Author: Connie Porcher

With its headquarters in the Southwest, it’s no surprise to discover this new addition to Artistry of Poland’s collection. La Ofrenda (The Offering) celebrates Mexico’s unique Day of the Dead customs. Contemporary ornament designs often reflect popular culture and this new piece is an exceptional example.

Adding detail to an ornament

Co-owner Sue Myal of Tucson explains how this ornament came about.

I did spend some time in the Arizona Historical Museum photo archives looking for just the right photo to place on the altar. I decided upon Poncho Villa. To me, his image depicted the perfect Mexican grandpa. We reproduced the photo image here in Tucson, sent it to Poland and the workshop added it to the ornament in Krakow.

On the altar, we depict traditional papel picado (tissue paper cutouts), fruit, tequila, a sugar skull, pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and a metate used to grind corn for tortillas. We also added lots of colorful marigolds. They are always an important part of Dead of the Dead observances.

The back features a beautiful Monarch butterfly. Monarchs fly south to Mexico at the same time each year, arriving at the time of Day of the Dead celebrations. Legends say that the Monarchs are the spirits of the children who have died.

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