You're are gonna get in troooooouble!

True story:
For years I had an art studio in our house. It was a joy, full of creative mess and open space. I had eight bar stools in there for years, but one summer, on a whim I decided to alter my plain-o chairs. Now, let me set the scene for you...

So first thing, I do NO prep work at all.
I just start to paint, alter and create!

I begin painting the first chair and my oldest comes downstairs and stops in her tracks.
"What are you doing? You're are gonna get in troooooouble! Daddy's gonna be mad at you."

And I start laughing. "Honey, they are my chairs, Daddy won't mind if I paint them."
Dubious, she said "Well, I don't like them. I won't sit in them and I'm NOT helping you."

Of course, I got the giggles and continued on my project. When Daddy did come home, he liked them and then OH! Suddenly, she has a favorite! (See the pink one in the middle?)

So, now that we are opening a play studio, I want to bring that same whimsical element to the space. While I don't doubt that I could do a whip out some chairs for the space myself, the point of Kaleidoscape is to draw our community together. Wouldn't it be more fun to feature twelve extroidinary artists as a permanant exhibit within the Play Studio as a collaborative effort?
So, I'm hosting a call to artists...

Allow yourself to be inspired by kaleidoscopes, playtime, fun, kids, birthdays, party (any of those, not nessecsarily all of them!) Artists may select a sturdy chair to "flip" and transform with the inpiration. I invite you to take a look at what style we are drawn to in my "eye candy Pinterest Collection of art chairs".

The collection here are just ideas found online, NOT to copy.

 Criteria: MUST still be a functional chair to sit at regular table height and be family friendly.



Deadline to submit: December 5th by midnight.
Submit detailed photos by email to: kplaystudioak@gmail.com subject: “Chair Party”​
12 chairs will be selected for the final project display.

Selected submissions will become the property of Kaleidoscape Play Studio.

Each artist selected will recieve:
Artist Credit for their work at Kaleidoscape Play Studio
A commerative, limited edition Chair PARTY calendar.
If you have any questions: please contact Jennifer: kplaystudioak@gmail.com 

This week, I am...

 

I'm going to play a game of checkers, read a comic book, plant an apple tree, invite my neighbor over for some breakfast, and drink a caramel mocha! What a week this will be!

In Search of Elephants

September 22 is National Elephant Appreciation day and you may or may not know, Alaska doesn't have any elephants living in the state. We used to have an elephant (two actually) at our local zoo. But after much controversy, she moved to California. We really miss her, but we understand that an elephant sized treadmill just wasn't enough. NO, I am not kidding!

So, with it being National Elephant Appreciation day and nooooo elephant to appreciate, my daughters and I set out on a mission. You guessed it... in search of elephants.

We made four stops today... and found elephants at each place!

As you can see, we stopped at Title Wave books looking for pachyderm... found a few picture books, but NOT exactly what we were looking for. All of those books are there still...just waiting for someone like you to take them home! Then, on to Barnes & Noble... as we had a specific elephant in mind. There, we found the stuffed version of Elmer... but no books!

 

 

The girls and I decide that we must bring Elmer home for adventures at our house and he has surfed the net to find that he is famous, had a princess tea party and painted.

The only place we found the actual Elmer the Patchwork Elephant book for sale in Anchorage was at Over the Rainbow toys! and they only have two! It is a treasured story at our house (we can't find our copy, thus the search!) about an elephant thinking he needs to change to fit in.

 

Amazon's Book Review:

Elmer the elephant is bright-colored patchwork all over. No wonder the other elephants laugh at him! If he were ordinary elephant color, the others might stop laughing. That would make Elmer feel better, wouldn't it? The surprising conclusion of David McKee's comical fable is a celebration of individuality and the power of laughter.

Elmer the elephant, a colorful character because of his patchwork hide and sense of humor, tries to blend in with the herd, but soon realizes that he's happiest just being himself. "McKee's gentle humor and love of irony are in full force in this celebration of individuality and laughter." -- Publisher's Weekly.



"Thank you for believing in my weirdness."

Kaleidoscape Play Studio is a dream coming true for me. I honestly believe that my whole life’s work has led me to to do this. Our name is based off of how when you look through the lens of a kaleidoscope and turn it, the picture changes. We believe that as our community changes and our children grow, how we play changes too! 

With paint in my cuticles and glue in my hair, I laugh that if I had a super-power, it would be transforming ordinary items into new forms. I have always said there are no mistakes in art – only room for more embellishment! I am a mother of two and a longtime Alaskan and I take pride in using that super-power of creativity for the betterment of our community. (Hmmm is that a real word?)



Creativity is my super power!

I have taught art classes based on literature, storywriting workshops, have been a fairy-for-hire and it thrills me to take birthday parties to impressive heights. With Kaleidoscape Play Studio, we just expanded the party to everday life.

One of my favorite quotes is from pop icon, Katy Perry and I used it to lead off this post, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, truly, for believing in my weirdness.