Amalie the leaping frog
Having secured funding from the J.G. Graves Trust, Jo Veal and I set about making a squiggle of tadpoles and a giant leaping frog! A fine accompaniment we felt to the annual Parkwood Springs Lantern Procession. Ever since first running the workshops for the lantern procession eight years ago, I’ve had my eyes on the viewpoint on top of the hill and utilising the telegraph poles and structure left there after a past event. The funding from the J.G. Graves Trust meant that this daydream could be brought to life.
Previous lantern processions have carried the theme of local wildlife and this year I wanted to give more attention to pond and river life, so a leaping frog as a centre piece sprung to mind with tadpoles as smaller lanterns to carry on the procession.
First the tadpoles!
We made a couple of tadpole frames up by way of example which proved useful. The workshops were really popular! The range of participants was diverse, with lots of new and familiar faces, which was wonderful. Moreover, the tadpoles produced were exceedingly lavish.
Of course, Amalie was not the only star, here’s Rosa and Ryan’s fabulous frogs!
Making the Frog
Constructing the frame was a bit like drawing in 3D and that’s one of the main attractions to working with willow in this way. We used mostly 8′ and 5′ lengths of buff/lantern willow (available from Musgrove Willow and Somerset Willow Growers) To connect, we used a combination of masking tape, electrical tape and cable ties. To cover the frame, we used wet-strength tissue paper (from willow suppliers and eBay) and PVA diluted with water. Later we decorated the frog with regular coloured tissue paper.
The original plan was to make the frog lantern alongside making tadpole lanterns at the four public workshops we ran at Abbeyfield House. But the workshops were incredibly busy with up to 30 people attending each day. As a result, Jo and I needed to book the room at every available time after the workshops to complete the frog in our own time. Fortunately, as is with the way we work, people passing by popped in to lend a hand.
Let there be Light!
Lighting the frog was a bit of a challenge. I’d used LED strip lights on past lanterns, so I knew the effect I was after but I wasn’t entirely sure how it would work on this project, it being so big. First I bought 2 pairs of Mexllex LED Strip Lights (4 x 15m) only to find they were mains powered, not battery! So then I bought several sets of Homeleo white LED Battery LED Strip Lights (7 x 5m) but as soon as we tested these, the difference in brightness was evident: the Homelo lights were dim by comparison, plus the Mexllex lights were multi-coloured. I was not satisfied! Lucky for us, we were making the frog in the same building as Reyt Repair and volunteer, Dave Brown came to the rescue by explaining how the mains batteries could be powered by a battery (if it was 24 volts). A quick online search and we found affordable 12-volt batteries (for lawn tractors) so ordered a pair (to make 24 volts). We were getting there! As it turned out the effects of both types of LED strip lights produced a great effect: the combinations of the white and the coloured lights on random sequences looked less like an amusement arcade and more like a sketchy drawing with light. Both sets of the LED strips were remotely controlled – essential, as the frog in position on the night would be out of reach to turn the lights on. However, these only outlined the frog and we needed a more general, white light to fill and illuminate the area of the frog left white. For this, we used 12 Rolon LED lamps, which Dave and Jo rewired so they could be operated by one switch at the base of the display when in situ. To light up the frog’s eye, we used a separate set of multi-coloured LED strip lights on a random chase sequence. The final result was fantastic.
I’ve been working with Jo for the last couple of years on various arts and crafts projects including shadow puppetry, window displays and making swifts, but this was definitely the most ambitious and courageous!
Amalie was made at Abbeyfield House in Pitsmoor, 3/4 mile away from the viewing platform. As you’d imagine a 9 meter long frog is quite a handful and getting it there seemed best done by foot. Friends met up at the house in the morning, picked up the limbs and body and off we went in the morning sunshine.
The weather was typically sunshine and showers, but also quite windy as we reached the top. We’d thought about alternative locations in case of poor weather (further along the procession route in the woods) but we all were set on this prime location. After intermittent weather checks, scrutinising the forecast and offering Amalie up to the wind, we settled for positioning her to the poles to the left of the viewpoint; being less exposed. Something I liked about this uncertainty was how quickly and efficiently we worked out how to overcome problems. This included me and Tony going back down the hill for long willow branches and a double duvet cover off my bed to use as a windbreak on the frog’s body (it worked!) As it happened, this location was favourable as the frog revealed itself as the procession reached the summit. Amalie was up – and looked fantastic.
Another unexpected delight was seeing how the golden hour of sun lit up the frog from behind; showing off the stained glass effect of the decoration. Something to consider for future lanterns.
Time was getting on. We quickly tidied up, I grabbed the stepladders and ran down the hill to turn the rainbow on and hand out tadpoles at the bottom, just as the samba band started and the procession began. Everything was a swirl: my daughter and her kids suddenly appeared, Steve was at my side with his curious E. coli lantern and friends’ and lantern makers’ faces lit up all around me. We meandered our way up through the twilit woods and as I looked at my sister laughing, I realised we needed the stepladders to release the frog from the poles, to follow the procession, so back down the hill I went!
As it got dark, the frog really came into its own. What a wonder!
Once the procession passed a few of us set about releasing her and before I knew it, Amalie was chasing the last of the lanterns down the hill.
A quick choreography briefing on the way down through the pitch-black woods, out into the open field and towards the crowds and fire performers in the distance, welcomed by cheers and the familiar rhythms of Sheffield Samba Band and finally resting beside Global Mama in time to catch the fire show!
What a fabulous time – not just the night, but the whole day. Not just the day, but the weeks leading up to it! This was, without a doubt the most fulfilling project I’ve ever worked on.
With special thanks to Jo Veal collaborator and co-facilitator on this project; Dave at Reyt Repair and Steve Pool for their lighting advice and intervention; Fran, Lorraine, Ange, Edward and the amazing Sheffield University architecture students for carrying Amalie up and down the hill; Tony, Susannah, Tamora (who named Amalie!) Nick and Malcolm for hoisting her up and releasing her; Jon Dallow, our man at the council for keeping us in check with the weather; The Friends of Abbeyfield House for room use; J.G. Graves Trust for funding this project: The Friends of Parkwood Springs for hosting another fabulous event and everyone who came along!
