Join teaching artist Cynthia Ramirez in an exploration of Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) with a New Orleans twist. Participants will create Flower Skulls, a representation of the traditional sugar skulls and marigold flowers. Sugar Skulls are an iconic image of the Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) celebration. The marigold flowers are used to decorate the graves during the cleaning of the graves on All Souls Day (Dia de Los Muertos, November 2). The Days of the Dead are from October 31 – November 2.

In this workshop, participants will combine two elements (skulls and marigolds) to celebrate the Day of the Dead with Mardi Gras flair. The base of the artwork is a marigold flower constructed in the manner of Mardi Gras float flowers. Positioned in the center of the flower is a clay skull representing the Day of the Dead sugar skull.

This emblem has become an image that celebrates the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition in New Orleans, LA.

All materials are provided. Must be 18 or older to attend.

Questions? Email education@ogdenmuseum.org.

$50 members / $55 not-yet-members

Not a museum member? Save money on this workshop and others like it, plus receive exclusive privileges like unlimited free admission, private exhibition previews and so much more when you join Ogden Museum today! Membership begins at the low price of $60.

/// Photo courtesy by Forrest Farjadian

About Teaching Artist Cynthia Ramirez
Cynthia Ramirez is a multi-media artist who has exhibited her work in numerous local, national, and international exhibitions. She received a B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University (1986) and an M.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from the University of New Orleans (1990). She is a Professor of Fine Art at Southern University at New Orleans and the Gallery Director of the Southern University at New Orleans Museum of Art (2021). She was awarded an Adolph Gottlieb Emergency Assistance Grant and a Joan Mitchell Assistance Grant in 2006. She has created a Day of the Dead Altar at the Louisiana State Museum: Cabildo, the U.S Mint, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, LA from 2007-present. In 2024 Ramirez was inducted in the Louisiana Folklife Center’s Hall of Master Folklife Artists.