Today we started our Dia de los Muertos cats! This project was inspired by the folk art from Mexico, and another fabulous art teacher on the blog Paintbrush Rocket. Mrs. Stacey discussed this holiday, and showed examples of the beautiful art and decor centered around this special time. We also saw examples of this holiday in current cartoons like Elena of Avalor, and the moive The Book of Life. We learned that Dia de los Muertos or Day of the dead, is a Hispanic holiday that celebrates the memory of our loved ones. We talked about how all the use of bright colors, flowers, candles, food, and art make this a festive time, instead of a sad one. Here's how we create our own Dia de los muertos gatos!
Day 1:The students drew out their cats with me on their black paper, cut them out, and glued them to their background color of their choice. After they had their cats glued on, they followed my demonstration on how to paint bones, and added some of their own. If they finished painting their bones, they could add polka dots to their construction paper background with tempera paint. I explained we could be adding confetti for a fiesta!
Day 2: we will finish the skeletons by adding color and designs to the skulls with Crayola twistables, and add dots and flowers to our background with tempera paint or painted paper. We will create the flowers out of painted paper scraps we have left over from other projects.
If you'd like to learn more about Dia de los muertos, follow this link to some awesome information!
Dia de los Muertos facts!
If you'd like to learn more about Dia de los muertos, follow this link to some awesome information!
Dia de los Muertos facts!
They're off to a great start! Here's Mrs. Torres' class, working on theirs today!
