Sign up now for the Winter Break Crafternoons at The Parish Center for the Arts in Westford!

Not going away during the February Break? Make it a special week for your child(ren) with one or more of Rumphius’s Winter Crafternoons in the big art classroom of the Parish Center for the Arts, 10 Lincoln Street, Westford. Hopefully the kids will not make quite as big of a mess as my cat, Callie, in the picture above! She loves her crafternoons!

Want to do all five Winter Crafternoons? Receive one free!
Cost is $30 for each Crafternoon. $5 Friend and Sibling Discount. All materials are included.
Crafternoons are from Monday – Thursday noon-3pm and Friday 11am-2pm and for ages 6-12. To sign-up, please e-mail me at info@creativityunhinged.com or call 978.995.7002. Registration forms and fees are due on the day of the workshop. Forms are available on the left toolbar under HOW TO REGISTER.

Monday, Feb. 21: Winter Painting on Canvas (with perspective)
Tuesday, Feb. 22: Needle Felting on Scarves
Wednesday, Feb. 23: Paper Quilling and Collage
Thursday, Feb. 24: Glitter, Glitter and more GLITTER!
Friday, Feb. 25: Potato Print T-shirts and Canvas Bags

I have often been teased that I move around to places near my literary heroines. (I used to live on PEI of Anne of Green Gables fame.) Well, I now live about 20 minutes away from wonderful Concord, MA – home of Orchard House, Louisa May Alcott’s beloved home. I am so excited to share this beautiful story of a very special family with a group of such talented young actors and actresses. Our hard work will soon come to fruition! Our play is December 18 at the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford, MA. There are two performances: matinees at 1pm and 4pm. Tickets are $5 each. Two acts with an intermission. For tickets, call 978.995.7002 or e-mail tickets@creativityunhinged.com.

Come for a history lesson, a life lesson and a lovely atmosphere complete with hot cocoa! Perfect for the whole family!

I had to share these two incredible doll creations from the Doll Fashions Workshop at the PCA on November 11. Two themes- a Western outfit for a horse-lovin’ gal and a beautiful holiday ensemble. Great job, fashionistas! We had so much fun that I will be holding two more Doll Fashions Workshops at Roudenbush Community Center on January 28 (no school in Westford). Doll Fashions, Jr. will be from 9am-12pm (ages 6-8) and Doll Fashions, Sr. will be held in the afternoon from 1pm-4pm (ages 9-12). Contact Roudenbush Community Center to sign up. Limited space.

When I was a little girl, I had more fun making clothes for my dolls than buying them in the stores. Some of the creations were pretty out there . . . I had yet to learn the joys of sewing machines and glue guns! I learned that Elmers was not the right choice for all craft projects. But, it was still so much fun choosing color schemes and working on just the right fit for the dolls! I still love making things. Now, I teach how to make things. I have taught part of this workshop to a few birthday party groups, and it is incredibly fun. The kids are so inventive! In the picture above, I love how they cut out cupcakes from fabric to decorate their dresses.

On November 11 (Veteran’s Day), I am giving a workshop for kids on doll fashions at the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford. There will be bins of fabric, jewels, ribbon, lace – the list could go on and on. The kids will all get a chance to sew on my machine with me and make dresses, coats, purses, hats, necklaces and more. American Girl Dolls and other 18″ dolls are the perfect models for our clothes, but we can make custom outfits for favorite baby dolls and stuffed animals.

The workshop is on Thursday, Nov. 11 from 9-12pm in the upstairs classroom at the PCA on Westford’s Common. Ages: 6-14. Fee: $30 (Sibling and Friend Rate: $25).

To register, e-mail me, Emily Piper, at info@creativityunhinged.com or call 978.995.7002. Spaces are limited.

We celebrated the end of summer with three outdoor Farm Art Workshops here at beautiful and historic Meadowbrook Farm in Westford, MA. The workshops were: Barn Art – Perspectives on Canvas, Cockadoodle Doodle – Chicken Folk Art and finally, Furry, Fuzzy and Fluffy- Animal Collage Art. Pete Seeger and Aaron Copland joined us for some musical inspiration via the radio, the chickens clucked happily in the coop, the cats watched the creative process through the farmhouse windows, and Wallace enjoyed several “good dog” pats by small hands still covered in paint and glue. The students created a variety of truly unique art from old barnwood, upholstery fabric, nails, feathers, beads, and old jewelry (to name just a few of our materials).

A fall chill is now in the air, the kids are back in school, and it is time to focus on our indoor art activities at the PCA (check out my CLASS OFFERINGS on the left toolbar of the website). I look forward to sharing my home on the farm in the near future. It is a truly inspiring place – made even more inspiring by happy young faces creating great works of art!

Fresh from two successful, creative and educational camps, it is time to jump into the next project – my Farm Art Workshops here at beautiful Meadowbrook Farm! My husband and I are lucky to live on this historic 18th c. farm in Westford. Complete with a big horse stable, goats, stone fences, a big farm porch, enormous garden (perfect spot for my favorite green beans – Providers – pictured above), old chicken coop and a very wonderful neighbor, Marti, it is a piece of old-fashioned farm paradise. I invite your children to share their creative skills in the following workshops:

FARM ART WORKSHOPS AT HISTORIC MEADOWBROOK FARM!

Join Artist and Educator Emily Piper of Rumphius Creativity Unhinged in a series of fun workshops on a 1700s farm in Westford!

THE WORKSHOPS:
August 19: Barn Art: Perspective on Canvas
August 26: Cockadoodle Doodle: Chicken Folk Art
August 30: Fuzzy, Furry and Fluffy: 3-D Animal Collage Art (a.m. workshop only)
September 2: Fuzzy, Furry and Fluffy: 3-D Animal Collage Art for Homeschoolers

• Two workshop times to choose from each day:
a.m. session 9-12 and p.m. session 2-5
• Each workshop is $25. Materials included. As always, there is a 10% discount for siblings and friends.
• Sign-up for all three workshops and receive a $10 coupon good toward future classes, workshops or Rumphius parties.
• Please bring your own snack. Water and herbal iced tea will be provided.
• Each workshop is 3 hours in length and includes 30-45 minutes for games and their snack.
• Each workshop is limited to 8 students.
• Workshops are for ages 6-12.
• To sign-up, simply e-mail Emily at rumphius@creativityunhinged.com or call 978.995.7002 to hold your place and bring your class registration form and fee to the workshop.

This past July, Mrs. Junkbox visited Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. She held a puppet-making workshop at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House. What fun we had! The kids made lots of great junkbox rod puppets and put on plays with them. Laserman saved the day in each play. Thanks, Laserman!

I am so pleased to announce a project I have wanted to commit to since leaving PEI in 2004 is finally coming to fruition! I am excited to announce a partnership with Beaconsfield Historic House, one of my favorite spots on the Island. With BHH, I am presenting a summer theatre camp for kids, Monday-Friday, July 19-23, in Beaconsfield’s Carriage House. The camp is an afternoon camp from 1pm until 5pm and is for ages 8-12. The fee is $150 CDN with sibling discounts available.

For our first summer, I decided it would be fun to connect the theatre camp to the history of the house. I am currently working on an original comedy, Princess Louise Comes to Call, which draws upon the real-life visit of Princess Louise, Queen Victoria’s daughter, to the historic PEI home. The play includes a bit of time travel for two young volunteers at the museum. Not only do they get to meet Princess Louise, but also a host of other Island historic figures who join her as guests to a “fine” dinner party. Young thespians will learn about proper table manners and the etiquette of the 19th century – as well as learn about comedic timing and diction.

Our hard work will culminate in a final performance on Friday, July 23 at 7pm in Beaconsfield’s Carriage House. Tickets are $5 adults and $2 for students and young children.

Cheryl Scofield, MA Theatre, will join me as a guest artist and co-director. Cheryl has been teaching theatre in Virginia and Illinois for several years. She has an MA from Northwestern University in Theatre History, Criticism and Literature and worked as a dramaturg with some Off-Loop theatres while living in Chicago. Also in Chicago, Cheryl taught theatre in inner-city schools in a program designed to keep kids out of gangs through involvement in theatre. She is currently director and theatre teacher at Liberty High School located in Virginia.

To sign up, go to How to Register on the left toolbar and mail your Summer Camps form and check made payable to Rumphius Creativity Unhinged to 5A Gould Rd. Westford, MA 01886. If you would like more information, please call me, Emily Piper, at 978.995.7002 or e-mail rumphius@creativityunhinged.com.

Can’t wait to be back on the Island doing what I love!

In homage to my delightfully robust male cat, Gaylord, I created my very own example of a Faberge Egg complete with a Russian hat and a warm tail-muffler. What fun this was. He was the perfect inspiration for this World Art project. And, now he has a new nickname- Faberge Gay! Inspiration can be found anywhere- even in a big furball lying in his favorite arm chair in my living room.

The snowflakes started falling heavily during our winter afternoon Rumphius Art Studio at the PCA on February 16. We kept warm and inspired with cups of warm cider, classical music and a room filled with art supplies from stretched canvases to broken vintage rhinestone jewelry. The glue guns were fired up and paint palettes were filled with a variety of colors. It was truly a wonderful way to spend a winter afternoon. I knew that the students would create some beautiful work, but we had a room full of masterpieces! And, every artist created something very individual to themselves. In the photo, Allison is creating a beautiful mixed media piece with old paper, a canvas, paint and old jewelry. Wonderful job, everyone! You keep me inspired!