01 April 2015

Sixth Season Excitement!

May 2015 sees the commencement of the sixth season of Small Pond Arts and >OMG!< we're so amped up for it we can barely contain ourselves. Along with much of the usual monkeyshines and shenanigans (see list below) we'll be adding some exciting new events and activities like Krista's Re:Collections project and my own various adventures in painting.

As you can imagine, we've been up to some weird and wonderful things over the past five years, what with all the stick worshipping, action poses, time travel, making portable lamps, insomnia, drought, hundreds of visitors, thermodynamics, terrifying effigies, national puppet indoctrination, international puppet indoctrination, making entire kingdoms, pizza ovens, messing up paintings, big-top parties, shit-shed revivals, first world problems, avian misadventures, other avian misadventures, rock videos, bowel movements, getting pickled, consuming lots of sugar, coronations, 8-bit disappointment, and the usual year-end wrap-ups.

That's not even a comprehensive list! LOL!

Sure, you can totes click the links and read about Small Pond's history and activities, but what if you find that a little too time-consuming and boring? Rest easy; like the kids these days –you know...with their hula hoops and their fax machines– we've adopted bleeding-edge modern technology to bring you a concise, deftly-edited, and superbly-scored compendium of every single thing we've done since February 2010.


That's right: our obsessive fascination with documenting every single thing has finally paid off and you, too, can relive the past five years (not in real-time, obvi) in excruciating/glorious high-def and 5.1 surround sound.

Huzzah!


15 March 2015

Re:Collections - share your library story!


Do you love libraries? Me, too!


Over the next few months I'm going to be collecting stories about libraries: memories, misadventures, anecdotes, maybe even tales of romance between the stacks! It's all part of a community arts project, Re:Collections, and everyone is invited to participate: adults, kids, seniors, school groups, and current and former library staff and volunteers. Although my focus will be on our local community of Prince Edward County, I welcome stories from anywhere across the globe.
Introducing Dewey Decimal. Illustration by Niall Eccles.
My love of libraries has been a life-long affair. Of course I enjoy reading and books, but libraries are so much more; they’re gathering places, spaces of refuge and community. They've played a huge role in my life, and I know the same must be true for lots of other people. Although libraries have been around since ancient times, the way people use them is changing. Libraries are adapting by embracing technology and providing new types of programming, making this is an ideal time to reflect upon the roles that libraries have played in our lives.

I'll be compiling the collected stories in three ways: creating a zine (small handmade magazine), a documentary theatre piece, and a creative display of stories to be unveiled at the next DiscARTed, the annual Picton art show of creations made from discarded books.
Dewey Decimal. Illustration by Niall Eccles.
Stories of any length are welcome but they should be personal and true. Participants don’t need to be experienced writers, and can even have their stories audio or video recorded if they prefer. Comics and illustrations welcome, too! Members of the public can share their stories with me in person at the following locations and times:

Milford library - Sat. April 11, 11 AM – 3 PM
Consecon library - Sat. April 18, 11 AM – 3 PM
Ameliasburgh library - Sat. April 25, 11 AM – 3 PM
Bloomfield library - Sat. May 2, 11 AM – 3 PM
Wellington library - Sat. May 9, 11 AM – 4 PM
Picton library - Sat. May 23, 11 AM – 4 PM

Mail stories to: Krista Dalby, 337 Clarke Road, Picton K0K 2T0
Email stories to: krista[at]smallpondarts.ca
Or call me to make other arrangements: 613.471.1322
Dewey Decimal. Illustration by Niall Eccles.
NEED HELP GETTING YOUR STORY STARTED?

Here are some ways your story could begin:


My first memory of a library is…

I remember one time at the library…

My favourite memory of a library is…

The most important thing I’ve learned at a library is…

I remember when libraries used to…

The strangest thing I’ve done in a library is…

I remember one librarian who…

The library of my childhood was…

Libraries have been important in my life because…

One time I lost a library book and…

The best library I’ve ever visited was…

...you get the idea!

Massive thanks to the Ontario Arts Council and County of Prince Edward Public Library for their support of this project.

17 February 2015

Making Art With Seniors

Over the course of a year and a half, I did monthly art workshops at a local seniors' home. Having no previous experience working with seniors, it was a pretty big learning curve. I had to design activities that could be completed in 1-1.5 hours, with little money for materials; sometimes there were three participants, other times there were up to 15. The levels of ability were extremely mixed, from fairly keen and competent to those who physically struggled to hold a paintbrush, or were unable to focus on any given task. I'd never worked with people with Alzheimers or dementia, and at first it was a bit intimidating. But over the course of these workshops I really got to know some of these seniors, and I enjoyed hanging out with them and trying to offer them interesting experiences. 


The first time I went to the home, my husband Milé came with me. I was in the throes of organizing the first Firelight Lantern Festival, so of course we made a lantern! I made the structure in advance, and the group helped cover it with tissue paper. I think it turned out pretty great!


Sticking with the theme of "do what you know," the next project we did was a scarecrow. I've helped make a lot of these at Small Pond's annual Scarecrow Festival. I brought a bunch of clothes that the seniors could choose from, and they helped stuff the guy full of straw. They named him Marcel, and I delighted them with spinning him around like a dance partner. Fun!


One of our other annual festivals is Stickfest, and I always have a collection of big beautiful beach sticks on hand. The seniors each painted one or two sticks; I whisked the sticks away and strung them into this mobile before returning it to the home.


We did two large-ish paint chip collages, inspired by a substantial donation of paint chips!


These collages were some of my favourite projects, as they easily accommodated a large group of people and a wide range of abilities. I used corrugated plastic for the base.


For Halloween we made these lanterns from mason jars. This was a bit tricky for those with motor skill issues and required quite a bit of assistance from me and the staff. Tutorial here.


We did a few different drawing projects. I love the brightness of chalk pastels.


For Easter I made these salt-dough egg ornaments; I made my own cookie cutter from a tin can. When they came out of the oven they looked an awful lot like cookies, so I gave them a bright base coat before giving them out to the seniors for them to decorate.


Someone still tried to eat one. Whoops...

Our last project was a papier-mâché sculpture called The Wishing Tree, inspired by the story of a very special tree in Prince Edward County. I brought in the foundation of the sculpture, made from cardboard and masking tape, and over the course of three sessions we applied the papier-mâché, painted it, affixed the leaves and made a collage base from those very useful paint chips.


What I will remember most from these workshops were the conversations we had; about life and about art. There was one woman who was a somewhat reluctant participant in some of these workshops; reluctant because she had been a professional artist in her day, and she thought these projects were perhaps beneath her. She showed me some of her work, and when she did participate she made great contributions. I will never forget how one day she looked at me and said, "You remind me so much of myself." Maybe one day I'll be in her place, and an artist will come to visit...