Sugar Shack Jack

When I worked at Clay & Paper Theatre, we built giant puppets all the time.

I assumed that when we moved to Small Pond that we’d continue doing the same. But such hasn’t really been the case – there are always too many other projects and not enough hours in the day. All this to explain why it took more than a year to complete our latest giant puppet, Sugar Shack Jack.

Milé's original sketch

The idea for this puppet arose when we were asked to participate in an event in Wellington as part of the 2011 Maple in the County, our region’s annual celebration of the sweet syrup. 

Milé and I sculpted the head out of cardboard which we stapled together with a creech; a “creech” is so-called because it looks like a creature. For some reason most of the world calls this tool by the very boring name of "staple pliers." Rounded bits like the nose, eyebrows and bottom lip were made out of old couch stuffing and masking tape.

The giant cardboard head barely fit through the doors of the Wellington Arena, but thankfully we squeezed him in and I spent the day getting kids to help me papier-maché this big guy. It was great fun.

Me and my puppet slaves - er - helpers...

...And then poor Jack spent the next year languishing in our garage…

At some other point in time, I built this giant pair of hands, originally to go with a different puppet. Using a box cutter I carved the fingers out of an old pool noodle and masking taped the pieces together, then taped on some cardboard to serve as the hand. 

I papier-machéd the hands and I'm really freaking happy with how they turned out. These hands are spectacularly strong and lightweight. I screwed a wooden crossbar inside each of them which act like handles, and tied a long strip of fabric between them so I can wear the hands like mittens on a string; this is a very handy feature, if you'll pardon the pun, as I can let my puppet hands dangle if I need to use my real hands to have a drink, itch my nose, and so forth.

Spring 2012 rolled around and Jack was on my mind.  I thought I should really get him finished – so I booked us a gig with him.  Nothing like a deadline to put things in motion. I finished up the papier-maché and adjusted the contraption to make this puppet wearable. It was a bit of a brain-buster, but we eventually figured it out.

The backpack with a foam sandwich on top

We bolted a couple of 1” x 1” pieces of wood to an old aluminum backpack frame. At the end of these two pieces of wood we screwed a flat piece of plywood – and between the lumber and the plywood we put this piece of old foam. The puppets sits like an upside-down cup on top of this wood/foam sandwich on sticks. It’s kind of weird but it totally works – this is a surprisingly light and comfortable puppet (as far as giant puppets go, that is).

Milé gave Jack a nice a paint job, and I worked out a costume that would fit right over the backpack. I affixed a piece of thin black fabric over the hole in the mouth; this is where the puppeteer looks out, and the visibility is not too bad.

Jack had his debut at Hike for Hospice in Picton this past weekend, which raised funds for Hospice Prince Edward. A good time was had by all in support of this great cause.

Spring Seeds & Secrets

Spring.  Everything about that word is just so right.

I have especially come to love spring at Small Pond. Day by day I watch the outdoors come alive with new and returning life.

I salute you, Red Admiral.

Today on the front lawn a veritable flock of Red Admiral Butterflies have discovered our burgeoning dandelion crop and are having a ball slurping up all that yellow nectar, taking breaks to demonstrate their joy by performing exquisite dances mid-air.

Christine in the studio

Our first resident artist of the year is mid-way through her month-long stay. Christine Legault is working on a series of ten paintings; I admire her focus and commitment to developing this significant body of work. It’s been really fun having another artist in the house again, plus Christine is an amazing cook, which is always a bonus.

Sheet mulch gardening

The garden has been high at the top of my priority list. After two years of weeding, and snooping in other people’s weedless gardens, this year we are giving sheet-mulch gardening a try. The covering of newspaper and hay should keep the weeds down as well as helping the soil retain moisture. The thin layer of composted manure sandwiched between the two will seep down through the paper providing nourishment for the soil.

Magic at work

In the garden shed I’ve started my seeds. Now this may not be much to look at now, but from these humble beginnings will spring hundreds of meals.  I’m still in awe of the magic of growing things!

Goodies acquired at Seedy Saturday

Most of our seeds were purchased from local farm extraordinaire, Vicki’s Veggies, but we did pick up a few fun things at the Seedy Saturday event in Picton.

Milé recently bought me a new watering can for my seedlings.  I never knew that I wanted a novelty watering can until I got this one. It is perfectly suited to the task and is fun to use, plus every time I use it I can’t help but think of our friend Carrie Klassen, marketing goddess and beautiful person, at Pink Elephant Communications.  Now that’s some successful branding!

But our biggest project right now at the farm is…. SSSSHHHHHH! It’s a secret! Well, it’s not really a secret, but we are turning our old shed - previously known as "The Shit Shed" because it was so shitty - into THE BEST SHED OF ALL TIME. And no, I am not exaggerating. I don’t want to reveal too much, but for now will tantalize your eyeballs with a sneak peek:

This is all only the figurative tip of the iceberg. I'm finishing up a giant puppet, booking workshops willy-nilly, and conspiring with some local folks to start a new festival; Milé is painting, meeting with galleries in Montreal and Ottawa, and in his spare time learning how to use a chainsaw.

We have lots of great events coming up this season, as well as spaces for a few more artists in residence.  Hop on over to our website to find out more!

I hope you’re enjoying your spring as much as we are.

Until next time - the daffodils bid you adieu!

Why I Volunteer

It's been a busy couple of weeks at the farm as we welcomed our first resident artist of the year, and started preparing for spring planting and building projects. But one of the things that I've been working at hardest is fundraising. I’m raising money to volunteer in Ghana, where I’ll  be doing puppetry with kids in rural villages. The project is called Puppets Without Borders, and I anticipate it could very well be one of the most interesting things I've done in my life.

It takes a lot of effort to raise all that money and coordinate my first international project, not that I mind one bit.  But it has given me cause to reflect on why I volunteer.

Kids & their shadow puppets, from my first trip to Labrador
as a volunteer with ArtsCan Circle

I got my first job as a volunteer when I was a teenager. It was playing sports with adults with disabilities, which is weird because I’ve never been into sports, but I think I was looking to get something on my resumé. From those unlikely beginnings I’ve volunteered fairly regularly: at charity events, for friends’ theatre shows, at environmental events, for a filmmaker I admired, and more recently through ArtsCan Circle.

What does a volunteer look like? Here's a few examples from
ArtsCan Circle; that's me second from the right

I don’t recall my parents ever extolling the virtues of volunteering, although all three of my sisters are also regular volunteers. I thought this was kind of interesting, so I asked them: "Why do you volunteer?"

Meagan, the eldest of my younger sisters, is a serial volunteer, having given her time to many different organizations. “I volunteer because it makes me feel connected to whichever community I happen to be living in. It also allows me to cross paths with so many diverse people that I otherwise would never meet: village children in Thailand, veterans living on the streets of Ottawa, politicians, intellectually disabled individuals... which has in turn helped me to understand where I fit in the world.”

Meagan with one of her students in Thailand

My sister Brittany volunteers because she’s passionate about the causes she supports. “In all honesty, I far prefer my volunteering with AARCS to any paid job I have ever had. I know that the dogs need people to survive, it's actually a life and death situation for them which makes it feel more needed and urgent than anything. I feel appreciated even though the animals can’t talk; their behaviour towards those that save them proves they know they got lucky.”

Brittany (R) volunteering for the Alberta Spay & Neuter Task Force

My youngest sister, Caitlin, wrote a great blog post about her experience as a volunteer teacher in the slums of India. She writes: “There are people all over the world that have every opportunity at their fingertips and waste it. Then here are these children with every ability for greatness, and will probably never get the opportunity… It took some of the poorest children in India to teach me to be happy with what I've got. So many of us look at our neighbors and wish we had more. In India, countless times I saw people look at their neighbors and be thankful for not having less. This is the most profound thing I will take with me from my time there. For a country with so many overwhelming problems, there are some things that they understand much better than we do in the West. One of these things is gratitude.”  You can read the Caitlin’s full blog post here.

Caitlin (centre, facing camera) with her students in India

So why do I volunteer? It’s not like I’m a particularly wealthy person – all the energy expended into volunteering could very well be put into making more money for myself. But I didn’t become an artist to make money. In fact I very much enjoy interacting with the world in a non-monetary way, which is one of the reasons we have so many free and charitable events at Small Pond Arts. We charge money when we need to, but what we do here is about more than just money (I know, this is a pretty radical concept for a small business). There is a purity about working hard for no pay cheque; you do it because you believe what you are doing matters. 

I think volunteering makes me a better person, and working as a volunteer artist has definitely made me a better artist. I’ve enjoyed countless new experiences, made new friends, seen new parts of the world, and felt deeply rewarded for my efforts. It's helped me discover my passion for teaching art, and has given me the gift of being a mentor, role model and friend to so many wonderful children. We all have the power to make the world a better place, and volunteering is a great way to play your part. There are so many people and organizations that can use help, and it’s not too hard to find a volunteer position that caters to your interests and availability.

I believe that volunteering encourages kindness and generosity in the world, and we could definitely use more of those. If you don’t volunteer already, maybe you’ll consider giving it a try?

If you’d like to support my trip to Ghana, our online fundraising campaign is running until May 23, 2012. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated.  You can find out all about the project, and donate online, by clicking on the image below.