I Heart Kennedy Park

Concert in Kennedy Park THIS SUNDAY SEPT 25!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Come out for live music and to draw on the sidewalk with us!
Live acts include:
Jonah Sim
The Expandable Brass Band
Damon Reeves

from 1-4pm
in Kennedy Park which is located between Allyn and Lincoln and Waldo and Nonotuck

Bring yourself!
Bring your friends!
Bring your dance shoes!
Bring your creativity!
Bring a blanket and a picnic!
We'll provide the music and the chalk!

Quiet But Not Dormant

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:10:00 +0000

by Wabu and Mr Brown

Yes, we've been neglectful bloggers, but that doesn't mean we haven't been uing our KPAOers for good! We've been busy making buttons, drawing, collaging and cleaning up trash from the neighborhood streets. Tomorrow, Thursday April 7, we'll be at the church from 6:30 - 8 playing Cute Little Fuzzy VS The Grim Reaper. It's a fun drawing game we found in Dean Nimmer's awesome book "Art From Intuition". These pics are all examples of drawings we've made with this game in the past.

by Wabu and Mark


by Mark and Steph

Hope to see some of you tomorrow!
-Steph

Carolin' with the KPAO! Choir Ensemble Orchestra! This Thursday!

noreply@blogger.com (mark bodah) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:36:00 +0000

Alright! We just had a great singing practice and way too many cookies--FUN!!! So here's the plan:

The door to door singing will happen Thursday Dec 23 at 7pm. We'll meet here at Mark and Steph's (167 Pearl St.) at 7pm. Don't worry if you weren't here tonight to practice. We'll have lyric sheets and you can always hum or play a kazoo or shake a shaker or clap your hands or yodel. We're probably going to stick to a few basic traditional songs anyway just to simplify things.

Email back with any questions or suggestions. See you soon!

p.s. --oh and if you can conjure up some snow, that's make it alot more christmasy, m'kay? thanks!

Mark and Steph and the KPAO! Choir Ensemble Orchestra Circus. Thing.

Singing and Cider Next Week!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Hey people!

Hope you're all having a fun December! In the spirit of the season (which seems to be all cold and darkness), KPAO! is going to go knock on doors and sing to people! Cuz you know, we like bringing light and joy into others lives. And, of course, because the days will start getting longer as of Wednesday the 22. Yay! More light! *Happy Winter Solstice a few days early! We decided on a few potential songs last night--Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and John Lennon's Happy Christmas (The War Is Over) made the list.

The door to door crooning will happen either Wednesday Dec 22 or Thursday Dec 23 (that's next week) depending on what everyone who wants to play has to say about it. SO, if you want to play, reply and let us know what day is best for you. We'll go from there. Don't worry if you can't carry a tune--I can't. You can always hum or play a kazoo or shake a shaker or clap your hands.

Come for signing practice and drinking warm spiced apple cider on The Solstice this coming Tuesday Dec 21 at 7pm at Mark and Steph's place. Show up with your jingle bells on! Need directions? Just ask and I'll send you an address, a map and a directionless one-eyed pirate navigator... or just directions.

See you Tuesday?
-Steph

p.s. *I just heard there's going to be a lunar eclipse on the Solstice--cool!

Keeping Warm and In Touch This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Thursday December 9 Meet @ The Church 6:30 - 8:00
Hey all you KPAOers!

Let’s meet up at the church this Thursday night from 6:30 - 8:00. Not sure exactly what we’ll be doing, but we’ve got a few ideas brewing. We can work on making holiday/whatever occasion cards again for part of the evening, and then maybe try something new. Maybe we can talk a little about things like holidays and music and caroling and glow sticks and hot mulled cider. We'll see what happens.

As always, we’d love to see some new faces along with the regular mugs. Hope you’re all finding time to enjoy the season. I’m looking forward to some snow!

-Steph

Collage & Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:09:00 +0000

KPAO! Tomorrow Night Thursday Dec 2 @ 6:30

Hey everybody,

Hope you're all enjoying the warm, wet weather today. In celebration of this soggy season, we're meeting up to make collage and holiday (or any occasion) cards this week! Um, we're meeting tomorrow specifically, from 6:30 to 8. Aheh... sorry for such short notice. I've been preoccupied as usual. Anyway, we have all sorts of supplies--everything you need and more. Just bring yourself and your friends.

I hope to see some of you there. Feel free to just stop by and see what we're doing or say hi, too!

6:30 to 8pm at the church on Hampden and Pleasant.
Go in the front door and turn right.
Walk through to the big open room. We'll be in there.

Happy December!

-Steph

Cut & Paste KPAO! Tomorrow Thursday Nov 18 @ 6:30

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:08:00 +0000

We'll be meeting up again at the big old church on the corner of Pleasant and Hampden Streets for some arty goodness! Thursday November 18 at 6:30pm--that's tomorrow! Let's make some collage. Hope to see many of you there!
-Steph

3.5 x 2.5 inch collage by StephG

Movie Night at the New Diggs!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:05:00 +0000

Hey hey! Things are happening! We just started moving stuff into our new home at the Robinson Center in the big old church on the corner of Hampden and Pleasant--OHyeah! It's a really great space with really great people!

We're planning to get things started again with a movie night next Thursday November 11 from 6:30 - 8pm. We're excited to get together with everyone again, and we're hoping to see some new faces, too. Hope you can join us!

Email Artspit@gmail.com with any questions.
-Steph

Silent but still here!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:45:00 +0000

Wanna see some photos from The Great Holyoke Block Party? I know you do. We had a fittingly great time of course! Those CRUSH people really know how to throw a party!

David, Mark and Nancy at the KPAO! tent:

Jeffrey as Bubbles:

Nick as ?:

Steph drawing with a masked bandit:

Awesomeness:

More chalk fun:

Crowd gathered around our KPAO!-made buttons (the buttons were very popular!):

There was poetry, too! Josh being introduced by Soulfighter:

Jonah and Adrian performing:

Span of Sunshine performing at the crack of eleven:

Yep, that was a fun day! Since then we've been seemingly silent but behind the scenes exciting things are happening. We'll be sure to let you know when we have anything concrete to report!
Over and out,
-Steph

Come to The Great Holyoke Block Party Sunday Sept 5!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:37:00 +0000

KPAO! will be setting up a table and drawing on the sidewalk at the block party. We're also bringing the chalk character boards--FUN! Come join us!

Mark's band, Span of Sunshine, is playing in the morning--11 am! I know that sounds early, but Span will wake you up and make you glad you came!

There's going to be lots of fun stuff going on all day. It's at Veteran's Park from 11 am to 8 pm tomorrow--Sunday September 5.

See you there!

-Steph

p.s. Did you know, the block party poster was designed by KPAO! this year? It's a WABU - Mark collaboration! Innit lovely? I think it's beautiful!

KPAO! Party in the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:44:00 +0000

was a bit fat hit! Even the Holyoke Canal Creature came out for the day!

It happened! Finally! And it was worth all the hard work! The party was tons of fun and loads of people came and made arts and crafts and listened to music and ate hotdogs and complimented us on the fabulous event and suggested we do something similar every couple of months. Handmade buttons and origami and BEARDS and painted faces as far as the eye could see! HATCHAH! The photo below is of the handful of us leftover after the fete and before the cleanup. So what next? Now that the festival is over, what will become of Kennedy Park Arts Outreach? Well, we're going to continue meeting up and being creative, of course! We have tons of projects we haven't even begun yet! We still have dragons and pinatas and juggling sticks to make! We have more Haiku to write and more parties to plan! To find out what we're up to or to get involved, email Artspit@gmail.com. You can also find us online at the following URL: www.holyoke.ning.com/group/KPAO
AND
You can "Like" KPAO! on Facebook!

Here's a look at the fabulous mural made by KPAO! teens. We took a "Lord of the Flies" approach, just gave them a four by eight foot panel and said, "Do whatever you want!" And here's what they did.
There's still a bit of work to be done on it--a touch-up or two and it needs to be polyurethaned, but wow! They did such a great job! I'm extra proud of the kids. I think it's beautiful! You aren't really able to see much detail in this photo. The mural is filled with sayings like, "increase the peace", "hugs not drugs", "make love not war" and "peace is a light in my eye". Unexpectedly sweet, huh?

Here's David, volunteer extraordinaire, sporting a set of exquisite accessories he fashioned himself at the festival. What a fabulous beard!

And speaking of beards, here's lovely Myra (in blue) setting up the beard table which she staffed ALL DAY with mucho enthusiasm! Myra, you kick some serious buttage!

Serrible B as kawaii neko! These chalkboard character boards were loads of fun!

Adorableness:

The Dancing Dog Cafe (Holyoke's newest fixture on High Street) provided the ravenous crowd with hotdogs, coffee and other refreshing refreshments. Thank you, Octavia!!!

Alrighty, I could keep adding photos and rambling on about it all but I'm kinda tired so I'll stop now. Suffice it to say, we were so pleased with the way everything turned out that we're planning another festival next summer and probably a few smaller park events throughout the year! Yay! To check out the full photo album on Facebook, follow this linklinklink.

KPAOer!!!
-Steph

IT'S TODAY!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (mark bodah) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:27:00 +0000

The weather is F.I.N.E., we have lots of help, the tables and chairs and tents await their ride to the park, the band's are, well, probably still sleeping, actuall. But it's all happening today, FINALLY! Good or Bad, Hit or Miss, Hell or High Water IT'S GOIN' DEOOOWWNNN!

Come out and have an hour or 3 of fun with us today, woodja?!?

Mark

KAPOW!!! Count Down!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:39:00 +0000

Only 28 days til the big day! That's only four weeks! That ain't much time. You're comin' right?

That should enlarge so you can read it if you click it. It's gottabuncha stuff you need to know.

CHAH! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

-Steph<3

The Art of Zentangle with Peggy Melanson

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Hey fellow KPAOers!

Just a reminder to you all to come to our Saturday art making afternoons at 3pm at Mark and Steph's (email for directions) this and every weekend! All you have to bring is yourself and your friends (friends optional but very welcome). This Saturday July 17th we have a special guest lined up! Peggy Melanson has generously offered to do a workshop on the art of Zentangle. So we'll all be gathering here to learn the exact whats and hows of Zentangle, and to give it a try. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? To see examples of this awesome art go to Peggy's Zentangle blog here: http://zentangles.blogspot.com/.

See you soon!
-Steph

Zentangle by Peggy Melanson

Holyoke is good people!

noreply@blogger.com (mark bodah) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:05:00 +0000

hey there KPAO!ers! we went out yesterday to talk to a couple people about a few things related to the party in the park--specifically to arrange to get a stage for the band and to talk to the folks at the Holyoke Parks and Recreation department about tables and tents and other things. The stage is kept by MIFA (The Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts) down at the old Victory theater on Suffolk Street, which is a story all to itself.

Anyhoo...

I realized yesterday that it's just beginning to dawn on me how many awesome people there are in Holyoke who WANT stuff like our KPAO! party to happen. For example--Terry at Parks and Rec. is being SO helpful, really doing all she can to make it easier for us. She listed all these people that could help us out. She's offered us the services of the Parks and Rec. "activity leaders" that are employed by Parks and Rec. for the summer. They go to the various city parks and try to get the neighborhood kids involved in some fun activities, and those folks are totally going to be at the party to help out!

Then we went over to meet Kathy at MIFA and see the stage. She was extermely nice and said we could take as much or as little of the stage as we wanted. We also got a peek at the old Victory theater, which needs alot of rennovation. It's a grand old theater that has been dormant for some 30 years, so you can imagine the mold was pretty scary! She also listed a few people that would be interested in what KPAO! is doing.

Not only them, but all the people we have met just because we are organizing this KPARTY! are really great--adults and kids alike.

For me--Holyoke just got alot bigger! :)

sayounara! mark b

If yr interested in what Parks and Rec. or MIFA are up to, or what's up with the Victory theater, check out these links:

http://www.mifafestival.org/
http://www.holyoke.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26&Itemid=95
http://www.mifafestival.org/?q=victory-theatre

This ain't yo mama's Maybelline!

noreply@blogger.com (mark bodah) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 23:30:00 +0000

Hey there dear reader. Mark here. Today may well have been the BEST EVAR KPAO! art day EVAR EVAR EVAR! Not only did we have our very first special guest, Mr. Bob Burch, who came to teach us all about the art of painting the face, but we also had a bucketfull of new kids from the neighborhood, including Sasha, Helena, Nick, Zach, Miles, and Zoe. And of course a few of the veterans were present as well, namely WABU, Josh and Skyler. So nice to see new faces mixing with the old...

Bob Burch (see his website HERE) is an acquaintence of mine who's done face painting at events put on by the place where I work. Lemme tell ya, teaching 9 kids 6 or so adults how to paint faces in a space built for like 5 people is kinda challenging. One the lesson had been given and we all had H2O crayons in hand, we paired off and started messing with each other's visages. Here are some of the results:

Sidewalk Kicks!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:23:00 +0000

Oh look at me following through with the weekend posting! Shocking, innit? Pics below are from our outing at the awesome Noche de San Juan celebration in Heritage Park a couple of weekends back where we spread some sidewalk love KPAO! style. It was boiling hot in the empty fountain but lots of kids joined in anyway. Yay for art! Enjoy!

Our friends from The Hunt really went all out!

Amazing!

We met some talented little friends that day!

Cowboy Bodart on his tip-toes next to the friendliest giant you'll ever meet!

For scale, I'm 5'4".

CRUSH celebrity sighting!

Daphne and Stan!

???

Cooling off under the trees.

Hope we can do this again next summer! Thanks Nancy for inviting us!
-Steph

As promised, BeardyPics!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:23:00 +0000

Not much to say today. We're plugging along preparing arts, crafts and various various-ness for the KPAO! festival in the park. (Remember, it's happening Saturday August 14, 12 - 5 in Holyoke's Kennedy Park. Be there!) I mentioned our beard making plans last time. Well, we ended up with some excellent felt facial coifs and have exciting plans to make use of our small felt scraps. Take a look!

Three lovely bearded ladies!

Three beastly beardy boys!

KPAO! rainbow beard!

And a preview of our scrap plans:

Little Pins! Cuz a stache is fun, too, and who doesn't love cute?

Speaking of cute, I'll try to post a few of our drawings from the sidewalk adventures I mentioned in my last post later on this weekend.

Love and fuzz,

-Steph<3

p.s. Facepainting workshop 3:00 tomorrow at KPAO! HQ!!! email Artspit@gmail.com or call ***-***-**** (our secretary--Mark's extension) for details and/or directions.

Weirdy Weirdy Beardo Soul: Beard Prototype #0A-1

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:52:00 +0000

Beard Prototype#0A-1

Tomorrow at KPAO! HQ, we'll be building beards. I went ahead and worked up the above beard model which will, for practical purposes, hereto be referred to as Prototype #0A-1 (that's zero A-1). It's a quick model, a rough sketch, a first specimen to give an idea what is possible in the way of fanciful faux facial fluff. I will post a couple more photos to give you a better idea of the beard's three-dimensionality and potential as a surprisingly adaptable accessory. I would also point you in the direction of the impressive professional beard-maker Erin at I Made You A Beard whose exceptional work was hugely inspirational in sparking the idea of beard-making as a KPAO! project.

The stache and chin ringlets on Prototype #0A-1, fashioned from braided and coiled pipe cleaners, gives the overall coiffure a delightful dimensionality and practical structure slightly reminiscent of Ancient Greek beard styles predating the rule of Alexander The Great. In 323 BC, Al ordered a clean-shaven face on all warriors as he was concerned the beard presented a convenient handle for murderous enemies.

Prototype #0A-1, though lovely on the female face, is also stunning on the most masculine of male visages. Seen here worn over a natural hair beard, the felt flows convincingly over our model's voluminous chin bristles. The vivid blue color is a nice foil for his sandy tresses and even brightens the blue of his eyes. How pretty! Beards-Ohlala!

At this point, I'd like to shift gears and take a moment to apologize for my appalling lack of updates here on iheartkennedypark. I'd meant to update you all with details of our latest KPAO! adventures. As previously mentioned,we spent an afternoon at the fabulous Noche de San Juan party in Heritage Park which will hopefully become a yearly Holyoke event. The day was filled with amazing arts, crafts, music and food. There were even spectacular custom bikes rolling around the park! KPAO! sold our handmade buttons and sparked a chalk drawing fest in the empty fountain. The following evening, we lugged a few boxes of chalk over to our beloved Kennedy Park and filled the sidewalks with fantastical drawings. I'll try to post photos soon.

-Steph<3

Our First Outing! KPAO! at Noche de San Juan in Heritage State Park

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:34:00 +0000

This Sunday KPAO! will be heading downtown with buckets of sidewalk chalk to help ornament the setting for the Noche de San Juan party that's being organized by Heritage Park and Nuestra Raices. Thank you to our lovely friend Nancy for inviting us! It should be lots of fun. We're excited to be a part of the celebration! If you go (and you should!) keep an eye out for us. Really, watch out. We'll be drawing underfoot and we wouldn't want you to trip over us!

About the fete:

A Party in celebration of Puerto Rican Heritage in Holyoke. Live music and dance, good food, arts, crafts and other activities will be part of the fun for all ages.

Una fiesta en Heritage Park celebrando la cultura de Puerto Rico aqui en Holyoke. Habra musica, baile, comida, exhibiciones y espectaculos para toda la familia.

Time: June 27, 2010 from 3pm to 7pm
Location: Heritage State Park
Street: 221 Appleton Street
City/Town: Holyoke MA
Website or Map: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks…
Phone: (413) 534-1723‎

-Steph<3

More Buttons. KAPOW!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:56:00 +0000

Pins and Buttons and Things!

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:35:00 +0000

Who knew button making could be so dang fun?! Well, I did. I remember making buttons years ago (when I was about 14) at an arts and crafts festival. In fact, I still have one of the buttons I made oh so long ago (20+ years!). It's hanging on the wall in my studio. I won't tell you what it says because it's not particularly nice, though it is in a foreign language. I wasn't the most polite teen, but at least I was rude along with being a little bit cultured. Whatever. At any rate, our KPAO! kids made some awesome buttons yesterday! More pics below!

Next Saturday, we'll be making collage and probably more buttons. Email Artspit@gmail.com for more info or to get involved.

Love and happiness,
-Steph

On Paper Cranes, The Art of Haiku & Conquering The 5 Pointed Star

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:36:00 +0000

Origami for the third week in a row at KPAO! and I think everyone has mastered some pattern or other. Before the art making started, we strung up all the cranes and then we folded a bunch more.

For the second week in a row, there was a commendable attempt at mastering the five pointed star. Actually, there were two attempts this week which makes for three tries total. Still, the star refuses to be conquered. How poetic... and aheh, a perfect segue into the day's other project--HAIKU! Following are just a few of the many wonderful poems penned by KPAO! enthusiasts.

by Josh:

Love life everyday.
Life is the best, don't waste it.
Life is so fun. Yeah!

I hate bananas.
Bananas are disgusting.
What bananas? Eww! :P

by Mr. Brown:

I like to parkour.
I think it is very fun.
You should try it sometime.

by David:

Unity of man
means we are one family.
Are you my brother?

Stuff with cinnamon
just isn't right. Maybe if
it was by itself.

by Steph

Josh and Steph are friends.
They hang out and write haiku.
It's alot of fun!

Origami guns
held together with duct tape.
True origami?

And that about sums it up for now. Here are a couple more pictures of our suspended cranes. Don't they look lovely?!

Art day haiku!

noreply@blogger.com (mark bodah) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 01:18:00 +0000

Oh boy! another Saturday means another fun day making art with the KPAO! posse. Today we did some more origami, and we also tried our hands, and pencils, at haiku--the ancient Japanese poetry form. Haiku involves writing a poem, not neessarily rhyming, that has a set syllabic pattern. For example, our haiku was composed of three lines, the first having 5 syllables, the second having 7, and the third having 5 again. Here's the example i gave:

Hai-ku-is-so-fun
I-can-bare-ly-stand-not-to
write-it-ev(e)-ry-day.

(The italics make it seem really deep, right? :P )

ok, so "every" might be considered 3 syllables, but not so much when you say it. You see how it works, though?

So i thought I'd post a few examples of what these guys can write. Here's SOME of what we got:

First, let's get me out of the way:

Mickey is belov'd
Wholesome white-bread pop icon:
Rodent, nonetheless.

CLICK CLICK, WHIRR, CLICK, beep.
Ok now SMILE!!!...wait, hold on...
The batteries died.

Matt wrote:

Anyhoo, I like
Listening to loud music.
It's a getaway.

and he waxes poetic with this one:

She sings in a voice
so soft, it covers all, like
a blanket of silk.

and my favorite:

Mark's beard is awesome
He shaves often yet it always
returns with vengeance.

(ok so line 2 has 8 syllables, but i'll forgive him!)

And here's a few from Josh:

I haven't seen him--
my dad left. I was still young.
I am sad he's gone.

Fat chihuahuas are
so fat and cute forever
I love animals!

The smell is perfect.
Food is always delicious.
Food is so fun. YEAH!

And from WABU:

WABU is awesome
He loves to parkour alot
He's a beginner.

Mark and Steph are cool
They love to speak Japanese
Their house is awesome.
(Awwwwwww!)

I have lots of friends
Some of them are very odd
I'm one of those odds.

Our new friend Elizabeth also came by with her friend Myra, both adults. Elizabeth wrote a few very good Haiku's, but i think she took them with her, alas.

Try your own haikus at home! all you need is pencil and paper!

See you next week! Mark

Peace & Origami

noreply@blogger.com (Steph G) — Mon, 31 May 2010 14:42:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who came by and folded paper this weekend! There were 14 of us total at one point! We had tons of fun and ended up with a small stack of ninja stars, tadpoles, cranes and a nifty box (see pic above).

After the folding fete, I read up a little on paper cranes and found a sweet story based on real life. Sadako Sasaki was a little Japanese girl who fell sick with leukemia as a result of being exposed to radiation from the bombing at Hiroshima. There's an old Japanese legend that if you fold 1000 paper cranes, you will be granted one wish. One version of Sadako's story has her setting out to fold 1000 cranes in the hope of completing the task before her death and using the wish to make world peace. She managed to fold over 600 cranes before her death. After she died, her classmates finished folding the cranes and buried them with Sadako. When word spread of the girl's selfless wish, the origami cranes became s symbol of world peace.

We'll be doing more origami next weekend.
For more info or to find out how to get involved email artspit@gmail.com