Multiple Creative Outlets

Storytelling is a precious art, and it's my favorite art form. I love reading, listening to stories, and setting my characters and plots to action. Once in a while, I break away from writing to pursue other activities with family and friends. My daughter and I have acted in a small independent film together. My husband is most fond of taking the three of us and our water-loving dog boating in the rivers flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

This month, my husband combined his master woodworking skills with my design for a human eight-year-old-sized Pinnochio marionette, complete with a 5-ft stand. Said design included yards of finger-puncturing chicken wire, which my husband bent and crimped into a convincing shape. Over that, I spent a couple of days applying papier mâché. Moreover, the design consists of a nose that grows with a switch.

Here's the kicker: Pinnochio is not precisely replicated as Mr. Disney envisioned. My marionette is covered in PEEPS® marshmallows! "Why on earth would you do that?" friends and family have asked me. It's for a good cause: supporting the arts!

Maryland's Carroll County Arts Council hosts an annual arts fundraiser entitled PEEPshow, which is much more wholesome than some people initially think, given the name. Hundreds of amateur artists submit colorful PEEPS® entries ranging from dioramas, signage, videos, sculptures, and other works for this event. My personal history with the fundraiser began when my mother-in-law first visited it in 2018 and gushed about it to everyone in the family. So, as a bonding activity, I created my first PEEPshow entry in 2019, winning first place in the online category with my "Marilyn PEEProe," followed by my grand prize win for "Elvis PEEPsley." Both of my previous entries were portrait-style. Marilyn was a four-panel Warhol-style framed work, and Elvis was a dual life-sized young Elvis/old Elvis submission.

While this year's work is only 75% complete, now is a great time to show the framework of "PEEPnoccio" and his current state as of today:

"PEEPnocchio" at 75% completion. 2023 Entry for the Carroll County Arts Council's annual arts fundraiser: PEEPshow