Gotland Sheepapalooza

Look at me actually finishing a project I've started!! Not quite yet, but close... 

After painting the sheep heads and legs I began making the bodies out of chicken wire.   It's always fun when I start a project and end up finding exactly the perfect supplies; in this case the local hardware store in New Germany had a variety of black zip ties (commonly used for electrical stuff) which were ideal for "stitching" together pieces of chickenwire to mold a sheep body shape.  I attached the heads by using a staple gun, and stapling them to the chickenwire, which didn't actually work that great, so I stapled fabric strips to the heads, and tied them down to the wire.

Gotland Sheep #3 frame on Swoon's veranda

I'm pleased that once I started working away the whole project made sense.   It became apparent that the best use of all that fabric was to cut it into MANY strips and tie them to the chickenwire, so it would read as "wool" from a distance.  I admit I got inspired to do this by watching puppet maker teacher friend Andrew Kim make a giant chicken parade puppet in Taiwan.  LOL or rather, watching Andy's wife Kathy tie hundreds of "feathers" to the puppet...

Giant Hen parade puppet by Andrew Kim, Dream Parade, Shijr City Taiwan, 2005

Sheep #1 with fabric strip "wool" in front of Swoon sign

I got to work cutting up many many many fabric strips, mostly while watching youtube videos with teachings by Louise Hay and Abraham-Hicks (lots of great "law of attraction" type stuff).  I decided I'd love to attract some sheep helpers to make the tedious part of the job more fun, and it wasn't hard!

Sheep helpers engrossed in helping make sheep woolly

Super talented painter/ friend Evgenia Makogon heeded my cry for help and showed up with her two kids and her brother's two kids!  They got right into it and did an amazing job, us adults cutting fabric strips and the kids tying them to the frames!

Sheep helpers looking up to smile for the camera thus demonstrating that helping make sheep is fun!!!

Sadly my free child labour crew had a swimming party to go to, believe it or not the older 2 girls wanted to stay and help!  After they left I was pleasantly surprised by a visit from master potter/ Nova Scotia Potters Guild co-president/ friend Sharon Fiske who dropped in to Swoon, dressed coincidentally in an outfit that matches the Swoon sign!  Sharon helped me shut down for the day and move the flock on to the lawn.

Sharon Fiske attired in Swoon Sign Camouflage and posing with flock of Gotland Sheep

I'm quite pleased with how the sheep are turning out, and hope they will be relatively weatherproof for the Swoon lawn... It's fun to make life-sized animals and to entertain the commuters of the Hammonds Plains Road, and to suck people into helping make big art!  It's strictly for fun as these pieces aren't for sale, so I'm all for volunteer help.   I'm already daydreaming of some birds that I could make using this method (papier mache feet and beaks, chicken wire/fabric bodies).... hmmmmm....

I'll be gallery sitting at Swoon this coming Sunday and Monday 12 - 6 (Sept 2 - 3rd) with my bag of fabric to finish fleecing the sheep!  Hence the post title "Sheepapalooza"!  Any and all are welcome to join in the fun!  I almost decided not to leave the sheep on the lawn until they were 100% done, but somehow I like the thought of the public getting to view a work in progress, showing how labour - intensive art making can be, as well as engaging others in the process!