Art at Pearl: Manola and Maria Ramirez on Grandmothers, Gardens, and Harmonizing Two Visions

When sisters Manola and Maria set out to create a calavera for Pearl’s Día de los Muertos celebrations, they found inspiration in something they shared: the love and loss of their grandmothers. We caught up with them to talk about their piece called El Encaje, and what it’s like when two artists with opposite instincts share one skull.

The Objects that Shape Us

For both Manola and Maria, memories of their grandmothers are tied up in colorful, physical things — doilies, garden flowers — and also in their skills, like embroidery and sewing.

If there’s anything that captures the true spirit of Día de los Muertos, it’s finding ways to show love for those who have passed. Their grandmothers were the first big loss in their family, and the sisters chose to honor them through their craft.

“Our calavera has, if you walk around it, an encaje [lace] that you can tell is white. For us, this is the version of what our grandmother sort of left to us.” The eyes of the skull hold a more modern encaje, painted in vivid purple with butterflies. It’s their way of “showing the skill your grandparents leave to you, and how you make it into your own thing.”

They say their work is very nature- and color-based, inspired by the flowers of their grandparents’ gardens.

Two Minds, One Calavera

Manola and Maria usually begin their process separately, with Maria in one part of the studio and Manola in another.

For this project, Maria dove into books, digging up references from older artists to determine how those could be incorporated into the flow of the skull. Meanwhile, Manola put pen to paper to brainstorm other ideas. “Like, oh, I want to see a butterfly. How can we incorporate that as an embroidery symbol?”

They say their two styles mesh well, blending Maria’s more explosive and expressive leanings with Manola’s penchant for clean lines and design. Maria explains, “When I do my thing, she does her thing. We come together and we kind of throw it in a pot and we mix and match.”

“That's the cool thing about having two minds work on one design,” adds Manola. “You can go off, have two completely different ideas, and bring it and see how that weaves together.”

In the end, they create their own harmony.

Painting in the Rain

They painted and decorated the calavera outside at Pearl, alongside the other artists and in full view of the public.

“It was raining that week. It felt weirdly magical,” says one sister. “People would come up to you, and they're like, this is my first time seeing it being painted.”

The other adds, “I think it's really important to be able to share the process of art making because sometimes people just see the end result. And they don't see, like, oh, you have to get into weird positions to get this line in here. Or put in this many hours just to get this tiny section done. I think it's cool to share that with people.”

But the most gratifying part was seeing people fully connect with their art.

“I just love when people enjoy the piece and find themselves going all the way around. Like, they're interested enough that they want to see every piece of it. I hope anyone who comes by can find a little bit of themselves within it.”

A New Tradition in the Making

This was the first year Pearl invited local artists to create the giant calaveras, and working with the group gave the experience extra meaning. When Manola first told Maria who else was in the collection, Maria knew the names but not the people. “I’m over here frolicking with the butterflies,” she jokes.

But this project changed that, and real friendships grew. By the end, when the five finished calaveras stood together in front of the Pearl sign, “they all looked like they belonged together.”

To aspiring artists looking to find their own ways of creating, they say, “Imposter Syndrome is not a thing. Just work on your confidence. Even though your legs are shaking, you’ve still gotta go for it. That's the secret. You’ve just gotta go for it.”

Overall, they appreciate being able to share their art and tradition with as many people as possible. “Day of the Dead has been such a big thing now, and the city as a whole has embraced it wholeheartedly, especially here at the Pearl,” they told us. “We think it's such a good opportunity for us to not only honor our culture, but to honor our ancestors.”

The 2026 Calavera Collection is on view across Pearl through November 3, 2026 just after Día de los Muertos. Learn more about other featured artists.

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