Lubbock’s First Friday Art Trail kicked off on Nov. 1 in various locations throughout town from 6 to 9 p.m. Located at 511 Ave. K, the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts presented a diverse array of Día de los Muertos inspired festivities event goers could partake in.
Two art showcases at LHUCA displayed the work of prominent Mexican American artists Alejandro Macias and Josie Del Castillo, both Brownsville natives, in the John F. Lott and Martin McDonald Galleries, respectively. An interactive exhibit in the Christine DeVitt Icehouse Gallery also allowed First Friday patrons to paint their own sugar skulls, according to the First Friday website.
Another contribution originated from the art students of Irons Middle School, which was displayed in the Minnie Quickenstedt Underwood Graffiti Building. This exhibition of art featured decadently colored papier-mâché animals, batik pillow skulls, colored-pencil drawings and stained-glass butterflies created by local students.
Courtney Broussard, an art teacher at Irons Middle School, spoke of the student participation in the event.
“The batik pillows were new for me,” Broussard said. “We tried a few different techniques when we were making those.”
The initiative for creating this artwork was designed to encourage the appreciation of Latin heritage within the community, Broussard said. These projects were an introduction to the “Day of the Dead” holiday for many students.
Paper cut-outs of dyed skulls were strung up alongside multi-colored lights around the room, adorning the walls and bare beams in the ceiling. Decorating the space prior to the juncture was a hasty and laborious process by itself, she said.
“I think my absolute favorite was whenever I did the stained glass with my advanced group,” Broussard said. “I was like ‘I want to do glass.’ Then I thought “Oh, maybe that’s a bad idea, they’re only in middle school’, but then they really did great. They soldered all that themselves.”
The biggest lesson Broussard took away from the work of her students was one of perseverance, she said. Accidents were common during the creation process, but consequently presented a foundation for learning to improve upon one’s work.
A natural byproduct of learning, mistakes only exist to set the procedure in motion, she said. The artistic process is about the journey, not the destination, and Broussard said her students perfectly conveyed this notion to her.
Tables arranged with an abundance of colorfully constructed student artworks surrounded all four sides of the building, united by art hung from both sides of displays erected in the room’s center. Delfine Mazzamuto, an art teacher at Irons Middle School, said seeing so many of her students at the First Friday event brought her overwhelming joy.
“First, we went through the history of (the holiday), and then they got to pick what art they were doing,” Mazzamuto said. “We haven’t usually had the extra days necessary to do sugar skulls, but this year we did.”
Additionally, she said the students learned how to play “Lotería”, a traditional Mexican card game, in class. Similar to “Bingo”, this game involves matching numbered playing cards in sequential order to a corresponding grid of images.
Teaching her students to associate the symbolism of the holiday with its colors and patterns was one way for them to comprehend the significance of the celebration, she said. This understanding has fostered fewer misconceptions about the holiday that students in the past have had.
Mazzamuto said she wanted to emphasize the family aspect of the Day of the Dead holiday to her students. Presenting an occasion to commemorate the lives of deceased loved ones should be universally appreciated, she said.
“All the feedback and input from our exhibition tonight has been incredibly positive,” Mazzamuto said. “I can’t wait to tell my students all about the wonderful compliments they received for their hard work.”
About Reece Nations, Managing Editor
