Introducing the cast of Green Eggs and Ham, the Opera!  We are busily rehearsing the challenging short opera of Green Eggs and Ham.  I am the Grouch and these fine thespians are trying ever so hard to get me to eat green eggs and ham!  This is a wonderful opera for children and adults and will be performed on Saturday, December 12 at Westford’s Parish Center for the Arts at 1pm and again at 2:30.  It is paired with our junkbox puppet play, Cowardly Clyde.  Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased by e-mailing tickets@creativityunhinged.com or calling 978-995-7002.

I just had to share this beautiful Native American weaving created by Rebecca in our World Art class.  She worked very hard on it at home as well.  Excellent job, Rebecca!  We completed our first session of World Art last week.  Please check out our photos from this class on flickr.  The link is on the left side of this website.

Last Tuesday at the Westford Farmers’ Market, we created origami haunted houses.  The kids were very creative, and there was a wide variety of scary creatures living in the houses!  These brothers are especially good at creating scary creatures from the dark!  This week, (October 27) make sure to put on all of your Halloween gear and come ready to party at the Farmers’ Market!  There will be a costume contest, scavenger hunt, dance contest and much more!  And, it is your final chance to pick up your favorite local fare in the Common!  See you there!

It was a chilly, damp Fall day at the Westford Farmers’ Market, but we still had lots of fun making recycled birdfeeders.  And, it proved an appropriate craft as we were situated next to the Education Station and their feathered friends, two happy hens!  This is the season to start refilling those outdoor feeders as the berries and seeds of the summer are coming to an end, and the birds are looking harder for their next meal!  Chirp.  Chirp.  Tweet.  Tweet.  The birds will thank you!

Emily and her mask

When the mask comes off . . .

We had another exciting World Art class yesterday.  We had many different activities going on at once in our classroom.  Weaving.  Painting,  Hairmaking.  Casting masks.  Mess cleanup!  It was a busy one, and we accomplished a great deal.

Our two student Emilies were our last brave students to have their faces cast to make their Iroquois False Face masks.  Sophie and I were a great team.  We made their noses appropriately crooked as the Iroquois did with their masks.  The photos show the Emilies with a mask drying and with the mask freshly removed.  Not exactly my idea of a facial.

My family from Pennsylvania visited Westford this past weekend.  One of our favorite events of a whirlwind visit was going to the Saturday night reception for artist Laurie Miller’s Relections on Fifty.  The paintings were inspirational (I especially love the one featured above, Tic Tac Toe).  The food was sublime.  And, the conversation was energetic and friendly.  The atmosphere was perfect.  If you get a chance, check out Laurie’s art show and her blog.   I have included the information below.

Sundays in October, noon – 2 p.m.  Laurie G. Miller
Join us on a visual journey at the PCA Gallery. Mark your calendar for the Reflections on Fifty — 50 New Oil Paintings by Laurie G. Miller exhibit from October 1 – 31, 2009, with an opening reception on Saturday, October 10.

Painted on 1 foot square canvases, Ms. Miller’s work has been described as “quirky” and “whimsical” and will often bring a smile to your face. Painting a wide variety of subjects, her works include a bathroom sink, a dentist peering directly at the viewer, and a couple of glazed donuts lounging on a plate. Each painting represents a snippet of Ms. Miller’s life; of everyone’s life. Precious moments that are captured before they elude us…and we miss the magic they hold. We invite you to preview Ms. Miller’s artwork along with her thoughts on the creative process for each piece at LaurieGMiller.blogspot.com.

I Bought Me a Cat named Silkie

I have always loved the American composer Aaron Copland.  And, I love him even more for publishing one of my favorite folksongs, “I Bought Me a Cat.”  This is one of his Ten American Songs, and it is a wonderful tune beloved of young and old.  I am so excited to announce that it will be a tune in my new musical, An American Story, which celebrates our nation’s folk music heritage.  This is the show our Rumphius Musical Theater Class for Kids will rehearse and perform in the Winter session.

And, the Winter and Spring 2009 Rumphius classes are now posted online on my website.  I have added two new classes for younger children including Rumphius Arts Academy for children ages 3.5-5 years and Rumphius ToddlArts Academy for children ages 2-3.5 with their caregivers.  I am currently taking registrations for the Winter and Spring sessions.  Here is the direct link for class information:  http://www.creativityunhinged.com/blog/classes#2010.

What a day in World Art!  Native Americans are known for their sense of community, and our class mirrored this today as it took a classroom community to begin creating our Iroquois masks!  The students worked together very well to create masks on their faces and on milk jugs for those who wanted to create a mask with a different look.  I was proud of everyone and all of their hard work!  The masks are drying nicely.  I can’t wait to see them painted and decorated next week. Ema (pictured) is a true Iroquois!  She adds to the communal feel of the classroom with her excellent attitude, hard work and smiling face (even when it is covered with plaster strips)!

Noor's version of Emily as a rod puppet

Monday’s junkbox class was pretty silly!  We had a lot of fun learning about rod puppets and making them from our junkbox items.  Who knew that brains are really just polyfill?  We used pantyhose, fabric scraps, Emily’s treasure box of teeny tiny things and paint stirrers to create our puppets.   Each student got to choose what type of creature they wanted to make.  Noor immediately chose to make me, Emily, into a rod puppet!  What do you think?  Does it look like me?  (Her mom and I think the resemblance is uncanny.)

The World Art artists are now expert wefters from lots of experience with their “over, under, over, under” strings.  Will moves  along at a quick pace until he gets tangled in his SUPERLONG string!  He is doing an awesome job!  Great work, Will!

Next week, we begin our Iroquois masks.  Let’s just say, there should be some interesting pictures.  Students, do not forget to wear old clothes for a very messy project!

Finally, welcome to our two new students, Emily and Sophie.  We are now the class of three Emilies and an Ema.  I know that the name Emily means two things: Industrious and Artistic.  Two important qualities for World Artists!