Dia de los Muertos: Eye Candy and Sugar Skulls

A little eye candy from my Day of the Dead art making adventures . . .

A couple of ATC's I made for a Day of the Dead themed
swap on Swap Bot . . . with pictures that I took in Oaxaca last year.

The ofrenda or altar I made for my home . . . a place to honor
my late father and grandparents, and the late loved ones of my guests.

and here's me dressed as a Frida Kahlo calavera . . .

for the Day of the Dead procession and last Thursday
art opening on NE Alberta.

Friends came over on Dia de los Muertos to decorate sugar skulls . . .

Here are some of the results of our efforts . . .

I'm lovin' the creativity . . .

Check out the rose gripped in her teeth!

And this one still in process . . .

It's a wonderful holiday that allows us to honor our loved ones who have
passed and be so creative all at the same time!

DEMO: Sugar Skulls for Day of the Dead

DEMO: Sugar Skulls



Sugar skulls are one traditional and crafty part of the traditional Mexican celebration, Dias de los Muertos, or Days of the Dead. During this time - usually celebrated from October 31 to November 2nd (depending on the part of Mexico) and adapted from ancient Aztec rituals and the Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day - families and communities put up "ofrendas" or altars to honor and celebrate the dearly departed who come and visit. The sugar skulls are decorated, and often inscribed on the forehead with the name of the recipient - who can be either living or dead! They might be placed on the ofrenda, or given as a gift.

I learned how to make sugar skulls last year from Cathy of Bossa Nova Baby - and you can check out my post about it here! She didn't teach it this year, and I've been getting ready for a Sugar Skull Decorating party this weekend, so I thought I'd share the recipes and directions with you! It might be a bit late to prepare for this year, but you can get all the supplies you need for next year on this website, www.mexicansugarskull.com. If you're local to Portland, OR, you can get the supplies at The Decorette Shop and at Global Exchange (they carry the molds!). Global Exchange also has stores in San Francisco and Berkeley.

Materials

To cast the skulls:

• Sugar skull molds, like those from MexicanSugarSkull.com Trim the molds so each piece is individual and has a 1" plastic border. Skulls come in small one-part molds, as well as medium and large two-part molds.
  
• 5 lbs granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup meringue powder (available from cake decorating stores)
  
• 10 teaspoons water
• Cardboard squares slightly larger than the size of the trimmed molds you're using
  

To decorate the skulls:

Royal Icing

• 2 lbs powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup meringue powder
• 2/3 cup water
  

• Concentrated food coloring paste (like that found at cake decorating shops)

Additional Decorating Materials

• Sequins, Tiny Paper Flowers, Metallic Leaves, Googly Eyes, Acrylic Gems, Thin Paper Foil, other small sparkly bits - again, many available at craft supply stores or cake decorating stores
  
• Cake decorating tips and icing bags
  

Instructions

1. Mix the ingredients together for the sugar skulls - water, granulated sugar, meringue powder as listed above. Use your hands to evenly distribute the water throughout
the sugar. The sugar should feel like beach sand, and if you press your fingers into it, it should leave a clear impression. It won't feel wet.

2. Press the sugar into the trimmed mold. Press firmly. Fill it over the top.

3. Scrape off the excess - leave the back flat.

4. Lay the cardboard over the back of the mold, and flip it over. Gently lift the mold off.
If it cracks, you may not have enough water - dump it back in and lightly mist the sugar mixture.
If it sticks to the mold, you have too much water in the sugar. Try mixing it more.

5. Let the skull dry on the cardboard for 5-12 hours, or until it's hard to the touch.
Drying time will vary depending on the size of the mold and the ambient humidity.

6. Even after 12 hours, medium and large skulls will not be dry all the way
through. You will want to hollow them out, but leave at least a 1/2 inch wall thickness
and don't scoop into the neck area. Scoop out the moist sugar - it can be reused.
Now let them finish drying - another 5-12 hours.

7. Once both parts of the two-part skulls are dry, they will need to be "glued" together. Now it's time to mix up your Royal Icing! Blend the ingredients together and use an electric mixer at high speed to mix them together thoroughly. You will want to mix the icing until the icing holds firm peaks - 5 to 10 minutes.

8. Put a 1/2 cup or so of royal icing in a pastry tube and squeeze a bead of icing onto
both halves of the two-part skull. Put the rest in an airtight container, but do not refrigerate it.

9. Squeeze both halves of the skull together. Wipe away any excess
icing that oozes out. Let it dry another few hours. This kind of icing dries like cement -
it's the same kind that is used to put together gingerbread houses.

10. Now, you're ready to decorate! You can mix icing together
with concentrated food coloring to color it. Put each color in its own icing bag. I like to use #2 round tips to get a clean precise line for decorating. Again, this stuff will dry really hard!

11. And you can use the icing almost like glue to attach googly eyes, sequins,
foil, or little paper flowers as part of your decoration.

You can save these from year to year - though they last better in dry climates than in humid ones. And, if you stick to using only edible ornaments - just icing and cake decorating gems - they are edible! Enjoy!

Edited to add: You can also use this same process to make and decorate things like easter eggs or holiday trees! All you need is the right 3-D candy mold! Locally, check out the Decorette Shop for molds you like or just google "candy molds 3D" and you'll get more results - and ideas - than you'll know what to do with!

The Decorations are Coming Down

The Day of the Dead decorations are starting to come down, but I did spot this one today:


Oaxaca is also filled with beautiful churches, little museums and art galleries. If I’m reading the map correctly, there are also several art schools in town. I dropped by one little museum/gallery/school that had an amazing photography exhibit up – here’s the beautiful courtyard draped with papel picado banners:


And here are some of the pre-Hispanic (read: pre-Conquistador) sculptures collected by Oaxacan painter Rufino Tamayo at yet another little museum. These little dogs, crafted from clay to be used as jugs and storage containers, are incredibly cute.


Unfortunately, around the time these were made – in the centuries when BC was slipping into AD – these little dogs were being bred for, well, food. It gave their adorable plumpness a rather uncomfortable connotation. But I still wanted to pick one up and take him home.

In Which: I've got my Luggage!

I got my luggage! I got my luggage! Doin’ the luggage dance, yeah! Wearin’ my sandals and a skirt, yeah! Woot-woot!


Nothin’ like some hot coffee and a pastry to celebrate! Since I was no longer clad in grungy jeans, I also wanted to be sure and visit the church near my hotel, Santo Domingo (closed when I dropped by, but here's the outside):


So, instead, I wandered into the Cultural Museum next door, which used to be a refuge for Dominican monks. Here's the altar they have set up:


And here's an amazing view of the city and the countryside from one of the upstairs windows:



And here is the Pre-Hispanic Rat Diety:


Ok, I don't actually know if it's a Pre-Hispanic rat diety, but it was darn amusing. I actually wondered briefly if it was some sort of ancient mouse trap . . . And just so you know I'm not going completely nuts, here's a slightly more traditional Pre-Conquest sculpture:


Of course, the most amazing thing I saw, I didn't get any photos of. It was a Day of the Dead installation by a living artist (who would probably frown on the whole photo thing, especially since they're selling a folio of the drawings in the gift store.) Huge drawings. Amazing.

Trust me.

Eye Candy for A Tourist around Town

The official celebration, as near as I can pin it down, lasts from October 31 through November 2. I spent most of the day today wandering around and checking out all the wonderful public displays. (Ok, and doing a little shopping.) Stores have altars out, the main city hall had an altar contest, and – like department store windows at Christmas – everyone’s got a little decoration out.

This sweet couple sat outside a store - I wonder, are they waiting for their luggage?


And this altar sat outside another store - complete with small bin for offerings. I tossed in a few pesos as payment for getting to take a picture! What an amazing and colorful altar, and against the yellow wall of the building - wow! There were even tiny paper figures carrying a tiny paper coffin . . .


And then, like a community Christmas tree decorating contest, the city hall was filled with more altars!


This one took Fourth Place, but I think they were robbed.


Check out the black clay skulls . . . the black clay they're made from is only found in two places on earth: Oaxaca, and New Mexico. (At least according to a tour guide from yesterday). It fires black, with no glazes at all. Gorgeous.


And this one didn't win anything at all . . . I think they may have gotten docked for the use of the American-style clay jack-o-lanterns . . . Kids definitely do trick-or-treat here (ok, they wear masks, carry around plastic jack-o-lanterns, and ask tourists for coins by saying "Halloween") but the folks are very proud of their traditions (duh!) and I've seen some signs up dissing the north-of-the-border Halloween influences (one I didn't get a photo of that shows a skeleton kicking a witch - very funny). But check out the detail on this skeleton . . . he's almost life size.


I couldn't tell for sure if it was clay or carved wood, but either way, very nice. You know, for a skeleton at City Hall.

A Tourist in the Graveyard

Last night, I visited several cemeteries as part of a guided Day of the Dead tour. At the General Cemetary in the heart of Oaxaca, the whole thing had the feel of a carnival, complete with street vendors selling food, hot drinks, toys, and even games of chance. Very few families actually decorate or sit at the graves in the center of this urban cemetery. Rather, it’s more of an opportunity for community groups to build altars as a kind of outreach. I saw one honoring the victims of domestic violence, and another hailing the “death of fashion” and honoring those who had struggled with bulimia or anorexia. There was also a general ofrenda built in the center, and candles in all the niches around the walls of the cemetery.



The cemetery is very old (at least by U.S. standards), and victims of various epidemics in the 1800’s were buried here. The wall around the cemetery is full of niches where people are buried. Some niches have been cleared of their anonymous contents to make room for new folks.


The anonymous ones seem to say "perpetuidad" - and I loved the ones below - one died in 1887, the other in 1997. Yet, it almost seems like the same handwriting . . .


We also went to two cemeteries further out in a smaller, more rural town. The Xoxo cemeteries (a shortened and more pronounceable name for the town using only the first four letters, and pronounced “ho-ho”) were a bit closer to the traditions I’d read about. Though still packed with tourists (like me!) and food vendors, families had gone all out decorating the grave sites, and many families were hanging out around the graves, sipping a cerveza while the kids set off fireworks nearby. Even grave sites without families obviously in attendance were cleaned and decorated with flowers and candles.


Based on what I’ve seen and read, the more urban the area is, the more of a party and a spectacle it is, complete with guided tourists and professional tri-pod carrying photographers and Mexican teenagers wearing scanty costumes and altars as political activism and opportunities to win a few pesos by hitting balloons with a dart. The more rural the area, the more likely it is that families will come together and honor the heart of the tradition, building altars to close family members and sitting graveside. And of course, that also means it is less likely (and less appropriate) for tourists and outsiders like me to see it. And this makes sense: a tourist might be able to go to a school Christmas pageant with a guide, but would never simply walk into a stranger’s house on Christmas morning.

I’m glad to have seen some of the pageant.

I ate a cricket.

Actually, I ate several. I was on a tour of a local market outside of Oaxaca, in Ocotlan, and the vendors were selling them, a little scoop in a plastic baggie for a few pesos. They were soaked in chili and vinegar, and fried crispy. The guidebook said they were a local delicacy . . . and it seemed like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, I didn’t like them very much. I did take a picture of the crickets, but this one of marigolds at the market was much prettier:




Fortunately, the market was also full of places selling pan muerte, special bread baked for the Day of the Dead and meant to be placed on the altar.

The dead partake of the essence, and each loaf is labeled with a small figure, perhaps to resemble the dearly departed. I, er, also partook of the bread – sweet, and MUCH easier on the stomach than the crickets.


The sugar skulls don't seem to be as common here in Oaxaca state as they are in Mexico City and other parts of the country. I did find out that they are generally given as seasonal gifts to the living, and that the recipient’s name will be spelled out in icing on the forehead. Apparently, it is much less common to buy them to represent the deceased on the altar.

And of course, like every other market or public arena, there was an altar building contest for the kids! There was one for Frida Kahlo, and this one featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe:

Back in Oaxaca City, there was this really cool poster for some event that's happening tonight:

And - good news! - On the way back from the market I got a call on my cell phone from Rick at one of the four airlines I flew on (though not the one I filed the claim with). They found my luggage! In Portland, Oregon! And, with my help, he found the claim. So, the luggage should be on it's way soon . . .

On to the Altars . . .

No word on the luggage yet, so I’ve purchased clean underwear, shampoo, and a t-shirt. I must say my outlook has improved vastly.

Wandering around the city, I ran into several parades of small school children in costumes, complete with live marching bands!

Here, I accidentally also caught a proud mama with a camera phone!

Of course, I didn't actually come to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead to see cute little kids in costume - it's just a special bonus! I come in large part because of the art and craft of the region, and the specific crafts that emerge to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Like the altars constructed to honor the dead. What can I say? I'm a total sucker for those places where art and spirituality co-mingle.

So, today, I totally lucked upon groups of college students working hard on building altars full of Day of the Dead offerings as part of a contest. I wandered by several times during the day (as I got myself a comfort-food pizza, checked out some craft shops, etc.). As a result I was able to get shots of several of the altars in various states of construction. Several of them were laid out on the ground, and used flowers, dry beans, rice, and even mounds of dirt, shaped and colored with chalk, to create the images. All were constructed to either honor a specific dead person, or something important in history such as Mayan or Zapotec heritage. Here's one of my favorites, even though I have little understanding of its specific meaning:

They were working in teams, laughing and working together to get the altars built.

They had closed off a section of the street, and covered it with awnings.

Aren't the flowers gorgeous? It's mostly marigolds and cock's comb.

And this one is just mounded and colored dirt . . . from what I could make out, it was constructed to honor a faculty member who had died this year.

Look at how many people are working on it together!
Those are all people behind the lines, not spectators!

Here it is later.

Check out all the detail - from what I could see, they were taking colored chalk, ground very fine, and using tiny funnels to apply the details, and larger pieces of mesh to shake out color over the larger areas.

And here's another one - a "traditional" (ie, what I'm used to seeing) stepped altar. Depending on the intention of the builder, the steps in the altar can stand for five phases of life, the seven regions of Oaxaca, or the number of boxes available. The idea is that the beloved dead come here, take the essence of the offerings, and know that they are remembered and honored. Some builders put effort into representing Earth, Air (represented by the cut paper caught in the wind), Fire (candles), Water, and Spirit. It is also traditional to put things out that were enjoyed by the dead in life, such as fruits, bread, even cigarettes, as well as images of the dead or a sugar skull with their name written on it. Some will use candles, incense, and even pathways of marigold petals to guide the souls of the dead to the altars. Often, a mat is laid at the altar so that the dead can rest after their long journey.

Here, there are also live figures, beautifully costumed in Oaxacan garb!



Yes, I did see her stop to rest her arm for a few moments - and she smiled. It's not quite as serious as the Beefeater guards in London.


And the honored guest - with a Corona!

Everyone was snapping photos - touristas and locals alike! It was a wonderful creative, celebratory spectacle - and it was amazing to me that the students worked so hard together to put it all together, and then, only hours later, were tearing it all apart! I love to imagine that, when I pass, my loved ones might choose to remember me in such a joyful - and crafty - way.