How do you say it, and
what does it mean?
El dia de los Muertos
means:
DAY OF THE DEAD
Sound it out like this:
EL DEE-UH DAY LOS MOOWHERE-TOES
The Day of the Dead holiday is
about honoring the memory of
family or friends who have
passed away.
It is about celebrating LIFE! It is
NOT a scary, evil, depressing or
morbid day.
Day of the Dead falls on Nov. 1
and 2, coinciding with the
Christian All Saints’ Day and All
Souls’ Day. Sometimes it is
confused with Halloween.
http://obit-mag.com/articles/a-day-for-skeletons-and-skulls
Day of the Dead is primarily
celebrated in Mexico and Central
America, but also is becoming
increasingly popular in the United
States.
The holiday has evolved from Aztec
roots, surviving the Spanish
conquest of Mexico, to encompass
Catholic traits, which makes the
holiday even more meaningful as a
time of worship, festivity, and
honor.
While celebrating, some people
wear skull masks, or paint their
faces like skulls, and dance and sing
to honor the deceased. Another
popular tradition is to build an altar
to honor lost loved ones.
Artist Sylvia Ji paints women
with faces that resemble sugar
skulls. I think her paintings are
hauntingly beautiful!
Dia de los
Muertos Parade
CALAVERAS
HAND-MADE
SUGAR
CANDY
SKULLS
D
i
a
de
los
Muertos calacas!
Different ways
of honoring:
• Remembering the person throughout the
month
• Dance ceremonies & celebrations with food
and music
• Having a picnic at the grave of a loved one
& decorating it with flowers, candles, and
toys.
• Building altars (ofrendas) in their homes.
Preparing the cemetery for a Dia de
los Muertos celebration…
Some people choose to make
offerings to the people whose
lives they wish to celebrate.
The ofrenda, Spanish for
"offering", is an altar decorated for
the Day of the Dead celebration,
to honor and please the returning
souls, NOT to worship them.
http://www.elpayaso.com/ofrenda.htm
SO WHAT’S OUR PROJECT???
Create a Day of the Dead
inspired metal artwork
1. Draw your idea in your sketchbook –
SKULL WITH DETAILS AND A
BORDER
2. Transfer it to the metal
3. Use special tools to make the design
pop out of the metal
4. Paint with black acrylic and wipe off
to make details show up
5. Color with alcohol inks!
Decorate the skull with
images that are
symbolic to you.
What symbols do you see here?
MORE COOL
SKULLS!
Symbolism
– The representation of an
idea by the use of symbols, or pictures.
Tooling
– Work or decoration on soft
metal done by hand with tools.
Relief
sculpture – A kind of sculpture
that stands out from a flat background.
For this project you will learn the art of
metal tooling
That is, forming a pattern in thin metal by pushing up from
the underside to create a three-dimensional effect.
By using special tools,
the artist can create
impressions in the
metal.
Also, the metal can be
turned upside down
and pushed out from
the back to create a
3-D effect.
Making Designs in
the Metal
METAL
Metal Tooling begins with thin
sheets of metal
Copper, Brass, or
Aluminum
The sheets are about 5 times thicker
than a soda can, but can be easily cut
with regular scissors. You can find the
metal in rolls or sheets at your local
craft store!
Various tools made of metal, plastic
and wood are used to create
indentions in the metal from both
sides.
Here you see a tooled
example of each type
of metal .
For this project, we
will be using
ALUMINUM.
METAL TOOLS
These are the tools used for
working with metal. They are
double sided, and each serve a
specific purpose.
The pointed edge tools are for
drawing images into the metal,
and the wheels are for adding
texture and repeated patterns to
your metal.
The flat and rounded tools are for
pushing out large areas of metal.
TEXTURE
PLATES
can be used under
the metal to create
repeated shapes and
symmetrical
patterns.
Because the
metal is thin, it
can be easily
textured and cut
into interesting
shapes.
In this artwork, the heart and wings are cut
out separately and glued on top of one
another to create a 3-D layered effect.
LET’S GET STARTED!!!
 Draw 3 thumbnail sketches of your
ideas for the Day of the Dead Metal
Project.
 Make details SIMPLE, but fill spaces.
 Make sure to create a BORDER!
 Choose your favorite thumbnail,
TRACE METAL in sketchbook, and
draw idea in that space.