Sugar Skull/Mask Spanish & Written Portions

Ashley Bailey 11/7/14

Sugar Skull/ Mask Spanish & Written Portions

God opened up the gates and reached down for one of his angels to come up home on July 28, 2014. Elisha Bull was my brother-in law and still the uncle of my daughter. Elisha was not my blood brother, but he was my boyfriend's blood brother. He was a son, a brother to 4, an uncle to 5, a lover, a giver, a friend, an educator, a peacemaker, and a spontaneous person to be around. He didn’t even have to say anything to you when you or he would walk in. His attitude was very much positive and his head was always held high. He was definitely a good influence of a person.  His warm smile would just light up the room and automatically put a smile on your face.

It was a late Monday night when we got this disturbing news. Elisha, an innocent bystander was shot several times in the head, neck, and back area. I remember the exact moment when I received the news by phone. I was laying in the corner of my bed, bored, and watching tv. My boyfriend had called me crying and it was the most devastating thing to hear. I tried so hard to hold back on my tears as I was trying to calm him down because it was really hard to understand him.

I created my mask and my skull in remembrance of Elisha because although he was not blood related, I felt that I actually lost someone close to me. Seeing my boyfriend and his mom who I am very close with and all other friends at their lows really touched me. I really felt their pains as I tried to comfort as many as I could. Although he was not here to see her, Elisha will always be the uncle of my daughter. Elisha’s side of the family and I agree to make it very important to still tell her who her uncle was and all about him. I was aware of how crazy this world is already and it was unfortunate that this happened, but it’s like this incident hit me all over again that tomorrow is not promised. Life can be taken from anybody and it’s no joke. Whether we were close our not, Elisha’s death really touched my heart.

In my sugar skull, you can that the main color is bright and shining. That’s how anyone would see Elisha. He could just walk in the room and light the room entirely. I sat the skull on a glitter card almost as if a resemblance of royalty. He was not just any ordinary boy. He always thought highly of himself so, he would treat himself with nothing less than respect. I also added some sports icons because he was very active in school and out of school. He was a known high school athlete. The little details that were added on were in some of his favorite colors and it was simply to show that he was not just pain so I added some detail. He liked to do things differently and stand out, that’s just who he was.

Overall, “Día de los Muertos” was not something that I was proud to participate in. I agree that celebrating the life of a loved one is a great idea. However, I do not like the face painting or skulls because to me they simply just resemble “the dead” and I do not just want to think about that. I believe that there is nothing wrong with celebrating the life of your loved ones that are no longer with us. Sometimes it’s not as easy as it sounds. Losing someone is very hard and I admit that I feel as though I sometimes am not as strong as I thought I am to go on with this. On the other hand I do not and would not take away from those that do celebrate this holiday.

Eulogy of Elisha Bull

Yo estoy aquí para celebrando el vida de Elisha Bull.

Èl fue del noreste de filadelfia.

Elisha fue el hermano de mi nuevo y mi cuñado.

Èl fue amable, amoroso, y persona extrovertido.

Yo estoy en mi casa, en mi dormitorio, sentado en mi cama.

Yo estoy triste, furiosa, y lastimada.

Su familia le encantan y lo extraña mucho.