It's time to start back into Jelloland. I cleaned my workspace (the kitchen table) and started thinking about my piece for this year, and the emails have begun to circulate to get the group together. It is never the same two years in a row, and this will be the 26th show, with many new people involved. For the performers, the OCF is also part of the process, since the performances often merge at least slightly and the songs are sometimes almost the same.
For my art piece, I plan to work on the Great Blue Heron I started before the wedding last year, thinking I would make it a feature of the arch for the wedding couple and something fun to carry in their procession, but it was just as well that I abandoned the project because I don't think it would have ended up fitting into the real wedding as it took place. Many ideas were abandoned as logistics took over, and that is the way with the Jell-O Show too. Last year I was very ambitious and quite a few of the projects I started didn't make the show.
However, I am used to art and creativity going in many directions at once. It seems to take all of my skills put together to get any final results that are satisfying on lots of levels, and that is the richness of the process. When I was thinking to make steampunk things for the wedding, I went through all of the stuff in my stuff library (I collect all manner of odd objects and decorative elements for my many media: paper, gelatin, fabric, paint, ink, dye, and found-object sculpture, as well as other things like rusty metal.) I took some of it inside to look through as I made the hat ornaments, though I ended up using very little of it. Had to re-sort it and take it back out to my studio to re-file in my organizing system out there, but that is all part of the creative process for me.
I'm a visual learner, and have to see things spread out in front of me to get my ideas to coalesce. It looks like a mess to other people and undeniably takes up space. I resist putting up tables in my small spaces but sooner or later I do that, and then there is no more room for people or other tasks of daily life. For the first couple of weeks of the year I just sort things, put them away, and try to create space. This also helps me remember what I have and what projects I might have abandoned and forgotten.
When it comes to the actual making of Jell-O Art, the dried type I do takes a lot of lead time as the drying process takes a few days for each batch, so I will need to see what I made of the blue-gray pieces for the heron and what I may still need, and make a bunch of it. It's important to have a lot, as once I start to stick it together, it gets a lot smaller, and I am thinking of a life-size bird. My first plan is to make it look like it is taking off from a pool of liquid or slightly jelled jiggly stuff, so some of that will have to be last-minute in construction. Whatever I do will take a lot of planning, and being in the performance also means that I will not have a lot of time near the end, since we will be rehearsing and making props, etc., as well as distributing posters, getting interviewed on the radio, and all of the Queenly things I am supposed to do in my role.
I think whatever I am willing to do will be open to me, and greatly appreciated as well. The show is a fundraiser for the Maude Kerns Art Center, so we'll do some promoting coordination too. Last year I had a wonderful video opportunity which is still viewable at KEZI: http://www.kezi.com/turning-jell-o-into-art/ and I'm guessing that will not happen again in the same way, though I suppose if I can think of some way to put a new twist on it, I could get some coverage. Sean Cuellar was a great interviewer, did all the video herself, too, and she was very easy to work with.
There is also the Slug Queen connection. We always ask the Slug Queen to give a benediction at the start of the show, and each one brings her particular charms. Last year Queen Sadie knit some Jell-O, which was stupendous and didn't look nearly as amazing as it was in process, because Jell-O Art is subtle in it's presentation to those who haven't tried to work with it. This year the Slug Queen is an actual Scientist and Educator, not that all Queens and commoners don't have such talents, just not as much notice of them, but anyway, the possibilities are intriguing. She could do some spectacular demonstrations perhaps. If she gets all the attention I suppose I can live with it. I have been monopolizing as much attention as I could get for the last two years but this year I plan to fade into the background. Good thing the background is multicolored and full of pattern-mixing, like camo and tie-dye, so I will fit in.
In case you are new to the scene, try making some Jell-O soon and seeing what you can think of to do that will be fun for you. Some of the secrets include using the clear gelatin such as Knox, as it is more economical than the sugary edible chemicals that are Jell-O brand, and make it stronger than the package directions. I make mine anywhere from 4X to 12X the suggested ratio of gelatin to water. It will harden at room temp and you can add dye or food coloring or whatever you like (glitter, plant materials, Barbie doll heads) to make your meaningful art statement.
It has to be fun, that is the real only rule. I am allowed to be serious about it, and so are you, but only if being serious about your art includes enjoying it. How you can resist enjoying Jell-O Art, I do not know, but all of that is up to you.
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