I am going to be in an all-female powerhouse group art show presented by Hello Giggles where the theme is 90s Young Adult novels, classic! We could choose from Nancy Drew, The Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High, or Goosebumps for our inspiration. I wasn't much into most of those books but I have literally read every Goosebumps book at least once, I used to love those stories (still do). I decided to do plush art because it's so fun and unique since there is only one of the works so they are truly one of a kind.
The opening for Young Adult is at Gallery 1988 Melrose in Los Angeles on Saturday February 2nd from 7-10pm and it will run until February 23rd so go check it out if you're in the area!!
I chose my absolute favorite Goosebumps book, The Horror At Camp Jellyjam. If you haven't read this riveting novel or need a refresher the plot goes like this: sister and brother Wendy and Elliot bored on a family vacation ask if they can ride in the trailer that the car is pulling. Trailer becomes unhitched and they roll away and end up at Camp JellyJam where they are greeted by Buddy, the head counselor at the camp. He assures them he will look for their parents but in the meantime they should have fun at the camp. All of the kids are very competitive because if you win you get a gold King coin. If you get 5 gold coins you get to be in the winner's walk that evening. The camp's motto is, "Only the Best". Wendy starts to notice some fishy things happening and campers disappearing once they get 5 King coins so she exploring. She finds a stairwell down to a cave where Buddy is hypnotizing the other counselors. She goes further down to find the giant blobby gross smelling King Jelly Jam who sweats black snails and "only the best" winning campers are enslaved there to wash him since his smell is so bad and his arms are tiny so can't wash himself (get the dude some deodorant, am I right?). Wendy helps to free all of the campers and take down King Jelly Jam who had been hypnotizing Buddy. They all escape safely, Wendy and Elliot's parents are found, and all is right with the world.
While this story bring up some interesting questions about why parents would send their children to this camp when other campers seem to have gotten lost there forever it still doesn't make it any less awesome. I made 3 plush pieces from the story: the trailer that started this whole mess, Head Counselor Buddy, and King Jelly Jam. Check out the work in progress!
Head Counselor Buddy complete with mini Camp Jelly Jam branded 5 panel hat, camp tee, white regulation camp shorts with real working back pockets, and camp colored shoes all made from scratch by yours truly. He stands at 27" tall!
King Jelly Jam complete with King crown with jeweled jelly color gems, the most amazing sleepy/confused/angry expression, and the black snails that he's always sweating (probably doesn't help with the smell) with embroidery thread swirls in three different shades of purple, and a giant weird amorphous body shape with tiny arms.
Say hey to these guys if you stop over at the gallery show, they are very excited for their first appearance!
Those goosebumps books were the best. I was always very scared after reading them, including refusing to go alone in a dark backyard or staying home alone untill I was 14:-)
ReplyDeleteGreat little creatures you made. They almost look nice in that felt you used. (we know they are not!)
Would you make a King Jellyjam for someone to buy?
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