Christy Klyver has been interested in Día de los Muertos for years. She even did her master's thesis on it.
But it was the death of her daughter five years ago that really brought the tradition home for the art teacher.
Out of her pain, she came up with a plan: to gather students from around the city to make art commemorating their loved ones for display at the Tucson Museum of Art.
That Día de los Muertos student exhibit opens today. It's the third annual one; Klyver now has a group of organizers and teachers who help the students with their exhibits.
The "ofrendas," or offerings, constructed by the students — including Klyver's St. Ambrose Catholic School students — will be on display on two Día de los Muertos altars at the museum. The community is welcome to add their own ofrendas.
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Día de los Muertos is an indigenous pre-Columbian celebration fused with Christian beliefs and practices, celebrated primarily in Mexico.
Among all the colorful ofrendas — butterflies, flowers, angels, skulls, maracas and Mexican paper cutouts — is a small handcrafted altar in memory of Klyver's daughter, Elizabeth, who was 25 when she died of cancer.
One of Klyver's students, Elena Ramos, 12, is commemorating her grandpa with a small box that is decorated with colored stones and sequins and contains his picture. She remembers traveling to Nogales, Sonora, to visit him on weekends. "Everyone really misses him," she said.
Diego Aubert-Vasquez, 12, also used a small box to re-create his favorite memory of him and his grandfather. "Me and my grandpa used to watch boxing together," he said. His ofrenda: two skulls made out of white clay boxing in a ring surrounded by spectators.
Ezequiel Terraza, 11, pointed out that not all ofrendas have to be made in memory of a deceased loved one. Some are simply humorous depictions that serve as a reminder that death shouldn't be feared, and that it's a natural part of life.
Alberto Bennett Jr.,12, and Lydia Lizarraga, 11, had ofrendas like that. Bennett constructed a small desert scene with two clay skeletons sharing a Coca-Cola.
And Lizarraga made a paper skeleton decked out in a cloth bikini and with a surfboard covered in colored stones.
The ofrendas are made with materials that disintegrate quickly — think of paper flowers — which reflect the idea that life is ephemeral, said Katie Samson, manager of youth and family programs at the Tucson Museum of Art.
Jorden Fortis, 16, said the flowers, which she was making during class at the Museum School for the Visual Arts, also have another meaning — they are said to attract monarch butterflies that carry the souls of the dead.
Contact Natalia Lopera at 807-8029 or at nlopera@azstarnet.com
If you go
•What: Día de los Muertos ofrendas made by students from various schools to commemorate their deceased loved ones.
• Where: Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave.
• When: 4-7 p.m. today for the opening celebration. The Día de los Muertos exhibit continues through Nov. 22.
• Cost: Free today. The rest of the time it costs $8 for adults; children under 13 admitted free.
• Information: 624-2333 or www.tucsonmuseumofart.org
