Carol Ship Celebration in Deep Cove

Last night North Vancouver Community Arts Council asked me to create a project for an activity booth for the Carol Ship Celebration in Deep Cove.  I needed to make preparations for up to 250 children.

I decided to do a relief print project.  Not only was I able to keep the cost below the budget given, each child was able to walk away with a plate that they could utilize at home to create holiday cards or prints to give as gifts.

I thought the carol ships offered beautiful inspiration although I saw a lot of snowmen, santa sleighs, snowflakes, presents, and various other holiday scenes being created throughout the night.

There were even a few prints inspired by the magnificent bonfire the Parks and Recreation board had burning, which is not surprising because it was quite something and I'm certain I wasn't the only one grateful to have it going on a chilly December evening!

I didn't get a lot of pictures because myself and the other two volunteers were very busy during the two hours.  We had a lot of children come through our tent.  Supplies included cutting the rims off of 250 styrofoam plates purchased from the grocery store, dull pencils, one tube of water based printing ink, a couple of brayers and plexiglass for inking, and basic card stock weight paper.

Then we set up an assembly line.  I was there to get them started with the project and help with the drawing, then the kids walked over to another table where a couple of volunteers helped with inking and printing.

I tried to get the kids imaginations started by offering up some ideas like their holiday wishes, the carol ships they were there to watch, or other things they associated with the winter season.  I always ended by saying they were also welcome to just create whatever they wanted too. I emphasized however that they should not write words as they would print in reverse and to use pictures to communicate whatever words they were wanting to write.

I did have one child who created a plate all with writing just because it would print backwards and have to be decoded...what a brilliant idea utilizing the limitations of the project!  And of course there were several children who wanted to take a stab at writing backwards on the plate.

Here is the stack of plates left to dry while parents and children enjoyed the ships and other activities of the night before picking them up at the end of the night to take home.  

And a couple of plates and prints I was able to capture as things ended while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate from the booth set up right next to us.