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Sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar ) are a decoration for altars and tombs. They are used on Day of the Dead, and on November 2nd to adorn tombs and altars. Since they are made out of sugar, they are edible. The base is made out of white sugar. The decorations and colors are made out of colored sugars, icings, and bright foils.

I came up with the design of my skull by using several sugar skulls as a reference. Sugar skulls usually have a lot of floral and plant aspects, with lots of bright colors. They tend to look feminine, with lashes on the eyes. So I made the eyes big and round with lashes. Since sugar skulls are supposed to be colorful, I added some floral decorations on the side and on the top of the skull to make it more colorful. 

The process to make this took awhile. We had to make a plaster mask out of the material casts are. I wasn't comfortable using my face as a plaster mold, so I used a fellow classmate to model for my mask. After the mask was completed and dried, I was a bit iffy on what colors I should use. I first went with red for the background, but I quickly changed my mind and painted the red over with maroon. I forgot I had to make the mask like a sugar skull, so I repainted the mask completely white and did my current design. It didn't really resemble my sketch, but I still thought the mask was pretty.

Dear Readers,

There was a happy halloween in Art class. I created a sugar skull, which was a messy but fun  experience. A sugar skull symbolizes the day of the dead, it is a mexican tradition. It’s celebrated like a halloween. In art class we took our own face plastered it. Then let the plaster dry and harden for a day or two. I added my own creative twist, with paint. I let the brush speak, I didn’t have much of a vision. But once I started, I went for different patterns. This project was the longest process because you want it to be correct,and like you want it. I can put my mask on my own face, to scare or to make someone laugh. Thanks readers for listening.

A sugar skull is a classic decoration for the Mexican holiday, la dia de la muerta, which is basically halloween. Traditionally, it is made out of sugar that has been formed into a skull shape and is decorated in a colorful and intricate pattern. 

While sketching on my own, my style tends to lean towards creepy. So when designing what to make my skull look like, I wanted to make it disturbing while realistic. 

The process of making the mask was not too complicated but it was certainly a new experience for me, starting with the casting of the mask. We had to make mold of our own faces using plaster sheets. After making the molds, we had to shape them by rounding off or cutting edges. In my own design, i decided it was not odd enough to begin with, so I attempted to cut out eyes, to give it another level. But then I continued with painting the mask, starting with a what base coat and then adding any and all details. Finishing touches of the mask included removing the strings hanging off of the edges and fixing any smudged paint. In the end, I feel I reached my goal and am very proud of the product. 

Kimberly Parker

Senior Art Blog

Sugar Skull 

A sugar skull is a one of a kind decoration and symbol. Sugar skulls celebrate and honor the dead. There is a holiday in Mexico called “The Day of the Dead” and instead of mourning over the dead, they celebrate their lives. The people of Mexico use these sugar skulls to symbolize death by using a skull, and decorating it with bright festive colors to celebrate the death. This quarter, we were asked to make our own sugar skulls. So, I did my independent research about what sugar skulls really were. I sketched an idea in my sketchbook, seeing what designs I would like on my sugar skull. I looked up some ideas online and finally saw a sugar skull that I really liked. I sketched something similar to it and then began my construction of my skull. 

We used paper mache, water, a straw, and lots of Vaseline to do construct the skulls! First I laid down on the table and had my peer Christian get the paper mache and water ready to put on my face. While I was on the table, I rubbed Vaseline all over my face, over my eyebrows and lips so the paper mache would not stick to my face and the mask would come right off after it hardened. I put a straw in my mouth so I would be able to breathe. Christian then began to put the paper mache over my face, pressing dow on every piece to mold the mask into the shape of my face. After putting layers and layers of this paper mache on, we waited for the mask to harden, this took about five or six minutes. 

After the mask hardened, we peeled it off of my face, immediately I wanted to wipe the slimy Vaseline off of my face! During the next art period, I used a pencil to start sketching out on my skull the designs I wanted. I did not erase anything on it once. Once I started to sketch, I liked everything that I drew. Once the sketching was done, I picked out all of the bright colors I wanted. I mixed red and white to make the pink, blue and yellow to make the green I wanted, and so on. I used different brushes for different parts and different brush strokes. I painted until I felt like I had my sugar skull master piece. That is what I ended up with, a master piece! 

1. Explain in your own words what a sugar skull is.
2. Explain how you came up with the design for your mask/skull.
3. Explain the process from beginning to the end, the process that you went from having no mask to having a finished and painted mask. 
   
   A sugar skull is used in the Mexican "Day of the Dead" that usually takes place a day after Halloween.  The skull is usually adorned with many colorful designs, or in some cases black and white.  The skull is to represent a deceased family member.  My design for my skull is a simple black and white design that was inspired by paisley and Mayan artifacts.  The first part of creating my sugar skull included plastering a friend's face for the mold of my mask (THANKS FRANKIE!), then once the mask dried, I painted over the mask with white paint to give the mask a solid base.  Then I began painting my design from the forehead down.