I’m grateful for your support during the monthly Little Art Livestreams, highlighting an art technique while we chat & listen to music.
To start off the month of November, I had decided to carve a rubber block to print on postcards. The general theme was skulls to celebrate the day of the angels and the day of the dead.
I used a soft pencil to transfer a printed image onto my rubber block, but you can draw directly onto your block if you want. Always remember that the image will be flipped horizontally when you print – this will be obvious if you include any letters in your design!
I was inspired by a friend whose pet had recently passed after spending many happy years together. It is more acceptable to consider pets as part of the family and it brightens my spirit to see such a strong bond between a little creature and person.
Pst! Sign up to my email list for news and updates so you don’t miss out when new videos come out~
What is Dia de los Angelitos/Dia de los Muertos?
Dia de Angelitos/Muertos is commonly celebrated in Mexico and Latinx communities. These days are to honor those that have passed through two days of celebration; the first in remembrance for children on November 1st (Dia de Angelitos), and the second for friends and family on November 2nd (Dia de Muertos).
Traditionally this celebration is festive and colorful rather than somber and mournful. Many families celebrate in their own way, from humble to extravagant – there isn’t a set guideline to honor the deceased but many traditions are similar.
A few common traditions may include:
- Decorated home altars
- Ofrendas (offerings) of the deceased favorite things/food/photos/etc
- Colorful skull decorations, sometimes made in sugar, chocolate or paper
- Aztec marigolds
- Butterfly imagery
- Visiting graveyards
- Festive & cheerful music
- Sharing funny stories
- A variety of delicious food & drink; pan de muerto being a well-known staple in several celebrations
- Candles
Each piece on an altar carries significance.
In Mexico, this celebration leans more towards indigenismo rather than it being a celebration tied to the Catholic church, but it doesn’t seem that many people mind. I even learned that the word calaca, meaning skull, has Aztec origin!
Recent media has popularized these days of celebration, where now there are city-wide parades with people in costume in some parts of Mexico and in Latinx communities in the US. Disney’s movie Coco is a beautiful example of this.
However one wants to celebrate, the tradition has always been family-oriented.
Do you celebrate Dia de Muerto or a similar tradition? What are some of your favorite aspects of this celebration?
Leave a Reply