Making Lemonade: Scavenger Hunt for Communal Art

When adversity strikes us, we must react quickly, lest we fall into "the darkness".  I am working on positive thoughts, looking forward (not back) and making community lemonade.   Life has given me a lemon.  I have quickly moved from employed status to unemployed.  I know I'm not alone, and am comforted by that thought.

While I apply for unemployment and seek new work, I have planned on making some community lemonade.

Community Lemonade?  What is that?  A bringing together of Long Beach in 100 Days of Creativity.  An exploration of creative projects in art and technology, individuals, organizations, conventions, artists' groups and resources.  A scavenger hunt for community and art.

Long Beach is an amazing place, abundant in art and creativity.  Resources to help the smallest of artists get his/her project off the ground.  Because Long Beach knows that it is good to dream, to visualize.  That executing a small project gives you the confidence to visualize the next project.  Little experiences giving you the background for a bigger one.

The Community Lemonade Game

“The merit of all things lies in their difficulty.”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers

During the course of the Community Lemonade Game, we will be experiencing... enjoying... 100 days of creativity in four projects.  On each day for 25 days, I will be interviewing, experiencing, making, blogging, photographing and recording some creative aspect of Long Beach.  I will take a short break of about a week then I will continue with the next 25 days.  Will it be hard?  YES!!! That's part of the fun!

There will be several activities open to the public, I anticipate at least once weekly.  Some will have limited supplies, and be simply demonstrations.  Some will enable you to participate.  Activities will be free to participants.

THE RULES

1/ I am on a budget.  Everything I use must be free to me.  Items already purchased by me before June 25th are excepted.  There are many, but I'm sure that my stash will be depleted before the end of the 100 days.  (This is a good thing... wait and see)

2/ If you have something interesting to offer as materials, please let me know.  I will try to work it in.

3/ "The Lemonade Gauntlet" - I will post a list of items needed on the Belmont Shore Patch.  When will the list come out?  I don't know yet.  Perhaps the week before, perhaps the day of the event.  Perhaps hours before the event.  If I have forgotten something, it may be just minutes.  If I get there and have missed something... Well, perhaps someone will run home to get it.  We are a connected community, aren't we?  We have a desire to help each other, don't we?  I will also use the Long Beach Freecycle.  I'm allowed to ask for things once a week on Wednesdays.  I may reach out to certain thrift agencies or businesses that carry the items I need.

4/ Are you a creative?  Do you have a skill that can be used to share the lemonade?  Let me know.

5/ Committed "Seekers" or groups of "Seekers" may register for advance notice of the needs to their email addresses by sending an email to info@handmadepenguin.com.  Please use the word Seeker as your Subject line.  You may be important to last minute forgotten or unplanned requests. 

6/ I have no funds to buy things, but yes, things can be bought.  Perhaps by interested community members, perhaps local businesses that care to show that they are committed to art or to the Long Beach community.  Interested individuals may make small donations at activities but are not required to do so.  People will bring things at small gatherings... or large.

7/ What if I have planned something and there are no materials?  The project will not proceed.  Kids may be disappointed, but I can't break the rules.  Another project will take it's place at the location, or I will go home and make something to blog about.

8/ Each 25-day project will begin with a making of Community Lemonade.  At a home, a restaurant or community center.  That doesn't mean that we can only make Community Lemonade at the beginning of a project!  Anyone can make Community Lemonade... Anytime!  How?  Read Monday's post... I do not yet know.  We're figuring it out on Monday.

9/ Disclosure: Donors and donations of items or funds will be documented and listed on a page on the Handmade Penguin blog.  At the end of the 25 days, donations received during the fun will be listed, and the project in which they were used will be identified.  Any funds not used for projects will be used as startup funding to establish one or more Makerspaces, if an appropriate space has been found. 

Additionally, I am seeking funding of approximately $750.00 to support a few basic needs for each 25 day project series: a/ A strategically placed advertisement on the Belmont Shore Patch or the greater Patch community. b/ A weekly fuel stipend of $50.00 for travel to/from various artist's interviews and project locations. 3/ A weekly planning dinner so that I can strategize the next week's events.

If you are a grant maker and are able to help fulfill the need, please email handmadepenguin@yahoo.com.

10/ If, during the course of this odyssey, one or more makerspaces are found for me to develop, all extra materials gathered will be sorted and distributed to be used in the appropriate makerspace.  If no makerspaces are found, well, I might have to make something with them.

11/ These rules will adjust as we experience the game.

Day #1 is Monday, July 2nd.  I will be making lemonade. 

Needed: Lemons, sugar or honey, mint, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, other kinds of berries.  If you are a business with an ice machine, let me know, because it's HOT!!!  We hope to be making lots of lemonade!  A PLACE TO MAKE THE LEMONADE. 

For now, I am seeking to make this a location in the Belmont Shore Patch area.  If it is a private home, preferred at this point, the attendees will be a small group of up to 15 children of friends of my child.  Some parents may come too.  We shall have the first Making Lemonade party.  There is no cost to you, but you may choose to provide one or two ingredients for the lemonade.

Day #2 is Tuesday, July 3rd.  I will be making a Making Lemonade banner.

Needed: Brightly colored fabric, especially yellow, green.  BUT any fabric will do.  I'll need some for a background.   If you have a print with lemons on it, or perhaps one with full beverage glasses or trees, that would be especially nice.  I'm running low on machine needles for my Bernina Artista 180 sewing machine. If you have a sewing machine and know how to sew, bring it down and make yourself a banner for your business or family or non profit function.  Together, we can figure out how to do it.

Where?  Hm... A PLACE TO MAKE THE MAKING LEMONADE BANNER.

info@handmadepenguin.com

Trish Tsoiasue writes as herself about creative and maker topics for the Belmont Shore Patch and as Handmade Penguin for the Handmade Penguin Blog.