Things do not always go as planned. During an early Arts Festival at the museum we decided that more public participation was called for. We settled on the idea of a mural that would be created by visitors; a large white panel was erected and all were invited to wing a paint-filled balloon at the “canvas.” It seemed like a good idea at the time . . . At the opening ceremonies our chairman Dean Gross (former Dauphin County Library director) described the plan and invited a youngster from the audience to make the first pitch. Mounting the stage, the child (I don’t remember whether it was boy or girl) selected a balloon and we all prepared to applaud . . . However, kids are curious and with this squishy mass in hand the child gave it a squeeze. In less than a second the center section of the audience was sprayed bright blue! After a second or so of shocked silence everyone including the “victims” roared with laughter. It was quite a kick-off to the weekend’s events—even better than we could have hoped for . . . Dean immediately announced that the Arts Council would pay all the cleaning bills, but if memory serves no one tendered a claim . . . The illustration shows Earl Blust at work during a demonstration of painting by the Seven Lively Artists at the 1969 festival . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment