The Greenbelt Labor Day Festival, September 1-4, 2023

I went to the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival this year. I didn’t take as many photos and videos as previous years because I was more into just enjoying the festival.

I showed up on the first night that the festival opened. It was a Friday night, the weather was warm but not too hot, and the humidity was very low. (I don’t think the temperature went above 75 degrees Fahrenheit.) It was my idea of the perfect weather day. Going at night gave me a chance to test my new smartphone’s night setting on the camera. Here are the photos I took, starting with the festival fairgrounds at sunset.

I took the next few photos at the used book sale booth where people browsed through donated books, records, VHS tapes, DVDs, and audio cassettes. The proceeds from all sales went to the PTA at the local elementary school.

I took some more night photos of the fairgrounds.

I ended my evening with a photo of the people who were playing bingo.

The next day I went back to the festival but I ended up not taking any pictures that day. It was Community Day at the festival where local community groups set up tables and promoted themselves. I was working one of the tables on behalf of the Maryland chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign. I helped with giving out flyers and encouraging people to sign up for our emailing list. The only really bad thing was that the weather that day was the polar opposite of the day before. The heat had shot up to the mid-90s and the humidity was very high as well. It wasn’t a very pleasant day to be outside. I stuck around until somewhere between 2-3 p.m. then I headed home where I stayed in my air conditioned house.

The third day was September 3 but the weather was still just as atrociously hot as the day before. I started my day with shooting this video of this local band called the Greenbelt Honk Situation, which was doing a brass band version of the old gospel song “Down By the Riverside.” I shot video footage, which I uploaded on YouTube.

I also uploaded the same footage on TikTok, Clapper, and Instagram. I didn’t stay long to hear the rest of that band’s set mainly because it was very hot outside and all of the bleacher seats were in the sunshine.

I managed to walk over to the Greenbelt Museum, which was hosting the annual Retro Town Fair. I managed to shoot these photos before I felt so overwhelmed by the heat that I left.

I walked over to the Greenbelt Community Center, where I spent the rest of my time at the Festival in a building with air conditioning. I checked out both the Art Show and Photography Show. I had a friend invite me to participate in this community art project that was being held in the same building at the same time. Here’s a shot of that event that I took.

Basically people were invited to help paint this wood that was cut to resemble two dancers dancing close together. I was stumped on what to paint so I initially decided to paint a sunflower.

Once I was done I remembered that sunflowers are one of the symbols of Ukraine because sunflowers happened to be one of that nation’s main crops (with the other being wheat). I had an idea of painting the Ukrainian trident near the sunflower.

That was all I could think of. Of course the biggest irony is that if that event had happened prior to 2022, I would have never thought of painting that trident. It’s too bad it had to take a war for me to think of doing something like that.

About a day or two after the festival ended I saw that one of my friends had uploaded a picture of the completed project on Facebook. Here’s the screenshot I took of that photo.

I have to admit that the result looked pretty neat. Which goes to show that a community of artists of all ages can create something lovely together. I noticed that someone had embellished both the Ukrainian trident and sunflower that I painted. Here’s a closeup of that screenshot featuring the embellishment of what I painted.

I have to admit that the embellishments made what I painted look even better. (I also want to add here that I did not take those last two photos of the completed project. I took all of the other photos that are embedded in this post.)

The last three photos I took of the festival were of the ferris wheel. Two of them were shot in the late afternoon sun.

I took one final night photo of the ferris wheel.

I ended up skipping both the Greenbelt Labor Day Parade and the last day of the festival. The weather was still atrociously hot and humid and I really wasn’t up for another day in that intense heat. Instead I drove to Third Eye Comics in Annapolis where I checked out the comic books and games that the store sold in air conditioned comfort.

Real Littles Micro Craft Kits

I know that I recently announced in this blog that I’ve decided to have an indefinite temporary moratorium on making any more videos about unboxing blind boxes. But I came across these Real Littles Micro Craft kits in the toy section at Target and I decided to buy a couple.

While these craft kits look like blind boxes, they come with labels describing what kind of a craft kit it is along with a photo of what you will be working on. So it’s technically not really a blind box.

I only purchased the Unicorn Terrarium and the Canvas Art kits. (There were others, such as one where you make your own bath bomb and one where you get a black and white tiny backpack and you get to color it using the included markers.) Each kit costs around $10 each, which is pretty affordable. I made videos about them both and I even included some of my Disney Nuimos to show how they are perfectly scaled for them.

So I first worked on the Unicorn Terrarium kit. I found it to be relatively easy to work on and it definitely helped that the kit came with easy to follow instructions. The result resembled a Christmas ornament ball (and it came with a hanger so you could hang it on a Christmas tree or a car rearview mirror or somewhere similar). I shot the video and uploaded the results on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Next I worked on the Canvas Art kit. That one came with two tiny canvases with image outlines already printed on them, tiny vials of acrylic paint, a tiny paintbrush, and a single small easel that could only fit one of the canvases at a time. All I had to do was just color them in with the included acrylic paint. I have to admit that I liked working on them even if I usually prefer to create my own paintings from scratch. The included canvases had some really cute images—one was a hybrid of a panda bear and a cupcake and the other was a hybrid of a kitty cat and a thermos full of bubble tea. I’ve been really slacking off on creating new art lately and I think I really needed something like this to remind myself how much I love to paint. All I had to do was just decide which areas I wanted to paint in which colors without thinking about it too much and that was nice. I shot a video of what I did and uploaded the results on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

It was really cute filming my Disney Nuimos next to both the finished tiny craft projects and the cases that they originally came in. I can imagine that they would also be great accessories for Barbies and other dolls of similar 1/6 scale.

Hidden Fox

A few months ago I got involved in this art project that is known as the Global Roots project. The idea is to paint a small canvas that will ultimately be part of a larger mosaic project that consists of tiny canvas paintings combined to make a large picture. I’m participating in the Southeast portion of the America Connects Regional Mural Mosaics.

Basically you pay for a kit and they choose what predominant color you’ll get.

I ended up getting a kit that uses green as a predominant color. The rule is that this color must be a majority of the painting. After thinking about potential ideas, I decided to paint a fox that’s partially hidden in a bush. It’s based on a photo I found online. (I don’t know who shot the original photograph.)

The idea is to take a picture of the painting along with the Title Submission Photo Page and email it to the organizers. (You don’t send the original painting. You get to keep it as a memento of your participation in this project.)

It comes with a tiny easel that you can display your small painting on.

My painting is now live on the America Connects website. You can view the progression of the entire mosaic right here. My painting is number 648. (Unfortunately the website doesn’t provide unique links for each tile so you have to go to the whole mosaic and just look in numerical order until you find my painting.)

I also made a short “making of” video that you can view on TikTok, Clapper, Instagram, and YouTube.

Check Out My Art in Real Life While You Still Can

I’m currently participating in the Green Man Art Show that’s being held at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, Maryland. Here is my work that is currently on display.

In the Field of Sunflowers (Care Bears Fan Art)
Watercolor, gouache, ink, acrylic, water-soluble wax crayons
8 inches x 10 inches
20 cm x 25 cm

You can learn more about the making of this piece right here.

Both the art show and reception will be held at this location:

The New Deal Cafe
113 Centerway (located in Roosevelt Center)
Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
Directions can be found here.

Come and See Me and My Art in Person This Sunday, June 5, 2022

This Sunday, June 5, 2022 there will be a reception for the Greenbelt Green Man Art Show that I’m currently participating in. This is the same art show that began to coincide with the Greenbelt Green Man Festival, which was held a few weeks ago. The reception will run from 2-4 p.m. and you can not only see my art in person but you’ll have the chance to meet me as well. My art is currently available for sale so it’s an opportunity for you to ask me any questions you may have about my work. Here is what I’m currently displaying in the show.

In the Field of Sunflowers (Care Bears Fan Art)
Watercolor, gouache, ink, acrylic, water-soluble wax crayons
8 inches x 10 inches
20 cm x 25 cm

You can learn more about the making of this piece right here.

Both the art show and reception will be held at this location:

The New Deal Cafe
113 Centerway (located in Roosevelt Center)
Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
Directions can be found here.

Visit My Art in Person Now Through June, 2022

I’m participating in an art show that’s being run in conjunction with this past weekend’s Greenbelt Green Man Festival. The festival itself is over but the art show will continue until next month. You can not only view my art in person but you’ll also have the opportunity to buy it as well. Here’s a preview:

In the Field of Sunflowers (Care Bears Fan Art)
Watercolor, gouache, ink, acrylic, water-soluble wax crayons
8 inches x 10 inches
20 cm x 25 cm

You can learn more about the making of this piece right here.

Here is where you can view and even purchase my work:

The New Deal Cafe
113 Centerway (located in Roosevelt Center)
Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
Directions can be found here.

In the Field of Sunflowers (Care Bears Fan Art)

I decided to enter a Care Bears fan art contest that was being held on Threadless. This contest was held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Care Bears (which makes me feel old because I remember when they were first released in 1982). The contest rules were basically simple in terms of how each bear was to be displayed and also included a ban on violence and explicit sexuality.

So I did this piece using the following materials: acrylic, watercolor pencils, water-soluble wax crayons, ink, and gouache. I call it In the Field of Sunflowers.

In the Field of Sunflowers (Care Bears Fan Art)
Watercolor, gouache, ink, acrylic, water-soluble wax crayons
8 inches x 10 inches
20 cm x 25 cm

Here’s the story behind this piece. Ever since Russia decided to invade Ukraine over a month ago, a whole bunch of Ukrainian-themed art have suddenly sprouted online. Many of them incorporated one or more of the following: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sunflowers (which is the national symbol of Ukraine), the Ukrainian flag, and even the flag colors of yellow and blue.

I basically jumped on the bandwagon but I decided to be more subtle in my work in that it depicted two children dressed in traditional Slavic clothes that are in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. They are being hugged by Tenderheart Beart, who is the most paternal figure of all of the Care Bears, while hiding in a field of sunflowers. I even had sort of a backstory where these children have seen the horrors of the Russians invading their country and they meet up with Tenderheart Bear who whisks them away into a field of sunflowers where they hide away from the invaders and the horrors of war. Tenderheart Bear is basically comforting the children while protecting them at the same time.

For the execution of my piece, I decided to use the supplies that I already have on hand, with the exception of a pack of gouache that I purchased on sale at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics & Crafts for around 40% off. (I had a coupon.) I’m trying to control my spending while making an effort to use what I already have before I even think about buying more supplies. I ended up using a thin layer of acrylic paint for the clouds and the color of the children’s skin because I wanted to save money on buying those colors in watercolor and I already had those colors in acrylic so I might as well use them. It was the same reason why I used black ink, watercolor pencils, and water-soluble wax crayons in my piece: I already owned them.

I submitted it to Threadless and I’m waiting for word on the outcome of the contest. I had to take out a store account on Threadless in order to submit my design. You can see it online right now but I’m currently not able to sell t-shirts, phone covers, or other products because I’m waiting for approval from the copyright owners of the Care Bears. If and when I get such approval, I will be selling them as merchandise. (If that happens, I will definitely let you know.)

I made a video of my design, which you can view on TikTok, Clapper, and YouTube.

I’m still awaiting the outcome of the contest so I will update this post if I win anything.

My Latest Art Piece

On Valentine’s Day I decided to attend a Sip & Paint event that was being held at The Space. The idea was that we would paint a picture while we sampled various wines, ate nice Valentine-themed snacks, and socialized with each other. I know that there are other Sip & Paint events throughout the Baltimore-Washington, DC area where everyone basically works on the same painting. With this event, we were encouraged to do our own thing.

I admit that I was stumped at first but then I thought about just doing a themed painting where I would focus on the events that were going on in February. Lunar New Year had came and went and I also knew that Mardi Gras was going to happen soon. So I decided to do a painting where I would combine Lunar New Year, Mardi Gras, and Valentine’s Day. I was in one of two scheduled Sip & Paint sessions that day and I was in the early session, which ended before I was able to finish my painting. Here is what it looked like at the end of the session.

I took the painting home where I worked on it some more. I mistakenly thought that Mardi Gras was in February this year. It wasn’t until I was three-quarters of the way finished with the art that I learned that Mardi Gras was actually March 1 this year. By that point I felt too lazy to make a major alteration to the painting so I decided to just leave the Mardi Gras jester riding that tiger. I added some hearts to the painting. As the month went on, I saw that there were more things that were going on. I decided to turn my painting into a mixed-media piece by downloading free clip art from various websites (such as OpenClipArt.org), printing them out, and decoupage them to the painting using Modge Podge. Here is the completed piece.

022022 (February 1-March 2, 2022)
Kimberly Keyes
Mixed-Media (acrylic paint and paper)

I used a lot of symbolism in this painting. The red background symbolizes both Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day. The four pink hearts represent Valentine’s Day. The jester represents Mardi Gras. The tiger represents Lunar New Year, which proclaimed 2022 as the Year of the Tiger.

As for the paper clip art collage pieces, they represent other events that happened at the same time. I’ll start with the events that happen each year. The graphic featuring a groundhog seeing his shadow represents Groundhog Day (which is on February 2). The Black History Month graphic represents the fact that it happens in February. The graphic featuring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln represents Presidents’ Day, which takes place on the third Monday in February.

Then I included a graphic of an event that took place in February but it only takes place once every few years. I’m referring to this year’s Winter Olympics, which took place in Beijing. I ended up not watching the Olympic games this year (I’ve long grown tired of NBC’s crappy coverage of those games and, based on the usual bad reviews, I don’t feel that I’ve missed much) but I felt that I should provide a reference to that event anyway.

Finally I included two graphics that I called WTF because they marked two very unfortunate events that took place in February. There was a picture of a microscopic image of the Coronavirus that I included because we are still in the middle of a major pandemic and people are still getting sick. (Many places are starting to loosen mask and vaccine mandates despite the fact that the more contagious BA.2 variant is making its way to the United States.)

I had originally planned to consider my art to be finished after I added that Coronavirus graphic but then Russia decided to invade Ukraine just days after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics. So, at the last minute, I added a Ukrainian flag graphic to my piece.

I’m glad that I’m finished with the piece. I’m satisfied with the way it turned out. Last Saturday I took my piece back to The Space just to show it to people since I had started my project there. Everyone who saw it loved what I did.

I also decided to do a short video slideshow of my art, which I uploaded on to TikTok, Clapper, and YouTube.

Decorating a Christmas Coffee Mug With Krampus, December 7, 2021

Earlier this month the shopping center in Riverdale Park Maryland that’s known as The Station at Riverdale Park decided to hold a Christmas coffee mug decorating contest. The winner and two runner ups would get a free Starbucks gift card. I decided to enter because it involved arts and crafts and I felt a desire to do something creative.

The whole event was held outside (which was practical since the Coronavirus pandemic was still going on). Basically you go to a table and pick up a free coffee cup.

Then you choose a table to work on your coffee cup. Each table had acrylic paint pens that one could use to decorate the coffee cup.

Meanwhile a deejay played some lively Christmas tunes.

I had an idea of doing Krampus the Christmas demon taking a coffee break. (After all, it’s a lot of hard work gathering extremely naughty children to take them away from their parents for a fate that only Krampus knows but will never tell anyone else.) Here is my coffee mug after I finished.

Once I was finished there were two other things I had to do. One was to take my newly decorated coffee cup to the nearby Starbucks where I would not only have a free cup of coffee but I would have my choice of two flavors. The other was to take pictures, upload it on to Instagram, and tag the account of The Station at Riverdale Park and use the hashtag “#TisTheStation”. So I took some photos of the coffee mug and I even shot a brief video of me coloring one of Krampus’ horns. (I didn’t do this for too long because it was hard to decorate the mug with one hand and steady my smartphone camera with the other.)

After I finished with the decorating and shooting photos and video I headed over to Starbucks. I thought they were going to fill my newly decorated cup but, instead, I got a separate cup of coffee. I was told that they had to provide separate cups due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Okay, I’ll admit that makes a lot of sense. I chose the Caramel Brulée Latte as my flavor, which was pretty tasty. While I was there I uploaded and tagged my photos as instructed on my Instagram account.

Then I decided to go just a step further and edit a short video about my new coffee mug. I uploaded it on my Instagram account, which was immediately liked by The Station at Riverdale Park. I also decided to upload it on my TikTok, Clapper, and YouTube accounts.

Even though The Station at Riverdale Park liked my video on Instagram, I never heard anything further so I don’t think I’ve won anything. At least I got a free coffee mug out of it and I designed it to my heart’s content. I did bring my mug with me when a friend of mine invited me to a small party that she held a week after that contest to celebrate the upcoming Winter Solstice. That coffee mug was definitely a conversation piece. (LOL!) Some people got a few chuckles out of seeing Krampus drinking his cup of coffee.

Bid on Some of My Art Now Through December 3, 2021

I’ve recently donated some of my tiny art to a fundraising auction that is running now until December 3. I painted both of them last year while I was stuck at home trying to avoid catching the Coronavirus.

Parrot
Acrylic on canvas
3 inches x 3 inches
8 cm x 8 cm

Cherry Blossoms
Acrylic on canvas
2 inches x 2 inches
5 cm x 5 cm

You can click on this link if you want to see a visual representation of how small they really are.

In addition I also donated a basket full of tiny unicorn toys to the same auction. I originally obtained them last year when I made a series of short unboxing videos of these blind box unicorn toys for TikTok and other video platforms. Here is a compilation of these unboxing videos.

The proceeds will benefit Changing Focus, a nonprofit organization that counsels people who are going through a separation or divorce. This group was a major help to me when my husband abruptly walked out on me nearly 10 years ago and I want to help with keeping this group going for other people who will end up in the similar situation to where I was back in early 2012 (when I attended my first meeting). In order to bid on any items in this auction, register for a free ticket through Auctria. Good luck and happy bidding! 🙂