Friday, August 29, 2008

wake up the dead


wake up the dead
Originally uploaded by tarotwisdom
Here is one ofmy latest Artists Trading Cards created for a day of the dead swap over at Illustrated atcs. Created 6 for the swap and the rest can be seen over on my flikr.
This was a fun swap and i loved creating these somuch in fact that i have joined another swap of the same theme over at atcs for all

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

FREE TRAFFIC
HEY would you like free traffic to your website or blog, then head on over to wild treasure
and be featured in a hunt
what is wild treasure you ASK!


WILD TREASURE



What is Wild Treasure?
Wild Treasure is the ultimate social networking treasure hunt experience. It is a place where you can individually or with a team solve puzzles, challenge others and participate in discussions. Join today and begin your quest to find and win your first treasure!

why not join in the fun.
I know i am!

Friday, August 15, 2008


THE DAY OF THE DEAD.
Here is a watercolour painting I created for a day of the dead mail art swap.
I used prismacolor watercolor pencils and a sharpie marker.
I am currently creating some atc's also for a day of the dead swap on illustrated atc's



More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.

It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years. A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate.

A ritual known today as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

The ritual is celebrated in Mexico and certain parts of the United States, including the Valley.

Celebrations are held each year in Mesa, Chandler, Guadalupe and at Arizona State University. Although the ritual has since been merged with Catholic theology, it still maintains the basic principles of the Aztec ritual, such as the use of skulls.

Today, people don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend, according to Mary J. Adrade, who has written three books on the ritual.

The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth.

The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations believed came back to visit during the monthlong ritual.