Hey There!

My photo
London, United Kingdom
A site about my crafty, adventurous, london life. Things that I make, things that I like, things that I do. And my attempts to find my own London. All the while trying not to be too homesick for California and the Bay Area.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Children's Shadow Puppet Workshop

My puppeteering friend Justina asked for help running a little event the other weekend.
She showed children how to create and perform with simple shadow puppets.
Specifically animals that could be found in her local (Stoke Newington) Abney Park where the workshop was being held.
It was a small crowd that day but it led to some creative channels and impromptu story lines. 
Like this floating legless cat jumping from star to start to reach the moon. 
The kids seemed really into it and it's actually a really simple concept that anyone can do at home. 
A great rainy day project for a crafty 5 and above year old. 
Desk lamp, white sheet, construction paper, scissors, tape and sticks. Chiggity check man!
She had a projector set up behind the screen so we were able to have the large trees and things in the background so it might look a little more basic at home but still just as fun.
Oh and Abney park is also a cemetery as well as a nature preserve. Creepy cool.

She's actually creating puppets for a puppet opera that's going to take place in the chapel on the grounds. How awesome is that?! There's still tickets available, gonna be a goodin.

We had to lug the projector to the directors house after the workshop. It was heavy. We celebrated a good day with ice cream. 

So happy to have a random creative fun time with new friends from london. Hopefully not that last of this kind of adventure. 

Love and Shadow Puppets...and ice cream,

~Valiant V

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Life Update, Avert Your Eyes Uninterested Parties

Ok not so much has been happening in my life as of late but the few things that have have taken over. I passed my Montessori exams and graduated. Yay and Phew and Bleh. Still have to turn in some papers and homework before it's official so that's still tugging at the butterflies in my stomach. I just want it to be over with. :(

I've moved positions in my school as a new Children's House teaching assistant. Its been a huge challenge for me to get back into the swing of strongly followed montessori practice in this new classroom and adding to the fact that I've never worked in a 3-6yr old class before. Eek. But a new challenge that I am slowly breaking through.

The stress of it all made me flare up. I had tests done last year and only just got the results back. They're going to put me on Remicade finally (American doctors have been dangling that option in my face for the past 7 years but never officially tried it), but they have to apply for funding for it first. So lots of red tape to muck through but finally things are looking better. In the meantime Im back on prednisone again for a few weeks. Moon face here I come. Completely not looking forward to that at all. But Id rather feel normal in other areas of my body at the moment thank you very much. Apparently there is the future possibility of surgery for some things that need to be sorted once Im back to normal. Whoopie. Dear Lord.

Huge creative project happening at the beginning of June. Biggest thing I've ever worked on. Scary and fun at the same time. Lots of last minute prep and scrambling around but isn't that when we do our best work? I think so. Going to blog a separate post about it later.

It was nice catching up. How are you doing?

Love and Updates

~Valiant V