USA 2022 - Sasha festival part 3

Festival fun continued on Friday morning of the Sasha Festival after we had set up our 'Dress a Sasha' displays and had breakfast.

While voting for 'Dress a Sasha' was going on during the Friday morning, we enjoyed looking at all the 'helper raffle' items and the Children's Fund auction items (more about that in part 4). We also had enormous fun doing a photo shoot of the Shakespeare Dream Coat and Peggy's wonderful cape also inspired by a Susanna Lewis wearable artwork. 

Peggy's cape was placed in the Auction rather than part of the raffle doll. Peggy had chosen to make a cape was based on but not copied from Susanna's original 'Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder' (1977) which was Susanna's second tapestry/cape and was inspired by her love of the idea of flight. Although Susanna said she was scared of flying in aeroplanes she wished to commemorate her father's service in the Army Air Corps during WWII (Art to Wear, Julie Schafler Dale, page 87-88). So the original piece featured aeroplanes, clouds, angels and stars along with a quote from a war song "off we go into the wild blue younger, climbing high into the sun" around the bottom edge of the cape. Peggy's cape featured waves, swallowtail kites, butterflies and starry constellations. It is pieced and embroidered fabric, with very detailed hand stitched decorating. Peggy and I shared photos with each other when we were working on our respective wearable art pieces for Sasha in memory of Susanna, this is what Peggy said to me about her cape:

"It's based on Susanna's cape, "Into the Great Blue Yonder," but I changed the theme from military planes & insignia to birds and butterflies. Mine is inspired by Susanna's original, it is not a copy ... I focused on the colors of Ukraine and used swallowtail kites and butterflies rather than military insignia ... Lined in a night sky fabric with matching dress." (Peggy L, 2 May, via messenger)

Peggy also explained that Ellen C gave her much encouragement and support during the making of the cape, sent her a pattern for the hood and donated the wonderful Norwegian clasp that completed the cape so beautifully.

Peggy, JoAnn and I decided that we needed to take photos of both the coat and the cape together as they were unlikely to be won by the same person, so this was our only real opportunity in the busy timetable of the festival before the Children's Fund Auction took place that evening. We used the low podium and curtains for the photoshoot. We had not brought my tripod or my daughter's lighting equipment with us so had to make do with hand held camera shots and the existing lighting in the large conference room. My daughter and I took these photos using my camera.

Front view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Slightly different angle front view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Facing the camera front view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Back view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and front view of 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Back view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Slightly bleached out back view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Left side back view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Right side back view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum and 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Back view of 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder cape' for Sasha by Peggy L in memory of Susanna Lewis

Back view of 'Shakespeare Dream Coat for Sasha' by DollMum in memory of Susanna Lewis

JoAnn took these photos of my daughter and I during the photoshoot!

DollMum's daughter posing Peggy's doll and cape for the photoshoot (photo JoAnn S)

Dollmum getting down to doll height and taking a photo of the coat and cape (photo JoAnn S)

After the photoshoot it was time for the gift exchange. Each person who had donated a gift for the gift exchange (wrapped in tissue paper by the giver, then placed in a bag by the festival organisers) was asked to stand in a large circle and given a gift bag. The caller stood in the centre of the circle and gave instructions to hand the bags so many times to the right or left, sometimes asking individual people to unwrap a gift, or do a direct exchange across the circle with someone else, to mix things up. The gift exchange went on for a while, with some laughter. We had donated a Jadzia coat we had won in the raffle at the Dolly Jolly in May, plus a pair of large Christmas style woolly boot socks as a single gift, so my daughter took part while I watched the fun and took a few photos, but I've decided not to show them on the blog as this is very public and I don't have permission from everyone who participated to publish the photos of them in the gift exchange. My daughter was pleased to eventually receive a skirt and top outfit made from a linen tea towel. Melanie decided it would suit her and says thank you to Maria L who donated this gift.

Melanie wearing the gift exchange outfit my daughter received

Friday lunch was the first of the 3 meals when we received Festival souvenirs, there were no table hostesses though. The theme of this lunch was Christmas Cookie Exchange, so the souvenirs reflected that theme. We were each presented with a gift box. Strapped to the outside of the box were some wonderful paper dolls which had been created by Sasha enthusiast Carol Ann Sliwka in 2007 and reprinted for this festival in her memory.

The Friday lunchtime Christmas Cookie Exchange souvenir boxes with Carol Ann Sliwka's paper dolls

Inside the box was a baking set, some gorgeous little red oven gloves, a pretty hand made Christmas baking apron, miniature Christmas cookies in a tin and a wooden rolling pin. The aprons were different fabric designs. I didn't make a note of what the festival organisers told us about who made the aprons and oven gloves.

Our Christmas Cookie exchange souvenir gifts

Then the results of the voting for the 'Dress a Sasha' competition were announced. All the entries received a small prize for participating, with the first and second prize winners getting an additional prize.

First place 'assembled by' child

Second place 'assembled by' child

Third place 'assembled by' child

My daughter won the Teen category with the only entry. The little lantern prize contained a knitted snowman figure.

First place in 'made by' adult

Second place in 'made by' adult

Honorable mention in 'made by' adult

Honorable mention in 'made by' adult

First place in 'assembled by' adult

Second place in 'assembled by' adult

The other 3 'assembled by' adult entries all received honorable mentions.

This was followed by craft activities. We were given 3 different craft kits. 

My crafts - bucket of snow, sledge and almost completed felt deer

Some people chose not to do their crafts and went off to do their own thing (the indoor swimming pool was popular), but we sat and did some of the crafts. We started with the bucket of snowballs because it was quick and easy, moved onto the sledge, then I started on the felt deer, though didn't quite finish it as I ran out of black embroidery thread used for the blanket stitch edging. Thank you to those who compiled these crafts, I know how much time and energy it takes to assemble all the bits in advance, having run craft workshops for the Sasha Celebration weekends.

After the crafts, my daughter wanted to swim, the pool was much quieter by then so I sat and watched her enjoy the water (I didn't have the energy to get in the pool myself that day). Then we had some food before going back to the festival room for the Children's Fund Auction, but that is for another post.

Reference:

Julie Schafler Dale, Art to Wear (1986), Abbeville Press, New York ISBN 0-89659-664-8