#Day of the dead flower arch professional
#Day of the dead flower arch zip

However, the response was very positive, and instructors wanted their students to experience everything, so we ended up creating 1-hour time slots so faculty members could bring entire classes. When we put a call out to instructors on campus to ask if they’d like to bring in students, we’d originally envisioned classes coming during designated time slots for certain demonstrations. We planned to have two different skills demonstrated in the workshop: creating orange paper marigolds and decorating sugar skulls. There was even more prep work: We had to make the sugar skulls-about 150 of them-in advance so they would be dry for the day of the workshop (see the notes in the Options and Resources sidebar on page 8). The completed arch was an incredible addition to the gallery space, and it set the tone for visitors. We attached them to the arch with pipe cleaners. We had about 15 helpers total (mostly students, staffers, and faculty from the library) who crafted more than 1,800 flowers. We wanted to cover the arch with orange paperįlowers, and making those took a huge group effort.

#Day of the dead flower arch zip

The lead circulation staffer, who also assists with gallery installations, helped me create it from PVC pipe, wire, and zip ties. Two of us constructed an arch as an entryway into the gallery space (an arch symbolizes the entry to the world of the dead). It included seven levels, created by using two of each item on each side to add structure and create focal points in height. Miranda also constructed one of the altars in the gallery, which became an example. Each agreed to build its own altar to enrich our event.Īdditionally, the art department created an altar, and we organizers made an open campus altar so anyone could add their material, sugar skulls, and photos.

#Day of the dead flower arch professional

McCain and I applied for money through a campus speaker fund to hire an educator and professional altar creator, Isabel Miranda, from Los Angeles.Īs the outreach and exhibits librarian and gallery coordinator, I worked with representatives from three SRJC learning communities: Puente Learning Community, the Connections Learning Community, and Gateway to College. SRJC’s libraries, art department, and Petaluma Intercultural Center partnered with us on this event. The original idea to host a workshop came from an art faculty member, Claudia McCain, who explained key concepts, provided background knowledge of the traditions of the holiday, suggested guest speaker contacts, and played a significant role in brainstorming and supplying ideas for materials. This workshop-and-exhibit combination was successful because of the campus partnerships involved. To do so, we invited them to create sugar skulls and paper marigolds (representing the cempasúchil flower, the flower of the dead) and to bring objects to honor loved ones and add them to our altars. The goal of the program was to educate students and the campus community on the Día de los Muertos traditions and to have them participate. We also hosted an all-day workshop for students, staff, and faculty.

In 2016, we transformed the entire Mahoney Library gallery into an altar exhibition space, showcasing five different altars made by different campus groups. In the past, we have highlighted Day of the Dead juried exhibits, as well as artwork relating to the holiday, and have created altars in both libraries. Participants support the spiritual journeys of the deceased by creating offerings in the form of altars on which they place special items. It is held at the end of October/beginning of November and celebrates loved ones who have passed away. This religious, multi-day holiday is recognized all over the world. Each autumn, at the smaller campus’ Mahoney Library, where we have a gallery space, we host an exhibit related to Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. We are a Hispanic-Serving Institution with a student population that’s more than 25 percent Hispanic. Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) in California has approximately 17,500 full-time-equivalent students across five teaching locations and two main campuses.

Library staff members created this archway using PVC pipe, wire, zip ties, and 1,800 paper flowers.Ĭonnections Learning Community created this altar. Biology Digest/Physical Sciences DigestĪmerican Library Directory Boardwalk Empire Database Trends and Applications DestinationCRM Faulkner Information Services Fulltext Sources Online InfoToday Europe KMWorld Literary Market Place Plexus Publishing Smart Customer Service Speech Technology Streaming Media Streaming Media Europe Streaming Media Producer Unisphere Researchįor commercial reprints or PDFs contact Lauri Weiss-Rimler ( > Marketing.The Information Advisor's Guide to Internet Research.