Very excited for this year’s Oregon Country Fair, going to take measures to keep from being sick THIS time!
Last year I had a plan, to introduce myself to the Community Village folks and offer my services to be of help. Since I love art and the processes involved (which can be the best part, figuring out how to do the thing), I put together a little project that would demonstrate economy and reuse.
When I went to fair in 2019, there were times I wished I had one of those pine trees used in cars; some of the honey buckets have no defense against direct sun. So I had a thought, tiny bags with herbs to reduce the bad smell when I had to make a pit stop. I managed a small one for my bra, but a pouch or “bag of holding” to borrow from Dungeons & Dragons would be better and I can carry a few things with.
As luck would have it, a friend who also does coffee roasting had an abundance of raw bean bags to get rid of.
The reverse side has the name of the company, which will be easy to paint or cover over. But how perfect for kids and adults to draw on and customize or even pin over? Possibilities are endless, and there will be more cropping up by the time July rolls around.
Next, I have the smell-good stuffing, in this case garden mint. I intend to dry a bunch so I can strip off the leaves from the stems for less bulk.
This seemed the easiest to use, especially after being stripped for leaves, but I will need to find out about what would be cool to use due to allergies or regulations I am unaware of.
Decorating will be primarily felt pens that I run across for free, and that will be an underlying theme with this demo; with a little observation and awareness, materials for making art can be next to free, and in some instances being able to take something off a person’s hands can be a help and also keep from going into a landfill. In addition, shops like SCRAP and MECCA specifically carry reusable craft supplies (https://portland.scrapcreativereuse.org/) (https://materials-exchange.org/) .
I will demonstrate the value of looking for resources in creative ways rather than having a big block store be the default setting for shopping.
