Vibrant masks, colorful skulls, and creative submissions from student artists depicting Día de los Muertos were honored as part of the latest in a series of student arts showcases by the Riverside County Office of Education.
The Día de los Muertos Art Contest, “The Return of the Souls”, invited elementary and middle school students in Riverside County to submit artwork themed to Día de los Muertos.
In partnership with the S.C.R.A.P Gallery, the Riverside County Office of Education competition aimed at sparking student engagement with the arts, attracted 431 submissions, and 143 students were recognized with awards.
The Día de los Muertos Art Contest Gallery features the first, second, and third place winners in each grade. The full list of honorees can be seen on the Día de los Muertos Art Contest page.
Two of the award-winning students are enrolled in the Dual Language Immersion Program at Sky View Elementary School in the Perris Elementary School District and shared the stories behind their submissions.
“Candy Vampire”
Julianna Corona Dorado
Kindergarten
Sky View Elementary School
Perris Elementary School District
Teacher: Veronica Aceves
“I started drawing a cute little bunny, but it turned into a candy vampire.”
This was how Julianna Dorado explained the imaginative drawing that took home an Honorable Mention Award in the Día de los Muertos Art Competition.
She described how she started her art project with pencil so that she could erase any mistakes, and then switched to markers.
“It was so fun. Even when I made a mistake, I kept trying because I wanted to show my parents what I made,” Julianna said.
Julianna described how she tested each of the colors first, and added the horns last to add more color to her piece.
“When I was a kid, I used to do scribble scrabble art. Once I turned four, I didn’t do that anymore. Now, I do nice artwork,” Julianna said. “It makes me happy because my artwork is on the walls, and I think I would like my artwork to go in a museum.”
“Día de los Muertos Mask”
Olivia Ortiz
Kindergarten
Sky View Elementary School
Perris Elementary School District
Teacher: Jessica Sepulveda
For Olivia Ortiz, creating her first Día de los Muertos mask was inspired by ideas from photos and previous face paint designs by her mother.
Olivia’s mom, Karla Arellano, regularly exposes her two daughters to art opportunities in their world.
“Their dad connects with them through basketball or football, but, I feel like I connect with them through art, and I see a lot of natural abilities,” Karla said. “I encourage them to try watercolor, colored pencils, and different things they see in nature.”
Recently, Karla captured a praying mantis in a jar and Olivia and her sister sketched the insect.
For Olivia’s Día de los Muertos mask, her mother took her to the store to pick out flowers and supplies and helped her with using hot glue for the first time.
“My mom showed me some pictures, and I wanted to buy some flowers to add to it,” Olivia said. “The hardest part was making the pink dots with my finger,” Olivia said. “I like the other designs too and used a brush for those.”
Olivia also incorporated the mask into her Halloween costume by adding a veil and a white dress to complete the look.
Olivia shared that her first Día de Los Muertos creation won’t be her last.
“I think my next mask will be another Día de los Muertos mask,” Olivia said.