Day of the Dead Skulls

Students in grades 1-3 created these Day of the Dead skulls to learn about symmetry/balance and patterns in artwork. We began by learning about the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. I showed students a YouTube video about the holiday and we also read the book Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston. Celebrated in the U.S. and Mexico from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the holiday tradition calls for the creation of altars to deceased loved ones, decorated with photos, meaningful objects and their favorite foods said to attract their souls. Petals of bright yellow-orange marigold flowers are used to guide them from the cemetery, according to tradition. 

The skulls were made by drawing half of the face on a folded piece of paper, then tracing it with black crayon and rubbing it to transfer to the other side. These were then painted with watercolors- students could make them as colorful as they wanted or leave it more simple. The final class was used to create a marigold flower border around the skull. 

Mexican Amate Designs

Students created these designs in the style of authentic Mexican Amate paintings. We began by sketching out ideas using patterns and animal symbols from traditional Mexican designs. Once the sketch was finished, students stained a paper brown and it was crumbled to mimic the texture of Amate paper. Students then added the designs and animals while adding color and fluorescent paints. Students learned about the culture of Mexico while exploring the use of line, color and patterns in artwork.