In Memorium: Sigrid

Dang it, we lost a good one. Sigrid Hudson Bishop, librarian, curator, scholar, and the president of SparkleBlob’s Board, passed away on December 14th, 2019 of natural causes. She was an absolute delight, my friend for over 25 years, and she was 125% engaged in books, learning, art, and exploration.

On the night of December 15th, 2019, she was supposed to arrive for SparkleBlob’s holiday show at Automata to do her volunteer shift. She’d also purchased four tickets for the show.

She didn’t arrive for her shift, which made me feel instantly weird, I got someone to fill in for her, but this wasn’t like her, where was she? A bit later, from backstage, I held the show 15 minutes late, knowing it was very unlike Sigrid to not check in or show up. I left her a voice message, and we went on with the show. The next day I found out she was gone.

When I was 22 and she was 26, I thought Sigrid was the most cosmopolitan person in the WORLD, with her own apartment in Newhall, the manager of a bookstore called “An Affair with Books” she was savvy, and worldly, and knew every book I needed to read, and I read them all dutifully. 

I started out as her enthusiastic friend and later became a fellow employee of said bookstore. It was a children’s bookstore, it carried picture books by the latest and greatest authors and illustrators. We bonded over classic and modern books, talking about books we read and books we couldn’t wait to read.

Back in the day, for no good reason, I started calling Sigrid Sister Taxi Hopscotch, and called her that all the years we’ve known each other. To me she was a sister of the benevolent order of supreme encouragement: stirring things up, offering thought, while having ever so much fun. It is simply not fair to lose her, this is very unjust, wrong and I kinda can’t stand it, but stand it I must.

Therefore we offer up a SparkleBlob Salute to our dear late president, Sister Taxi Hopscotch, we shall carry on her legacy and invite you to join as well, here are some ways you can:

Visit your local library, donate to it, volunteer there, take friends to the library! Crack open a book, buy a book for a friend, tell a story, tell a fart joke, have a hot buttered rum, say something no one else in the room will say, share the sparkle in your eye, and encourage someone to follow their dreams, with detailed steps for how to start. ~JP

SparkleBlob’s 2019 Holiday Show @Automata has ARRIVED!!!

Dec 13, 14, 15 and then Dec 20, 21, 22 COME SEE US!!!

Sure sure, go see Frozen 2 but when you’re done with that… Nothing really says the holidays like apples and lizard people! We’re BACK at Automata in China Town and we made you a totally different and new holiday show for 2019.

What is the riddle of the Santa Gorn Nutcracker, and why are so many intrigued and obsessed by it’s colorful lore? Watch our favorite puppet friends solve a holiday crime while they sing and dance their troubles away at SunRock Wellness Retreat!

SparkleBlob’s annual holiday puppet show has been entertaining and confusing fans, young and old, for the better part of a decade, join us for our ELEVENTH endeavor!


Starring: Monica Howe, Nancy Kissam, Lisa McNeely, Julianna Parr, and Linda Santiman

Live band, Jason Myers and the Dinglebell Hollies: Adrian Banuelos, Lance Crow, and Ruben Martinez

Written and Directed by Julianna Parr with script assistance from S. Gallagher, M. Howe, K. Morrison, and the San Clemente Pier

Lighting Design by Kate Morrison

Sound and Lights run by Coral Lobera

Produced by Automata & SparkleBlob


Hosted at Automata

504 Chung King CourtLos Angeles, California 90012

  • ALL AGES!
  • Non-Smoking Venue
  • Nearby Street and Lot Parking!
  • Chinese food, fun shops, make a night of it!

2019 Gothtober is UP!

Time to visit www.gothtober.com

We’re pleased as pumpkin pie to present our annual collection of weird and wonderful art pieces/films for 2019’s carefully curated selection of Gothtober artists! It’s our 17th calendar, a real thrill in our continuing efforts to “art together” for the Halloween season.

We’ve got artists from Los Angeles (the home and headquarters of Gothtober) as well as Central CA, San Francisco, Portland OR, Germany, and France! Enjoy spooky poetry, witches, ghosts, pumpkins: an entirely brand new set of treats for 2019, each one unveiled daily! 

If you’d like to see the bios of each artist and more information about each art piece, plus Gothtober news, visit the Gothtober Blog!