- Acrylic, Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, Fiona Accessories, Home Decor, Mixed Media, Paper Crafts
Day of the Dead Papier-mâché #Cre8time Inspiration
I am a huge fan of Day of the Dead festivals and artwork, even if it is a wee bit ahead of the calendar date! I was inspired to create these pieces after going to Linpeng International Inc./Fiona Accessories to visit with Fiona and Jimmy Lin. They are truly wonderful and talented people with a dedication to creating beautiful hand painted beads, jewelry and beading supplies, and I am grateful for meeting Fiona at the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show in 2014. At this visit, as usual, we discussed beads and jewelry, went over new ideas and displays, but Jimmy showed me something a bit different this time: little packages of Acrylic flat back gems, normally used for scrapbooking, in a wide variety of colors. He asked me if I could think of any other applications and the first thing that came to mind was covering papier-mâché skulls with the gems for Day of the Dead decor.
Supplies:
Fiona Accessories Acrylic flat back gems Flower and Diamond shaped in sizes 14mm, 19mm, 22 mm and 20x30mm
Mini acrylic flat backed gems (normally for scrapbooking, nail or shoes)
Liquitex Gloss Varnish
Acrylic Paint
Paint Brushes
Papier-mâché mask and skull by Darice and often sold at Michaels late Summer into Fall
Beacon Gem-Tac (Great stuff, non-toxic and flexible)
Sakura Pigma Micron Pen Set (I just love using their pen sets for any illustrations I do)
First I gathered all of my supplies, picking colors of paint, acrylic gems, brushes and which papier-mâché pieces I felt would look the best for what I had in mind.
I started by applying white acrylic paint to the entire surface of the papier-mâché skulls. I let each layer of the paint dry completely before adding the next layer to prevent the papier-mâché from getting too wet and losing shape. I noticed that 2-3 coats of paint are normally required to get complete coverage.
I started to loosely place where I would like the Fiona Accessories Acrylic flat back gems to sit on the papier-mâché and traced outlines in pencil, but I did not glue them on at this point. This would give me outlines to follow and color in with the pens and paint before applying the gems.
There is no set pattern or design to Day of the Dead masks, as it is a wonderfully free form style of art, allowing the artist to put any variety of shapes, symbols and scroll-work on their pieces. I have a fondness for plant life and organic shapes so I painted flowers, vines and geometric patterns across the pieces in silver, black, red and blue. I outlined key elements with Sakura Pigma Micron pens to make them visually pop more.
Since I really liked how the silver paint looked I added some leaves and geometric shapes in green pearl paint, along with flowers in red pearl paint. The paint having a slight shimmer would play off the sparkle of the acrylic gems. Applying the paint and drawing with the pens can take some time but I find it rather relaxing and meditative.
Once the paint was fully dry I applied the Fiona Accessories Acrylic flat back gems to the papier-mâché skulls with Beacon Gem-Tac. A small drop of the Beacon Gem-Tac will go a long way and dry perfectly clear; just holding the gem in place for a few seconds is all that is needed to get the gem to stick to the skulls.
Once all the large acrylic gems were applied to the papier-mâché skulls I filled in the open areas with more paint and pen details, then adding mini acrylic gems with more Beacon Gem-Tac. I let the glue fully dry before going onto the next step.
To make sure all of the detail and gems were protected I applied three coats of Liquitex Gloss Varnish to the skulls, letting each layer dry completely before applying the next.
Once the varnish was dry I was able to add them to the rest of my Day of the Dead artwork collection!
Want to share your projects with Fiona Accessories‘s products? Post any projects and ideas on their Facebook Page! 🙂
Until Next Time, Safe Travels!
Día de los Muertos, a history of thousands of years…
Día de los Muertos, otherwise known as Day of the Dead, is an amazing and wonderful holiday honoring and remembering passed loved ones. Rich in culture and history, it is often misunderstood as a form of Halloween. It is based on an old holiday, created by Meso-American indigenous culture of the Aztecs, and dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Our Lady of the Dead), who presided over and protected the dead. Originally celebrated at the time of the corn harvest, it would last a whole month, beginning in July and ending in August. But when the Spanish invaded Mexico, the Spanish tried to eradicate this holiday, fearing it to be a celebration of death. The Spanish did not understand it was a celebration of the cycle of life and that with death there is rebirth, like the crops that were being harvested at that time of year. The Spanish tried very hard to stop the celebrations but the indigenous people would not let go of their beloved traditions. As a compromise the customs became intertwined with the Christian commemoration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day. Because there were also many other pre-Hispanic cultures of Meso-America that celebrated days honoring the dead such as Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltec, Chichimec, Tecpanec many of their traditions were added to the celebrations, giving this holiday a history of thousands of years.
A family altar with religious items, photos and ofrendas. The celebration traditionally starts at midnight the night of Oct. 31 and goes to November 2. Traditionally November 1 is to honor children and infants Día de los Inocentes (“Day of the Innocents”) and deceased adults are honored on November 2 Día de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”). It is a gathering of family and friends, prayer, signing and celebrating, joyous time of celebration in remembrance of those passed. Ornate altars are created and decorated with marigolds, sugar skulls, ofrendas (offerings) such as the favorite foods and beverages of the departed even possessions of the deceased. Some choose to celebrate at home and others go to the graveyards to clean the graves, hold all night vigils, and leave candles and flowers. For many communities it becomes a festival for all to participate in with parades and street parties.
A family altar dedicated to couple who owned a local community market. A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (calavera), in the form of masks, figures, sugar skulls, dioramas, puppets, and paintings called calacas (colloquial term for “skeleton”). People dress up as the deceased with elaborate face paint and clothing. Some people even wear shells, nuts or bells, so when they dance, the noise is suppose to wake up the dead to celebrate.
Handcrafted happy small calacas on a altar. Many of the skulls and skeletons made for the holiday are happy, bright and festive. In keeping with energy of the holiday they are meant to joyous, to live our life to the fullest. Though some calacas are made to remind us that death is a fate that even the rich can’t avoid such as the modern “Catrina”. Catrina are skeletal female figures in fancy clothing and accessories, normally made as a figure or painting. They are based on the work of Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, La Calavera Catrina, which was meant to satirize the life of the upper classes. Since his death his images have become associated with Día de los Muertos. Though like many elements of the Day of the Dead even Catrinas is seen as a reinvisioning of the Aztec Goddess Mictecacihuatl by some.
Giant calacas at the Day of the Dead, Hollywood Forever event. As the years go by more traditions are added to the Day of the Dead, with the modern age and technology more people can now enjoy and celebrate a once little known holiday. Originally from Mexico it is a holiday now celebrated the world over, with decorations, food, music, parties and the tradition of remembering our loved ones, a concept many can relate to and be joyous about.Until next time, Safe Travels!
Ancient and Contemporary Inspired Artistry