December Update

The ongoing lantern-related research led me to some pretty wonderful approaches, thanks in large part to two amazing organizations: Great Small Works in Brooklyn and Project Nana in Baltimore. Among many other things, both make incredible art parades. Project Nana even runs a parade school, which I'm definitely signing up for this summer. And I'm completely honored to say I'll be showing the preliminary paper sculptures for the parade at Great Small Works' upcoming Spaghetti Dinner on December 29. It's an evening of pasta, international performance, music, film and this year - some illuminated woodland creatures... plus maybe a lion. It's all taking place in Judson Church in NYC and promises to be a blast, if you're in the area.

As a result of all the lantern mania, we've got !!!<>!!! lantern making workshops on the calendar - Saturday, February 6 - (adults only) Torch lights & Toddies in the sanctuary at Fleisher - hot toddys, music and **paper lantern making: the perfect night out. Then every Thursday in April at from 6 - 9, free! **paper lantern workshops in the gallery (which is also my studio) at the Center for Works on Paper building at Fleisher. (Christian St.) We'll be making a different type of lantern each week.

**But sorry, Charlie - you can't take them home until after the Parade on April 24th.

Also on the parade front - some really interesting folks are getting involved:

-Ben's Bells of Philly will be working with us - they make lovely clay chimes that we're hoping to incorporate into the procession.
-Zhang Sah Martial Artists will be marching with us in April - all age martial arts amazement. I'll be making a sculpture for them to interact with during the procession.
-Penn Du Re, a traditional Korean Poongmul percussion group will be performing with us.
-Sunrise Philadelphia and some of the members of Chinese Culture Club will be walking with us - some of the youngest members, in their white princess dresses.
-Several teachers at Fleisher are incorporating parade-related projects into their classes' curriculum.
-A few Sculpture or Performance classes at Tyler might be working with us, too. (fingers crossed.)
-Two incredible women - Nikki Verbitski and Amber Dorko-Stopper are collaborating with me on what promises to be one of the show stoppers of the procession. Nikki is hand dying and spinning raw wool into yarn, and Amber is knitting the yarn into a shawl for the 10 foot tall main character of the narrative, Huberta. Adding to the challenge is the caviat that within the story, the shawl is made for Huberta by woodland creatures. So Nikki and Amber are making decisions based on what the birds and squirrels would do...

As always, if you'd like to play some part in this ever-expanding adventure, or if you know someone I should be getting in touch with- local musicians, choir members, artists, step performers, makers of things, dreamers, electricians, good souls/soles, wire-benders, storytellers, wanderlusters - definitely drop me a line.