About this project
Story Station Skulls
Colorful, whimsical Story Stations Skulls inspire imagination and creativity.
Funding is sought to create beaded skull sculptures to be installed in one or more “Story Stations” to encourage creative writing—especially among children. The Story Stations consist of a grouping of small animal skulls covered with colorful beaded helmets of pearls, seed beads or stones, along with notepaper to encourage viewers to make up stories or poems about their favorite skull.
The Story Station Skulls will premier at Open Books, a Chicago nonprofit working with school groups to encourage creative writing and literacy. If sufficient funding is secured, a second Story Station will be installed in the children’s section at the Oak Park Public Library later in the summer. With additional funding, more locations can be sought for more installations.
The beaded skulls created will include chickens, mink, muskrat, rabbit, raccoons, fox and other small creatures presented in numbered plexiglass boxes. Each installation will have 8-10 beaded skulls. Children (and the young at heart!) will be encouraged to write a short story about their favorite beaded head. Notepaper and a bulletin board or collection box for people to leave their stories will be provided. The installation will last at least a month, with the potential for it to be extended by mutual consent of the location and the artist.
The stories will be collected weekly and reviewed for inclusion in a small, 12-page booklet which will be sent to donors who funded the project and also made available at the host site.
The skulls for the installations will be produced first (2-3 weeks), and postcard photos taken then. Reward skulls will be made next—while the installation is in place (3-4 weeks), then the booklet with collected stories (1-2 weeks) will be produced, and premiums mailed out. The total project will take an estimated 60 days. The project will continue longer if funding permits and there are multiple installations.
The funding will be used to purchase skulls, beads, and stringing materials, plus display supplies such as the display cases or curio shelves, plus printing collateral material such as notepaper for collecting stories, postcards, story booklets and other production and fulfillment expenses.
I'd love to make a special work of art just for you, as a Thank You for your support! Own your own handcrafted starfish or skull art by making your pledge today.
FAQ
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I get most of them on eBay! It's amazing what you can find...and luckily, they are pretty clean already--just need final whitening and sealing. I also have a local source for chicken heads, which I clean, sanitize and seal myself.
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At Open Books, we've talked about having a little party for volunteers and members and auctioning them off to benefit the literary programs there. I hope we may do the same if we fund more installations at area libraries or schools.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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$272
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Funding Unsuccessful
This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on February 27.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
Seed Funder - A postcard with skull images, and an Open Books bookmark
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Storybook Donor - Postcard and bookmark plus illustrated 12-pg. booklet of stories
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Starfish Donor – Postcard, bookmark and booklet, plus a one-of-a-kind small beaded starfish created by the artist.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Songbird Donor - Postcard, bookmark and booklet, plus a one-of-a-kind colorful beaded bird skull (starling, pigeon, cornish hen or other small bird—my choice, depending on availability)
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
Funky Chicken Donor - Postcard, bookmark and booklet plus a one-of-a-kind “Rasta Chicken”—a colorful chicken skull with beaded dreadlocks.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
Robust Rooster - Postcard, bookmark and booklet, plus a whimsical beaded chicken skull with a proud crest! (My choice of colors…silver or gold beads for higher-level donors!)
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
Amazing Animal - Postcard, bookmark and booklet, plus small-to-medium beaded skull of your choice: rabbit, duck, muskrat, raccoon or others pending availability (I’ll e-mail you pictures of three to pick from.)
Project By
Connected as Sandra Wilcoxon (104 friends)
For the past several years I have been making beaded and woven art necklaces, mostly of pearls or natural stone beads. I've been selling and exhibiting my work at Marion Street Gallery in Oak Park, through the Illinois Artisan Program at various sites around the state, and at area crafts shows. Last summer I started a new series of beaded skull sculptures that are whimsical, colorful, and imbue a personality to the object. It is fun to get people's reactions to the work, which led to the project proposed for Kickstarter--the Story Station Skulls. You can see examples of my jewelry and beaded skulls ranging in size from tiny birds to bison skulls--and lots of fun things in between--at www.pearlsforgood.com .
