Puppets – Phase II

Hooray — they seem to be taking shape!

We tested regular crayons as our coloring medium — and the results turned out just fine! The colors seem to be coming out crystal clear ... and they retain the "kindergarten look" we're trying to accomplish. The monkey is completely done in crayons, as well as the Coconut Tree leaves.

Guess we'll be coloring this Saturday ;-)  Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Click on each picture to view enlarged.

Puppets – Phase 1

Production Work

March 14, 2010

Our next puppet making session at the ashram will be on

Saturday, March 20

4 – 6 p.m.

Please come and join us in the fun. All volunteers are welcome!!

Production Work

March 07, 2010

We will be continuing our puppet work on:

Saturday, March 13 — Cancelled
4 to 6 p.m.

Please come and join us!

Also, we want you to know that your child has been assigned a role for the play. We will be posting the details soon, so please check back with the blog in a few days.

Please note: We are asking that all the children be dressed in black (or navy blue) pants and a long-sleeved shirt for the play in June. Sweat pants or yoga pants are fine. We are telling you this now, so you will have plenty of time to assemble the outfit.

A group photo in Indian dress will be planned sometime in May. We'll keep you posted ...

Pre-Production Schedule Resumes

Feb 28, 2010

We will resume our pre-production work at the ashram. Our next get together is on:

Saturday, March 6
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Please come and join us in making puppets. All volunteers are welcome!

Pre-Production Work at Ashram

Feb. 21, 2010

Many thanks to all the children for their wonderful drawings! We will be posting them soon in our art gallery for everyone to enjoy.

Our pre-production work at the ashram on Saturday, February 27th is cancelled. Swamiji will be conducting a weeklong discourse on Bhagavad Geeta, Chapter 13, beginning Monday, Feb 22 and concluding on Saturday, Feb. 27. We are sorry that we can't meet this week. However, we urge you to take full advantage of this class!

Please come and join us the following Saturday, March 6. We will begin turning the children's drawings into life-size puppets!

See everyone soon.

Drawings

End of the Year Program
Announcement
February 8, 2010

Below are two more drawings for your child to copy. One is of a coconut tree and the other is of Lord Raama. Again, we ask that you do not clean up or change any of your child's work — no matter how tempting it may be. We really want the puppets to capture the gestures and lines of a kindergartner. At first, your child may seem a little hesitant to draw Lord Raama, but please encourage him/her to do so. The end result will be a much more simplified version than what is posted here — but that is absolutely fine and exactly what we are looking for!!

If you have access to scanning, please, please email the drawings to us once they are done. In order for us to progress at a consistent pace, we really need to begin our production work this month. If we have to wait until the end of February before we start collecting the drawings, then we will quickly fall behind schedule. Feel free to email directly to any of the sevikas, or you may email us via the blog. (under "Contact Info")

Many thanks — we're really looking forward to seeing these great drawings!

To download an image to your printer, click on the drawing, then hit "Print."

Sample Puppet (for review)

Jan 28, 2010
This is a rough draft of a bear puppet ... that which resembles a child's drawing. The actual puppets will not be made until we receive all the drawings from the children (both classes.)

I think that we will be able to go with the material that this sample has been made from — which was a pleasant surprise! The designs can be drawn on regular white poster board, and then we can back them with a stiffened felt — which should allow lots of "hands on activities" with the kids during practice. All coloring was done with Crayola markers. I think using markers will give the entire set a very authentic look, keeping the texture of a child's drawing.

This puppet took about 8 hours to make from start to finish.

Announcement

End of the Year Program
Drawings to Copy
Jan 31, 2010

Our kindergartners will be designing all of the stage props for our end of the year performance in June. In order for us to have everything made by mid Spring, we need to start our work now. Over the next few weeks we will be asking your child to copy drawings found on this page. Because we do not want to interrupt our weekly curriculum, we will be assigning this as homework. Please make sure that your child brings their drawings to class with them. We will not be returning your child's art work, so if you want to make a xerox for us, that is perfectly fine. We do ask, however,  that your child follow the guidelines listed below:

• Each drawing needs to be on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of white paper.

• Crayons and/or pencils are fine. Please do not have your child paint the picture.

• One animal drawing per page. Your child may make as many as they want.

Presently, there are 3 drawings on this page to work from: a squirrel, bear and monkey. You will note that the last drawing is an example of one of our kindergartner's interpretation of the bear — we expect your child's drawing to resemble these kinds of gestures and lines. Please do not clean up your child's drawing to try and make it match the drawing model. We welcome authentic kindergarten artwork!!

To download an image to your printer, click on the specific animal drawing, then Print.