Slug Biz

Here's a picture of the big slug piece I gave to Kim, which she says she will make part of her Slug Queen outfit. All the potential Queens, Old Queens, and Exquisitely Old Queens will be very jealous.

She told me some about how she makes the crowns and sashes every year, trying to make them unique and special to each queen. She sometimes gets a notion who will win the contest, being the person who receives the applications, takes the bribes for distribution, and knows the most about what may transpire on stage. If you haven't seen the Slug Queen competition, you must make a point of going. This year it will be on Friday, August 12th, in the early evening on the Saturday Market stage down at 8th and Oak.

I had a wonderful time making the headpiece, and spent the whole week on it. Lots of people have asked me about workshops for Jell-O Art, and I have thought about it, but don't really want to lead one. I spent a few years doing art workshops in the elementary schools (Family and Patterson) and I have no desire to take that up again. But never say never.

I think with planning this could be a fun activity for any age group. If you have a week, you can try the dried Jell-O, but if you don't, just use the wet, harder-than-normal Jell-O. You can pry it out of any mold with your fingers, and there are a million plastic objects to use for molds. You could have a little show, with each person making objects such as animals, flowers, or just sculptures. You could use food coloring to make sure it is nontoxic, or make the real Jell-O brand kind, using less water so it will gel without refrigeration. I've used real molds, ice trays, molds I made from pressing objects into wax, and molds I've made in other ways. You can cut and carve on the Jell-O a little, but it isn't too amenable to most art processes. You'll just have to try it.

You could make a bunch of flower parts ahead of time and let people assemble and make hair ornaments. Hairbands and clips are cheap and you could make little magnets too. You could use chopsticks or pencils for sticks, or make pieces with artifacts inside like buttons, plastic toys, or whatever.

If the stuff gets thrown away at the end, no matter. I put mine outside where the slugs eat it.

It's just fun to play with a new material, and this is probably a lot less expensive than fimo or some other kinds of sculptural material. I've done it with kids and they were pretty receptive if I gave enough structure. I found that because this isn't a well-known artform, most people are somewhat stunned and stopped by not knowing enough to experiment, so I would keep the focus somewhat narrow and not just open the whole thing to every possibility, unless you have older people already experienced with creating things. It's supposed to be fun.

And if things don't work, just remelt and start over.

In other news, the Jell-O wrestling party was a big hit with the attendees, although the Jell-O was thin and not the proper texture. I think they may have miscalculated the volume of the pit. At any rate, it was slimy enough for lots of play and a pleasing pink color. They ended up buying all the gelatin I had on hand, which was about 15 pounds, so I had to order some more. Don't want to run out or anything.

Have fun!