Quote of the Day: I started, actually, to make my first animated cartoon in 1920. Of course, they were very crude things then and I used little puppet things. Walt Disney
On Saturday, I taught a class at the Franklin Arts Center on creating characters with paper plate or paper bag puppets. The students made the characters and used large tag board to illustrate their backdrop, then they performed what they’d created. All of this happened in less than two hours.
Talk about your Flash Fiction! From idea to performance in less than two hours. They had an ideal environment in which to create. All the materials were laid out for them. Their parents or grandparents stayed to help. I roamed the room, using my best teacher skills to help them write their stories.
Maybe that’s what we grown-up creatives need to do. Set up the best environment possible, lay out our materials, surround ourselves with people who help and encourage, and then dare to share our creations.
My sister and I saw Frozen, Disney’s latest animated feature, on Saturday. Just think of young Walt Disney, playing with puppets, setting his stage, and starting with whatever materials were available and evolving into one of the most powerful forces on earth! What could happen if you dared to start?
FYI, Joy and I really enjoyed Frozen. It’s a great sister movie! The setting is fun for a couple of Scandinavian girls, giggling at characters like Sven the reindeer and Olaf the snowman. I wondered if it’s loosely based on the characters of Snow White and Rose Red, but probably not. They appear in the German Brother’s Grimm tales, and Frozen takes place in what appears to be Lapland or other Scandinavian country. The opening short film is of Steamboat Willie. I liked how the characters popped in and out of the movie onto the stage and turned from black and white to color.
Click over to Primo Art Spa blog to see photos of what the kids created at the Flipside Arts Class, sponsored by Crossing Arts Alliance. They are so inspirational!
Go. Create. Inspire!
Journaling Prompt: What materials do you need to keep handy to work on your creative projects? Do you share your creations?
i bet the kids came up with some creative stuff.
Currently I have everything laid out to continue working on my story.
Frozen was a good film. It’s ‘loosely’ based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale ‘The Snow Queen.’
Working on art projects with the kids really helps me with being creative in my writing.
I’ll take twenty minutes and draw or paint or use clay and such, then get back to writing. It really works.
Mary, I didn’t know what “Frozen” was about, but when we had an opportunity to watch a movie while in Bismarck for Christmas, I chose it because I’d heard “it’s good,” and my sister decided to come along. I sat next to her, and you are so right. Wow. What a great sister movie. Loved the music, the setting, the beautiful story, and especially the ending. I won’t give it away, but how refreshing, huh? It was a beautiful surprise and much better than I would have imagined. You’re right. What if he’d never dared to dream, and then follow through? We would be much more lacking. Thanks for the reminder!
My son loves puppets. Of course, he doesn’t introduce much plot to hi stories — they mostly say “I’m a shark” or “I have teeth” — but perhaps it’s time to do away with the store-bought ones and get his little imagination churning. You know… “I’m a paper bag.”
Glad you and the kids had so much fun!
I had to youtube a couple of those songs from the show. What fun! Thanks for the sisters date!