Gish 2019 – Dangerously Crafty

So it’s another year of Gish, this one has felt different to me because it’s going to be my 7th and final hunt. It’s time to retire and move onto other things. Gish has been an amazing experience, I have made friends from all over over globe and and from time to time even met up with a few. I have loved taking part in it, doing crazy art, random acts of kindness and causing mayhem and chaos. So for my final year the old team got back together (not for me just because last year they were on a break (not a Ross and Rachel break)). I couldn’t of been happier doing my final hunt with not just teammates but friends.

The list dropped on Saturday 27th July at 3pm. So after a long day of feeling anxious and pottering around annoying my family it was time. This year the rules were for zero waste and this was reflected on the list with more items being handmade than i have done before and less bus crushing and space items however it did have its challenges with many items looking to have politicians involved or an army of drones. But over all it was business as usual.

First after reading the list, picking a few items, rereading picking more and rereading and going why did i pick that what the hell Lorna! I started work on my first item ready so I was ready to start shooting on the Sunday Morning.

Sunday

This year, we lost a beloved furry friend, Peter Mayhew (the actor who played Chewbacca). In honor of his memory, create a felted Chewbacca out of your pet’s hair.

The bandouliere was borrowed from some star wars loving friends daughters dressing up. I think it really adds something to my furry Chewie.

Next up was an item I was really looking forward to and finally got to take my astro turf dress out for a spin.

SIDE-BY-SIDE. You know those garden gnomes that dotted your grandmother’s backyard? Well, it’s been a while and now they have fallen on hard times. They have turned to a life of crime and misanthropy. Their little gnome hearts are filled with despair, hatred, and regret. Show us the before and after.

After this I had a quick run to the shop and visited my cousin who is on the team this year, she needed a tripod, i needed to make a fluffy haggis! When I got home I started on some chainmail armour which i was planning on working on for the next few nights.

Monday

Monday started off with a shoot for for the team picture item. This year it was pokemon inspired trading cards. A friend on the team worked on the design and I think they look amazing!

(GRID). The hot new trading card battle game is GISHémon! Create a trading card for each of your team mates with their photo and stats (location, Gisher type, powers, etc.) as the powerful kindness monsters they are. We must see each teammate’s unobscured face for it to count. Photo editing is okay.

After this and spending some time talking to my locak library about doing an item there I zoomed off up the Dunipace Hills to do a cooking show.

On today’s segment of your cooking show, we learn how to make your world-renowned recipe for dessert haggis.

If that isn’t enough Haggis for you here is the longer version.

Today didn’t feel overly productive however I made more progress on the second layer of chainmail and I also started working on a Bee Salloon for Tuesday mornins shoot.

Tuesday

While still in or PJ’s I managed to convince Roslin to get an early start on todays to do list.

A child reading a bedtime story to the monster under their bed. The monster should be charmed and cozy and cuddled up.

We then headed off to my local nature reserve to do a video where i try to skateboard which was for another team collaboration item and to shoot my bee saloon.

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Bee-drinking poles are all the rage, but your neighborhood bees deserve to really unwind. Create a bee bar – a bee “saloon on a pole” using recycled bottle caps. Install it somewhere public. – Item Written By Misha’s Mom NOTE: For the safety of the bees, our resident apiarists ask that you please use sanitized lids with no chemicals or beverage residue on them, and plain water (not sugar water).

It’s GISH University, Year 2! Each person on your team must attempt to learn a new skill they have never tried before and document the experience, including the first attempt.

Since it was my birthday I had a bit of time off to eat and see the family however no rest for the Gisher and my final shoot of the day I was off to re-enact a scene from a book using only the medium of dance. I had a serious panic over this before I went to do it, what book, what scene so many to choose from and… dancing!!!! I decided to go for Game of Thrones.

Spoiler alert! Nobody has time to really sit down and read anymore. So, bring the stories to them. Recreate major plot points of classic books by acting them out at your local library. But in deference to library “rules”, you must be silent, so you’re going to have to use interpretive dance on this one.

Overnight I again was working away on the armour, It’s time to do some decoupage out of junk mail to the chest and shoulders and I made a headdress.

Wednesday

Today was always going to be a bit on the slow side, sleep deprivation finally catching up with me and today was the day I tried my hand at stop motion for the first time in a few years. This item I thought was going to end up with lots of people doing cosplay so wanted something a bit different so it was time to use my feltie and crack out my creepy Cas voodoo doll.

As all diehard Supernatural fans know, “Assbutt” was a featured player in Season 5, Episode 22 of the show, but the episode ran long and Assbutt’s scene was left on the cutting room floor. Rectify this oversight by releasing the never-before-seen cut of this scene.

There has been some massive downpours of rain during the hunt and this limited what I could do, so off I went to my cousins to let her use my photo box to display her egg and spent the rest of the night finishing the sword and shield for my armour. It was finally ready for the shoot!

Thursday

So after a pretty decent sleep (a whopping 6 hours wooooo) it was time for a busy day to catch up on what I missed due to the weather. I zoomed over to Stirling Castle to get my shot in my armour. Being this is mid summer the castle was packed full of people with lots and lots of tourists. Getting a shot wasn’t great with busses and people taking pictures not just of the castle but of me! So I opted for a slightly quieter gate at the graveyard.

Why have chain letters, when you can have chain mail? Create an intricate medieval knight’s suit of armor entirely out of junk mail, with chain mail comprised of chain letters. Must include a junk mail shield, sword, and a codpiece (to protect your “junk”).

Next item on my agenda was one Roslin has been looking forward to mostly as I told her all she has to do it drink a milkshake with some tiny people as the sprinkles. She was very happy to help with this item even if they weren’t edible and she did almost drink one I think she likes this item.

Tatsuya Tanaka creates miniature worlds with everyday objects. His scenes are whimsical, which is how the world should be… but is not always how tiny-world actually is. Create a miniature, dismal and tragic scene using small reimagined objects.

Next item I got to use and old prop from a previous gish team photo. This mustache was painted green for the last use but back to black it went for a shoot with my cats. They loved this shoot as got fresh catnip from the garden as a reward but it was really helpful in getting image as I am now the owner of 50 pictures of my cats rolling around and pawing the mustache but I did get there in the end.

A housecat happily flaunting a stylish mustache.

After a quick bite to eat I was off again this time to surprise some hikers with a fairy tea party. I love my astroturf dress!

The Wondersmith makes surprise, fantastical parties in the forests of Oregon, which we find lovely. Set up a surprise party for hikers at least ½ a mile from a rest area that’s clearly been created by forest-dwelling fairies and/or trolls (that’s you). Make sure it’s welcoming, and capture the moment you’re surprising them— both you and the hikers should be in the image. They must be real hikers and strangers to you—don’t bring in ringers, or you’ll anger the fairy queen.

After catching up a bit on my photo items, I spent the night nope not making armour this time I was working on an upcycled item as part of a collaboration with the team.

Friday

Today was going to be the longest day, and thanks to my Sat Nav sending my the scenic route it certainly was. I drove Roslin,and my cousin up to Oban for the next item.

Clowns were the original glad-iators. Prove it with Roman clowns fighting in an actual Colosseum or ancient amphitheater in a knock-down, drag-out pie fight.

All I can say is…

When i got home from clowning about I went to visit a friend for the upcycle item.

Each day, one member of your team must find one broken thing to upcycle and give to someone in need. Take a photo and, at the end of the Hunt week, submit a collage of the 7 now-useful items your team has gathered, refurbished, and donated. (You may not use a bicycle, but you may use a unicycle or tricycle.)

Tonights craft was to make a 3D face, my face out of non recyclable items. I was not looking forward to this and it’s a lot more abstract than I would of liked. Oh well it’s ready for shooting tomorrow.

Saturday

So it’s here my final full day of the hunt and lots to do so started off with the horrible face picture.

So it’s pretty terrible, however when it has lots of trash friends it looks better!

Thomas Deininger makes amazing representational sculptures out of found objects. Using EVERY piece of non-recyclable, inorganic trash you generate during the Hunt, create a 3-dimensional, representational self-portrait. EVERY member of your team must do this.

Since I finally had some sun and was mostly gishing from home I cave cyanotype photography a go. It wasn’t a great success but I had fun and will be trying it again soon!

A cyanotype photo of junk-food wrapping or junk-food.

Next it was time to get my felting skills out again this time I was going to make a mouse…

Listerine Mouse Wash.

At this point I didn’t think I was going to be doing any more items, it was late it was dark but sadly one of our teammates couldn’t complete this item. I ended up going round my garden in the pitch black looking under pots and found this little guy. I have names him, he is Jeff now.

Not all insects aspire to just be insects. Some have ambitions and hobbies! Without harming it, get a live fly, beetle, roach or other insect to sit on a sheet of paper and doodle an environment around it showing it at its job or hobby.

My final item was a simple screen capture that was submitted for a petition to Glasgow council to rename a Glassford street. Glassford was a tobacco merchant and during this time he bought and sold slaves to work on his plantations. To have a street in our diverse culture memorialising this man is horrible. if you want to sign please click here.

I also helped with some other items photo graphing Iron Man and Captain America for this item… Recreate a Civil War-era photograph with Captain America, Iron Man, and/or their respective sides using the Woodburytype photography technique. And helped get our teams virus video go viral with over 1k likes. We also raised money for children in Laos who were injured by landmines, raising money for prosthetic limbs. If you would like to donate please head over to our crowdrise page.

This has been a great hunt for my final one, and loved doing it with DEM. It’s not time though for the long wait for judging. *fingers crossed*