy!
On November 1st and 2nd, the barrier between the living and the dead dissipates and allows the souls of the dearly departed to commune with their loved ones. It is traditional for families to set up ofrendas in their homes or at the gravesites of their dead. The ofrenda (literally, "offering") is similar to an alter and may hold religious objects, photographs of deceased friends and/or family members, candles, favorites foods and beverages, marigolds (cempasuchil), pan de muertos (bread of the dead), candy skeletons, sugar skulls, and even bottles of tequila, beer, cigarettes and cigars! These familiar items, along with the smells of their favorite foods, are meant to guide the spirits home. Rather than mourning loved ones, Day of the Dead is an opportunity to honor, celebrate, and remember the lives of those who have crossed over to the Other Side.
The Sugar Skull Gallery focuses on sugar skull masks but also contains pictures of three-dimensional sugar skulls I created over the past few years. Enjoy!
My daughter, Robin, and our homemade Pan de Muertos...Yummmm!
