So today was the Lani Gerity puppet workshop, the lecture was last night, and we made paper puppets. It was a lot of fun and relatively easy to do. The applications of this workshop are enormous, she has worked with groups varying from Hurricane Katrina victims to multi-generational groups of grandchildren and grandparents. It really is amazing what you can do with them, and the stories that come out of these characters.
First I will share with you her 14 secrets to a Happy Artist Life, although I think that they are really just 14 Secrets for a Happy Life, artist or not :)
1. Find 3 good things every day. Use them in art.
2. Make everything special. Embellish your life.
3. Look for fairy godmothers and angel.
4. Play more often.
5. Look for smiling faces.
6. Wish everyone a happy life.
7. Find something to love where you are every day.
8. Make art every day.
9. Create time.
10. Honor thy grandmothers as much as possible.
11. Play with the grandchildren more often.
12. Create beauty with what you have at hand.
13. Join art round robins. Make art with friends. Make art as gifts.
14. Create secrets for a happy life and pass it on.
She had us create a story with our puppets and the basis is a happy spot, a problem, a gift or power that leads to resolution, and a new happy spot. Mine went something like this.
There once was an owl queen who lived in a very old forest. Her family had lived there for generations and they loved their home very much. One day the evil humans came in and began to log the forest to build a factory and the owl queen and her family lost their home. They searched and searched for a new one but found nothing. One day the owl queen met the lizard king and she began to tell him of how her family's home got destroyed. The lizard king sympathized with the owl queen and invited her to live in the new forest with him. So the owl queen and her family joined the lizard king in his kingdom and lived happily ever after.
(Not quite grimm's fairy tale material, but it will work!)
I loved the glittery wings of the owl!! :) It is my favorite part.