I would love to help you and your group make a version of these joyful, irreverent group expressions of individual imagination and delight. Monster Parades can be made using readily available and largely recycled materials. From a two-hour workshop with up to a dozen participants, to a whole school with more time, to workshops for both adults and kids, this project adapts.
In its basic form, participants paint and draw monsters on cardboard, which are then cut out with special serrated cardboard knives, by participants and with teacher help, depending on ages. For a short time line, oil pastels work great for longer, paint adds a lot of impact. Ideally we embellish both sides. We add streamers of flagging tape. We mount the monsters on bamboo poles, either a single for a hand-held monster or two poles to attach to a backpack. Often, students also come up with their own designs.
This is the thing – when I say, draw a monster, there’s no way they can get it wrong. Very quickly the students have a laser sharp vision of what they want their monster to look like, and it’s my job to support them in bringing this expression of their imagination to life.
Just walking down the street with these monsters rocks. If we have the resources, the event can also scale up. They’re even more awesome with brass instruments. Even noisemakers are a great addition – they’re monsters! Simple choreography could be great with a group of people wearing and carrying these monsters. There’s room for many additional imaginations in this project.
They can make a wonderful gallery installation afterwards if there’s time and space for that.
Let’s talk.
