Jell-O Art Doings

Piece I donated to the permanent collection

I've gotten over my bitterness about Eugene developments and no longer want to lance anyone in the show, which is good because we will definitely not have those emotions in those short three hours, which are all about colorful fun and sweet indulgences. The Radar Angels met for the first brainstorm session and got very close to deciding the theme and rough outline for the performance part. You'll hear it here as soon as we actually agree on something.

The trick with the theme is to choose a word or phrase broad enough to inspire lots of interpretations in Jell-O Art, but also something cute and funny and memorable and pronounceable and also something that hasn't been used before. We got some great ideas and lots of fairly good ones, and as always a few we will not choose in any year most likely. (cough cough Fifty Shades of Jell-O) There are some things that won't be funny, like Bill Cosby. Fortunately he was included in an earlier performance, back when he was still loveable, so we can ignore him now. Nobody ate pudding pops anyway.

Kesey may or may not appear. He's in the news now and in fact today's paper showed a giant mural of him as part of a projected development on what is called Kesey Plaza, which made me laugh. To those who met him and know Pranksters, he was not quite the hero that outsiders think. He's respected, but we have stories...I'd love to tell them and will someday, but the Jell-O Show is not the place for it. That battle for the space is heating up and will be fought politely at the City Council but while I oppose the development, I'm not at all sure it isn't already a done deal. Another blog in another place, though. It would still be fun to have him appear in some form and we might just do that.

I did start making Jell-O and thinking about my piece and writing down crazy ideas in preparation. I've resisted going full-on which means taking over the livingroom with art, but it will happen soon. Reminds me my sewing machine needs a tune-up too. We're having a little harmony workshop today to elevate our singing skills and learn a little about singing in a group. It's a challenge sometimes to find angels who can sing, dance, dress up, and still do art as well. I'll keep leaning on these new people to try making some Jell-O. To me it can't be separated from acting in the show...but then again, I've been making the Jell-O far longer than participating in the performance.

Prop from 2015's performance

So quickly, in case you are new to Jell-O Art, it's a three hour show, April 2, from 5-8 pm. Entering is simple, you bring your piece to MKAC earlier that day and pay a couple of bucks to register it. You put it on a pedestal, give it a title, and then hope someone takes your picture standing next to it to put in some obscure blog or newspaper article. You try to have as much fun as possible stretching your art wings while doing something silly in a serious way. I suppose you don't have to be serious at all, but the medium is a little demanding so you could probably use some pointers. I will be writing here with lots of details of my art as I go, although the performance is more-or-less secret so I'll just be giving tantalizing hints about that.

I work primarily in dried gelatin, but even if you make the jiggly kind there are a couple of things that will make your explorations easier. I just use pure gelatin, like the Knox kind although I buy it in bulk. It's not cheap but way less expensive than the boxes. If you mix it strong, with less water, it will be more firm and won't need to be refrigerated to keep its shape. Mix it in cold water first, let it bloom for at least ten minutes, and then melt it either in the microwave or on the stove top. If you mix it in hot water you get lumps which you will have to remove, and it's much harder work. That took me at least fifteen years to discover, even though that is how the package tells you to do it. I thought that was to dissolve the sugar, and I don't use any, but it's to let the gelatin absorb water, which it does slowly at first. So, start with cold.

Great piece from 2015 by Kari Berg

I use pyrex and canning jars as a burst jar is dangerous and extremely messy. Hot gelatin sticks to everything and in fact that is the glue I use to put my components together. I use dye that I have from dyeing projects but you can use many things to color your Jell-O. If you like the traditional colors you can still use part prepared Jell-O if you want. It's hard to duplicate some of those colors, like the Berry Blue, and sometimes those are important to your piece. The four little bottles of food coloring are cute but mostly a waste of your money if you plan anything substantial. I still use them sometimes but if you aren't going to eat it you don't need to use food coloring. Cake decorating and candy making supplies have lots of Jell-O Art uses, and plastic molds are the easiest way to go for shapes. You can use any kind of thing for molds but sometimes the gelatin sticks. I've heard of using vegetable oil as a release but if you make the stuff thick enough it is like rubber and you can pry it out of the mold if you do it carefully. Sometimes you will have to remelt it and start over, so be prepared to operate within the limits of the medium.

Over the years people have tried a huge number of techniques and you'd be surprised what has appeared. Every show is different and I am usually pleasantly surprised. A good theme will provide so much latitude that artists think of references that speak to them and of course it is always the case that you don't have to work to the theme at all. Many don't, especially artists like David Gibbs who do it all year round. Do what is fun. That is the first rule, that you have to amuse yourself.

David Gibbs will be entering for his 20th year

And don't forget to think about the Tacky Food Buffet. If you do like to eat it, or other related food-like substances like Cheez-Whiz and Kool-Whip, and Spam, they can be served on the Buffet table to delight everyone. There is seldom anything left over although real food appears rarely and is quickly eaten unless it is far too weird. In today's foodie world some of what we thought weird doesn't seem so now. Chocolate-covered Brussels sprouts are a good example of this...tasted fine. The sushi made with gelatin inside was pretty edible and not that far-fetched. The Buffet is a real crowd-pleaser and the kids go wild with all those things their parents cringe and try to limit consumption of. Feel free to bring your favorite junk food if you don't have a clean enough kitchen to risk preparing anything. It all has to be legally edible.

You can message me on  Facebook with your questions, and put any of your ideas there on my page too if you like. I created the Gelatinaceae page for my Jell-O Art although it is also my business page so there will be other stuff there as well.

I just created an event page on Facebook as well. If you can't post things there send them to me and I will make sure they get posted. You can still find previous events if you search and there are often many photos and interesting side articles about the art and science of our most beloved medium. Okay, like feelings about the icon Bill Cosby, we have mixed feelings about the "beloved" part, but we couldn't do it without the Jell-O product, even though kids in Eugene have never heard of it in the same sentence as food. That's okay! We don't need heroes, and we don't need purity. Everything goes in the world of Jell-O Art, everything fun and quirky and silly and colorful and shiny and resplendent and glorious, that is. No hating or trumpery allowed. Save the date!