Rico Dovey, a talented artist and musician as well as beautiful friend, made this gorgeous video for the Días de Los Muertos celebration at Images Cinema a few weeks ago. You can see some of his other works on YouTube.
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Skeleton Woman http://vimeo.com/17226967 About this video: “An adaptation of an Inuit folktale for Los Dios de los Muertos using largely images painted by Viola Moriarty.”
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These beautiful photos are from my good friend, Tim Cooley!
Today Arla and I completed the large mixed media piece–primarily bones and paint. For lots of details on our collaboration, google ARla K. Foster, go to her wordpress blog and check out the work so far. While you’re at it, check out Ricardo Olvera, the third in our collaborative triad. Last night I added the final touches to our “Artists’ Statement”, a three person self-portrait begun by Ricardo in Nevada, continued by ARla, and now completed by me. I believe as I type this, Arla may already have the photos up.
The bone sculptures, the artist statement, the swords, and the big piece will all be on view at the Bennington Arts’ Guild from Nov 17 through the end of December. Nov 20, from 5-8 will be the artists’ reception at the Guild. More info and photos to come.
I’m so busy working on everything I haven’t had time to sit down and communicate the process, but I have been keeping journal notes and ARla’s been taking photographs. It’s an exciting collaboration and has me re-reading my dog-eared copy of Women Who Run WIth The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I recommend the rest of you wild women re-read yours again, too.
I haven’t even measured this yet, but it’s something like 3 feet by 7 or 8 feet.
Anna and Phoebe’s dance rocked the house! Katie Armstrong’s film, “When it all goes White” sent us all deep inside ourselves, and Rico Dovey made us weep from his film which retells the story of the skeleton woman. It was a fun celebration of the Days of the Dead followed by a great party and fire with green chile at Peter’s next to the cemetary. Peter, Jon, Anna, Phoebe and I closed the night with a cemetary walk. I don’t know if anyone took photos at the after events, but here are somesnaps from the reception at Images, thanks to good friend and photog Charly Bargamain!
This year’s sugar skulls are the most beautiful ever! Anna, Phoebe, Jon and Arla definitely outdid themselves!
As Arla Foster and I begin our work on the “Making Our Bones” exhibit for the Bennington Arts Guild in honor of Los Días de los muertos, we have been utilizing a variety of material, both spiritual and physical. Stay tuned as we both write about the process of this work and our collaboration with each other and Ricardo, who is thousands of miles away.
Calavera con flores en el cementario, reed pen and inks, 10″ x 15
Esqueleta con vestido rosada parada en el cementario, reed pen and inks, 10″ x 18″
Esqueleta sentada en la tumba, watercolor, colored pencils and micron pen, 8″ x 13″
Esqueleta con chiles en el cementario, watercolor, colored pencils and micron pen, 8″ x 11″
Esqueleta descansando, watercolor, colored pencils and micron pen on watercolor paper, 11″ x 10″
Esqueleta con vestido anaranjado parada en el cementario, watercolor, colored pencils and micron pen, 8″ x 13″
Calavera en el cementario, watercolor, colored pencils and micron pen on watercolor paper, 8″ x 6.5″
Today was gorgeous out and I enjoyed working in the graveyard with my mini-Fridas (for those of you who don’t know, Frida is my most trusted and faithful model–my skeleton. She’s about 5 feet tall, and I’ll be taking her to the old first church graveyard,too, but I need a little help on that since I don’t drive. So, I got out my trusty “townie” cart and shlepped my little Fridas, dressed to model for the first sketches for this year’s Los Dias De Los Muertos paintings.
I spent a lot of time today giving directions to Robert Frost’s grave.
Each of these paintings is made with reed pen, brushes and inks on Canson and Arche watercolor papers, 1 hot pressed and 2 cold. 9.5″ x 12″, 10″x 15″, 10″ x 18″
Los Dias de los Muertos, or The Days of the Dead, in Mexico, are celebrated November 1 and 2. This beautiful holiday is for honoring, celebrating and remembering family that has gone before. It serves to educate young family members with their ancestors by visiting grave sites, cleaning and adorning the crypts with flowers and gifts for the departed. November 1 is usually set aside to honor dead infants and children, “angelitos,” or little angels, and November 2 is for honoring those who died as adults.
Sunflowers 2
Collection of Sarah Pike
The celebration goes back to pre-Columbian times. Aztec cultures celebrated their ancestry in a similar holiday in late July. Rather than abolish the pagan ritual the Spanish move the holiday to November 1 and 2 to coincide with All Saints day and All Souls day. As with many ancient cultures, the pre-Columbia dead were buried along with possessions that would help them trough the next life. Their remembrance on that day also served to ‘re-supply’ the departed.
Sunflowers 3
Collection of Kitty Farnham
The celebration is colorful and festive. Families visit the crypts of their loved ones, clean them and place bright bouquets and flowered wreaths. Special breads are baked call ‘pan de muerto’ as offerings. Tiny sweets shaped like coffins and skulls are left behind. Tissue paper cutouts of great intricacy called decorate the grave call ‘papel picado’.
Skull
Collection of Whit Griffin
La Muerte en la cocina
Handmade skeleton figures representing a need of the dead or a bonding with the living are left. They range from store bought plastic to intricate dioramas of matchsticks and paper.
Celebrations vary throughout Mexico. Some celebrations involve groups running through the streets, carrying a ‘dead man’ in an open coffin. The dead man smiles and waves at the crowd and they respond with oranges and little candies. Revelers wear masks of skeletons and cloaks, bringing to mind the Grim Reaper.
La Muerte está esperando
La muerte pinta
La Muerte prepara el chile
Wall of Skulls
Collection of Emily May
Pedro con la calavera
Collection of AbrilMayo
In other celebrations, families picnic at the grave sides and drink toasts the departed of cervesa and tequila. It all stems from a different relationship with Death than is common in American culture. Death is a woman, known as la Flaca, la Huesuda, la Pelona or La Catrina (the Skinny, the Boney, the Baldy or the Fancy Lady. I never did like the image of being cut down as grain by the Grim Reaper. The thought that, after a hard life, full of toil, to be taken home to rest by The Fancy Lady is much more appealing.
La calavera en la nieve
Collection Robin Andrew
Flip Flops
Calavera con feather boa
Calavera vestido en gorra negra
Los muertos
As I prepare for the day of the dead
I make two skulls
I give them Swiss army knives
And make tiny little books for them
and write tiny stories
about la Bella y el Valiente
stories with no ending
I dress him in a scrap of a black knit Armani T-shirt
And her in a scrap of a man’s white cotton shirt
There is a towel laid out on the sink
for the shower they never got
And the black on white silhouette of a naked skeleton
with permanently protruding nipples
hangs on the wall of their little box-altar home.
Rocks with green stuff on them
Toothpicks
Mints
Rose petals from the first prom
She is about to drink a tiny cup of cafe con leche
And he is making the ristra, but he stops to kiss her neck.
And they live together in that box with their dreams
Never coming out or going in,
Stuck in that position on the altar forever.
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