Just for Fun! Frog Masquerade

The Botanical Gardens has lots of children's group visit so all artwork must be "appropriate." I have an entire book on masks that I want to make someday. In browsing through it, I came across the the frog masquerade at Jonkonnu in the Bahamas so I decided to create one in hopes of making the visiting children smile. Jonkonnu masquerades have been celebrated during Christmas since the beginning of the 18th century. The participants, all male, parade in a variety of frog masks and perform established dance routines, accompanied by small musical ensembles. Mine is much more electric than the ones in Bahamas. The fabric just seemed too perfect to me. I can't even remember where or why I bought it but I am so thankful that I did. I looked for a fly to go on the tongue and settled for a beetle instead. The face is three layers and quilted. The eyes were made separately and attached.  The arms are made out of Timtex.

Frogs have personal meaning for me. I named my first born "Jeremiah."  We moved from Louisiana to Illinois when he was in second grade. He was small for his age and had a Southern accent. The kids at school made fun of him mostly by singing, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog." It broke my heart the day that he came home and declared that he would hate me for the rest of his life because I had named him Jeremiah. Thankfully he forgave me and even had "Bullfrog" on his high school letter jacket.

This mask was just too much fun to make. Sometimes it is just great to play!