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 Jewelry With a Theme: Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos
Living in Southern California has its down side. I have to deal with this: disgusting brown smog, gridlock on the freeways, coyotes in my back yard and earthquakes. I don't think I’ll ever get used to that stuff. But Southern California also has tons of good stuff, like ethnic diversity, continuously flowering trees and bushes, and In and Out Burger.
Another blessing is the enormous ethnic mix. You get exposed to many cultures and their perks, such as music, traditions and food. With California being over 53% Mexican, you can imagine the overflow of culture here! One of my favorites is Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. Central and southern Mexicans celebrate this holiday on the eve of October 31, and it continues to November 2nd.
 Letting the skeletons out of the closet!
Its thought to be that on November 1st the souls of children who have passed on come back to be with their families, and then on November 2nd any adults that have passed on come down to join in the fun. There are immeasurable amounts of celebrations going on in homes all across Mexico, with preparations beginning way before.
Although this holiday falls closely to Halloween, where we think of the dead in a gruesome and fearful way, the celebration of the dead couldn’t be more different in Mexico. It’s a literal celebration of life, where life is perceived to continue after death. They embrace moving on into the afterlife instead of fearing it. Its common to decorate a grave site and even play music and eat the favorite foods of the deceased to honor them. They create alters with pictures, flowers, candles and decorations and it makes them feel closer to the person they’ve lost. Feeling like the macabre has taken over? Best to see it up close to really appreciate it!
 Visiting Mexico
I’ve been fortunate to visit different parts of Mexico many times. Anywhere you go, you can find small outdoor stands with different Day of the Dead statuary, sugar skulls, paintings, drawings, carvings and more. They’re bright and colorful and made with care and attention to detail. I must say its infectious, all the colors and mixed media in the artwork. So much so that…
I’m joining up to do a Bead Challenge with a theme of Day of the Dead! Its hosted by a local bead store here where I live in Southern California and the owner, Irene is one of my dear friends. She and her family are Mexican and love the heritage of Mexico. It only seems natural that this theme evolve into a bead challenge. So… here’s my idea…..
 Who to honor?
Well, in choosing an image or a subject, I decided to honor someone who’s passed by making a little statuary in their image. Unfortunately, I’ve lost people who are exceptionally close to me and my heart, like many others. I found that trying to dream up an image for them was too difficult, so I decided to honor bead friends that I’ve lost due to cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. It seems right to be able to cover more than one person with a representation that would honor them all. My entry will be a beaded skeleton statuary of a beader.
Where to start? I’ll be working out the details of the armature and will send you along much information about it in a future post. Stay tuned to see the progress as it unfolds! I’m attempting to send in the most redonk submishe that I can! In the meantime, let me share with you some Day of the Dead jewelry that knocked my socks off! Bright beads, flowers, leaves and many skulls burst into chunky charm bracelets, necklaces and fun earrings. One true consistency? Happy. They all look happy to me. Cheerful collections of color and shapes and textures. And the skeletons are fantastic. They’re not dead. They’re living impaired. :-)
“I used up all my sick days so now I’m calling in dead.” bumper sticker on a car with Mexican plates
Resources:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36080295
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=Day+of+the+Dead&search_type=handmade
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=Day+of+the+Dead&search_type=handmade&page=8
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=Day+of+the+Dead&search_type=handmade&page=10
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=Day+of+the+Dead&search_type=handmade&page=11
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=Day+of+the+Dead&search_type=handmade&page=12
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