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

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

London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House

It wasn't originally on my list of "Things I Must Do While Living In Britain" but it was somewhere I recently wanted to check out.

Somerset House

A lovely HUGE old building that houses all sorts of events.

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There are all these street style photo blogs that capture fashionable people on the street

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but it seems to be a high concentration of them are standing around this old looking white stone building. And I finally found out where this place was. And THEN I got invited to do a flower headpiece workshop (like the ones Tatiana did at the Peckham jumble) in the vintage section of London Fashion Weekend, a separate event from the rest of the fashion week happenings earlier in the...week. Im saying week a lot...anyway.

I attempted to make my little table interesting for the masses.

It was a crazy event. Loads of designers selling their wares at a discount and I was stationed in the vintage section, curated by the Vintage by Hemingway company, I was smack dab in the middle of the cupcakes and tea counters on one of these gorgeous vintage tables lended from an antique shop. It was a ticketed event and so most people were more interested in finding great designer deals rather than having a crafty sit down with me. But there were a few lovely souls who had a go at it.

Great creative experience to get me out of this funk I've been in. I have one month to go until my montessori exams and then something big is happening in June. Hopefully there will be more things blog worthy in my life in the meantime. Sorry for the huge gap in posts.

Love and un-funkness,

~Valiant V

Birthday Blues Shake Down

My birthday came and went. I am twenty friggin eight people. And as well as that fact rearing its ugly head, Im in a funk. Creatively I have no drive at the moment. And this is the blog post to prove it.

I originally planned on using this special day as a dealine of sorts. To try and pack as much creativity in the 20 days up to my birthday and maybe beyond. Shake myself out of this funk. It started off alright but then soon faded and died. Here are some of my creative exploits in pictorial form.

Did a few aerial silks classes. But really this is cheating cause I've been doing it for a few months now already. But man I got some great guns for my birthday.

You got tickets?...Tickets to the gun show!.

I've been filling up this folder on my computer with pictures I've happened upon during my travels through the interwebs. They immediately grabbed my attention and made me think "hey I could copy that". This was the first and only one I attempted. I would love to have the desire to draw more regularly.

I might try again, feel I messed up the little brother in my first try.

I wrote a letter to my good friend Jill. Dip pen and all baby!

I feel it's such a dying art that it has become creative rather than commonplace. And to add bonus dork points I made it out of pages from a book I was reading. I wrote on the blank backside of one page and turned another page into the envelope.

And it wouldn't be complete without the wax seal. The pyro in me loves these opportunities.

I finally figured out what to do with these resin molds I made years ago. I had experimented with resin and found objects and glitter and then I didn't know what to do with them. A necklace? a brooch? Then I remembered the ring bases I had bought some time ago and whammo.

Bling Bling Dolla Dolla Bill Yo. I just want to keep all of these. Love them.

I also tried out a new, big version of my feather accessories. Kind of a combination of feathers and fascinator. Nothing complete yet though. Meh.

And of course my ultimate creativity cheat. The jumble sale I attend monthly. I look a little manic here but it's a great picture of Tatiana, the creator and amazing girl behind this eco friendly jumble. Head piece workshops happen every sale among the other various free workshops. I always have a great time here.

So all in all I was a little more creative than usual, but it didn't jump start me into doing anything more in my life. But honestly right now I should be focusing on my career and my training. So for now I have cleaned off my work table and turned it into a study table. I'll still be creative in my life I think but not as much as I'd like to. But for now. We'll see. Procrastination and avoidance of homework usually ends up with me being all sorts of creative.

Love and Happy Birthday me,

~Valiant V

Photoswap 2011

PHOTOSWAP 2011!!!!!

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Remember last year when I did this? No? Then you just got here, get with the program people!

So this lovely blogger Rhianne decided to set this awesome event up once a year. Basically I trade rolls of film with a complete stranger from across the seas and develop their roll and see what they did and wait in anticipation for them to do the same. Here are some of my favorites from her roll.

Her name is Charity. Say hi Charity! She too has a lovely little blog set up. Go see!

I think she's from Canada....

If you want to see more check out my flickr set of the rest. And if you want to see what I did then you'll have to search through the groups photos to find mine (rubs hands together menacingly) muwahahahaha! I used a quad cam that took four photos in one shot so actually Im not hard to find in the group.

THE BEST PART!: you can participate too! Yeah anyone can do it.

THE WORST PART!: it overrrrrrr!!!! This year's photoswap is complete, but hopefully the world won't end and you won't be dead and you can still take photos next year ok?

ok thanks bye.

Love and Strangers Photos,

~Valiant V

Things I Must Do In London: The Ascot Racecourse

I have a list of things that I feel I must do while I am living in London. Iconic, and sometimes very touristy things that I think should be done to truly experience Great Britain.

#15 on my list: Feel like My Fair Lady and attend the Ascot races.

It's really just horse racing, but it's so much more than that. Like most things in london, it's very old and fairly posh. Basically you dress up fancy, kind of like you're attending a daytime wedding, wear an outrageously big or flamboyant hat or fascinator (think sputnik floating around your head made entirely out of feathers)

and drink a huge glass of pimms while watching the horses gallop by.

The place is pretty and HUGE. You can bring your own picnic and grab a space on the grassy area.

I was blessed with tickets to the premier area and it was nice to see how the other side lived. Actually, they lived pretty much like the grandstand ticket holders did only you couldn't bring your own food and drink in because you were supposed to be rich enough to buy their stuffs.

Anyway. As I said, I was given tickets to the event but very much last minute. So I had to improvise and make my own fancy fascinator.

It's basically felt, thick paper and pipe cleaners. I loved making it and thought it stood out among the others that day :) I'd make a tutorial about it but it happened too quickly and fairly late at night that I didn't make time to take pictures of the steps.

I had a great time there and I think I found a new creative craft. There are a few more events on my list that require crazy head gear and I can't wait to make more.

Love and Horse Races,

~Valiant V

Life Update Exploring My Hood

Im so sorry for not posting anything on here lately. I haven't been really busy lately but mostly I just didn't feel like anything I was doing was interesting enough to post on here. And I was just busy enough to not have time to make a tutorial for anything. So for now here are some photos of my recent escapades.

And by recent I mean it all happened this weekend. Why I only just started taking pictures on my phone this weekend I don't know.

There was a festival at the park near my house and they had setup a neat little stage. So cute but I missed the last show! Shucks. Hopefully I'll see these guys somewhere else in London.

Yesterday was the New Gallery jumble sale that I regularly attend every third saturday of the month. Here's the lovely lady in charge, Tatiana, taking photos of some headband making enthusiasts.

When she finished hers I immediately thought in my head "want, gimme now!". I just had to take photos of the purtyness.

I also did some exploring of my surrounding neighborhoods on Sunday. This weekend was my first experience of Queen's Park. A posh little section with an awesome farmers market.

I am definitely coming back again for some Sunday dinner supplies. They even had fresh squid I was looking for last month when I tried to make thai squid salad for the first time. Yay my recipe will now be complete!

Ventured around other areas like Kensal Rise and found some cool graffiti and a store with a beautiful mirror that I want in my bedroom. I love my new phone. It has internet and a gps system so that I can venture around but not really be too lost.
mmm, golden tree mirror. And a wonderfully cute little store.

I haven't been working on anything new lately but hopefully I will get back into the swing of crafty things soon.

Love and Catching Up,

~Valiant V