Current Projects:
Puppet Festival
The Arroyo Arts Collective's Puppets, Puppets, Puppets! Festival is almost over. It was a wonderful month of diverse performances and workshops. I especially loved the shows by Kyle Leeser and Beth Peterson. I am so inspired to make a Toy Theater show of my own now!
This year's Lummis Day puppet parade and pageant had a glitch or two but overall they were a big success. Working with Beth and Yim and the Franklin High kids was inspiring. Here are some pictures of the parade:
Some of the Franklin kids parade with Grandfather Bear, Tovungnar, Sky Oak and Slippery the Streamspirit (way in the background). The cardboard poppies were made by Jane and Rain in the Sunday workshops
Connor wears one of the many cardboard animal hats we made in the Sunday workshops. He's a big fan of frogs.
Paul is inside Big Roy again, with Patti and Dor manning the hands. Jeff Boynton of the HP Circuit Benders is in the turban. We had a wonderfully cacophanous racket accompanying the puppet parade this year, thanks to them.
Lots more circuit benders behind me. This is the staging area at Lummis House.
I'll be putting together another photo gallery with more pictures of the process, oneof these days. Thanks to everyone who made this event possible, especially the AAC Board, Beth Peterson and most of all Linda Hoag, the Goddess of Puppets.
Death by Chocolate
I created an edible art piece for the Arroyo Arts Collective's exhibit "Food from the Heart" in February. It was based on what I learned writing an article about ethical purchasing of chocolate.
2006 Lummis Day Puppet Workshops
With the support of the Arroyo Arts Collective, I organized and led a series of three community puppet workshops in May 2006, to create three street puppets for the Lummis Day Festival of Northeast Los Angeles in 2006.
This project was successful due to the inspiration by the spirits of the Arroyo and the Tongva, the magic of community art making, and a lot of work by volunteers.
See photo gallery here
Peace Dove Installation
I worked with Trinity Epsicopal Church members on a community art project. We folded hundreds of origami doves as a meditation on peace, and a tool to build community. They were hung in chandelier style, as a giant mobile last summer.
Our rainbow doves, ready to hoist up to the rood beam (left). The inspiration for the project, from Bloomington, Indiana (right).