Day of the Dead inspiration

My absolute favorite souvenirs are ones from Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican holiday - which happens to be today - that celebrates both life and death by honoring loved ones who have passed on. The objects usually involve a skull or skeleton. Over the years, I've collected quite a few, from tiny musician figurines (Elvis!) to a larger, more modern skull-in-a-demon-shell that I picked up in Guanajuato.

When Emily and I went to Mexico City two years ago, two weeks after Dia de los Muertos, surprisingly we still saw signs of it everywhere. There was a huge ofrenda in the Museo de la Cuidad de Mexico (top left and actually Emily's photo), the artfully arranged painted skulls (top right) in the lobby of the Museo de Arte Popular along with operating room scene in the museum's collection, and the Diego Rivera-Frida Kahlo altar at the Casa Azul. While it seemed at the time like all of these pieces were temporary installations (except for the calavera box), we saw so much that I imagine if you were there today - and how lucky you would be! - you would find something similar.

So with all this love for Dia de los Muertos art, is it any surprise that I own a copy of Day of the Dead Crafts? For the second year in a row, I've attempted to make my own painted skull. How did it turn out? Well, you'll just have to journey on to the next post to find out...