Calavera Rendezvous, here I come!

It's been wayyyy too long since I've posted and it's all MECA's fault!  Just kidding!  I've actually been spending all my energy working on a fundraising event for Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts, and I'm happy to do so.  Not only have I been busy coordinating, I also created a skull for the calavera auction.  Whew! BTW, how do you like my poster design?

I'll be back in a couple weeks once I've recovered!

Stay tuned for pictures of the event and meanwhile, stay spooky my friends!

Dia de los Muertos- Part II

I thought you may like a peek into the making-of the skull I made for the MECA Calavera Rendezvous auction. So, here we go!

Stage I.  Sculpting





MECA supplied me with a 1'x1' block of Styrofoam. I've never done subtractive sculpting before, so that was quite a learning experience. Once you cut it off, it's off!

Anyway, I quickly discovered that a serrated knife wasn't going to work (it pulled off chunks instead of slicing), so I decided to try a butcher knife. It worked really well for shaving away at the Styrofoam so, the shape was easy. The eye sockets, on the other hand, were a bit more of a challenge!


Stage II.  Prepping the Canvas





After sculpting, I used papier-mâché to create a surface for painting. Lots of people do the flour, water and newspaper method, but I find that too messy, so I go with newsprint, Aleene's glue and plain ol' tissue paper. You can also use ModPodge, but I always have Aleene's around, so it's easier (and less expensive) for me. I put a couple layers of newsprint (not newspaper) and a couple layers of tissue paper on top to smooth out the seams.


Stage III.  Design





I had no idea what I was going to paint on the skull. I thought I may paint it white and do a very colorful design, but then while looking at the blank canvas I decided it needed to be red. So, red it was! It's difficult to see in the photos, but I layered several different hues of red to give it more depth. 

Then, I thought some Mexican icons that are often symbolic of life and death would be nice along with a Mexican proverb. So, I blocked out areas for a sparrow, sacred heart, rose, sun, cross and a butterfly.


Stage IV.  Painting



 

I added details to the icons and began filling in the negative space with a vine pattern.   Along with the acrylic paint, I used some dimensional paint to add texture to the designs.


Stage V.  DONE!





These photos show the completed skull as it was displayed at MECA.  The proverb on the back reads, "La vida es un sueño del que se despierta al morir" which means, "Life is a dream that one awakes from upon death."

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my process!

Dia de los Muertos- Part I

Last weekend was the MECA (Multicultural Education and Counseling for the Arts) Dia de los Muertos festival.  This year, they added a new kick-off party on Friday night called Calavera Rendezvous.  The event included a great lineup of singers and dancers, a fashion show by the Art Institute of Houston, an altar exhibit, a silent auction of Day of the Dead skull sculptures, yummy tamales, arroz, frijoles and empanadas! 




My sister and I donated skulls for the auction and together we brought in more than $400 (mostly my sister)! Hers is the blue mosaic glass one above. Mine is the red skull in papier mache and acrylic paint. I'll do another post about my skull sculpture soon.




The fashion show was really fun.  I was pretty excited to see one of the models wearing my mask! (That's her up there wearing all black. She was a tiny little pixie of a girl-- so cute.)  I loaned MECA the two Day of the Dead masks I made last year for the MOCAH gala.  Right now, they are part of the community altar at MECA.




We also attended the outdoor festival on Sunday afternoon where we watched Mariachi MECA and MECA Ballet Folklorico and enjoyed delicious chicken mole, tacos al carbon and mango agua fresca!  Can't wait until next year!

A Mexican Masquerade

I know it's way past Halloween, but I wanted to share some pics of the masks I made for the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston Masquerade Ball. We dressed as a Dia de los Muertos couple. I made the masks out of papier mache and embellished mine with silk flowers and Swarovski crystals. I made the little skulls out of polymer clay. Michael's mask got just a touch of fine black glitter on the cross. I love the way they turned out. They are going to be awesome Halloween decorations next year!





I love this shot because it's so dark and spooky and the background reminds me of The Shining. At the time, we thought the picture wasn't any good because we took it with an iPhone and it didn't have a flash, but I think it's awesome. Very film noir.





I also made these wicked awesome masks for the founders of MOCAH, Rhonda and Reginald Adams. Don't they look great? Reg is verrrrry tall and Rhonda is teeny tiny. I hit at right about his nose! Leave it to me to make a foot-tall mask that made him even taller!