Welcome to a Brand New Year!

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What shall unfold in the year 2018? It’s hard to tell, last year was a doozy, there was no telling what would happen next. That’s kind of always how it is, but last year was… extra. It was extra in a way that was unpleasant, and mighty incomprehensible. So therefore, SparkleBlob is going to be “extra” this year, but in a GOOD way, performing our artistic mission in ways that will bolster our ever-percolating sparkle.

Off to a good start is our weekly program, CraftNight, beginning January 10th with an evening of sign painting, and then we’re hosting “Resistance – How to be an Activist Without Losing Your Mind” hosted by Linda Santiman, LMFT, LGBT Affirmative Therapist and Lauren Costine, PhD educator, activist, administrator, and author.

Last year (good riddance) marked an unrelenting and unprecedented assault on the First Amendment. We’re making sure that everyone knows the joys and rights of free speech in the good ol’ USA, and we’re going to have fun doing it. We’ve got paints, cardboard, brushes and all the materials, as well as handouts and tips for continued civic activism in an age of ramped-up shenanigans.

More info on FaceBook

Future “Winter Session” CraftNights will feature snow-themed crafts, and our monthly life-drawing session collaboration with Dr. Sketchys of Los Angeles!

We are here to share with you the miraculous gifts of your city, of it’s experiences and happenings, its messages and treasures. It can’t happen without you, in fact, you’re the integral ingredient of the whole thing, it’s how we open our hearts to each other and share our spirit. Peace, grace and beauty are worth working for, we have the facts and information to build, keep and preserve it together.

I’m not an optimist, but if I don’t look on the bright side, if I don’t have faith in human beings and the good that we’re capable of, what kind is that? What am I doing, walking around, being all arty? Who do I think I am?!? It’s actually who I have to be, since the alternative is bleak. I could just give up and eat all the cheetos, eventually expiring to the gloaming of the uncaring borg. That’s terrible and boring and doesn’t help anyone! I’d rather make art, and I’d rather do it with you. We are all connected, let’s keep doing that, better and better, every day.

Julianna Parr, Executive Director

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SparkleBlob Holiday Hiatus 2017

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Dear Person who likes Art,

Usually we post the announcement about the upcoming holiday puppet show… but we’re not doing a show this year. We’ll be popping up in December in new and unexpected ways (more on that further below) but it’s true, for this year, the show is cancelled.
We know, this is HARD. There are kids who have grown up with us, watching this show who are now taller than I am and in college! This would’ve been our 10th show, it’s become an institution, and it’s my favorite way of connecting with all of you at the year’s end.

Why is this happening?

We tried our darndest, but due to unforeseen circumstances and timing, couldn’t find a space this holiday season that was safe, accessible, or cost effective for our weirdo puppet theater needs.

And then there’s the realest reason: This year has been packed with challenges in many ways, for the world, the country, for community, for our volunteers and the Sparkleblob cast.

For me personally, it’s been a real kick in the onions: 

  1. My Father, Bill Parr, passed away on July 23rd, 2017
  2. Twelve days later, my Grandmother, Felicia Bautista, passed away on July 5th, 2017
  3. Much of my stomping grounds (Santa Rosa, CA) burned to the ground October 9th, 2017, I know friends who have lost loved ones, I know quite a few people who lost their homes and everything they own.

My Father was my lighthouse, my Grandmother was my anchor, both of them fostered and supported my artistic leanings all my life. They instilled in me the support and confidence to be an artist and understood that making and sharing art is my life’s work. Without them, there would be no Sparkleblob. Their legacy will continue to shine through the programs we make and share with you.

That said, Sparkleblob isn’t going away completely this season! Our holiday show is basically our fundraiser generating the reserves we use to run our programs for the following year!

To raise some dough, we’ll be offering our famous SnoGlobs and other sundries at Ye Olde CrafteNighte Crafte Faire on December 13th for donations, and I’ll be calling the numbers on the balls for Bet Yer Bottom Bingo on December 17th, both at Akbar (sorry, 21+ no kiddos) it’s only a 50 cent suggested donation to play! We’ll alert you for the other fun ways we plan to get your attention and send you some warmth and cheer.

Ultimately, we’re taking a hiatus from the show this Solstice to recharge our batteries so that we may come back creatively stronger in 2018. We shall sip cocoa, curl up with some good books, reflect on this past year, and plan for next year.

Silverlake’s Most Well-Adjusted Family, Tree, Frank Zamboni, Santa Gorn and the whole cast of puppet characters wish you the best of the season, big puppet hugs, and lots of figgy pudding.

With much bohemia and great cordiality,
Julianna Parr
Executive Director, SparkleBlob

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Super Sloppy Chili Cheese Dawgs VI: Los Angeles Marathon 2017

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In attendence for March 18th, 2017: Alex Kenefick, JP, Vero, Dedman, Nockels, Sebastian, Will, Roz, Emilie, David, Yenni, Parker

Full Photo Album Links coming soon!

It was our SIXTH time handing out super sloppy chili cheese dawgs on the corner of Temple and Edgeware (Mile 5) during the Los Angeles Marathon! As expected, it was very uplifting and gratifying watching all of our Angelenos reaching their personal best in their racing outfits!

Every single one of these runners had to train, prepare, consider their goals, and get up earlier than the sun to do this run. But not all of them knew they’d be facing the possibility of eating a chili cheese dog, and that’s where we come into the picture. Runners sprinting up over the freeway and hanging a left on Temple had to make a choice they’d never considered.

They had to ask themselves:

Am I going to eat a super sloppy chili cheese dog right now?

Because as said above, the SparkleBlob Chili Cheese Dawg Station isn’t at the end of the route, we’re at the very devious mile 5.

We don’t want you to be prepared for the question, we want you to reckon with your emotional nature, and wrestle with yourself. We want to catch you off guard. We’re a junk food rubicon, merely one in a series of mental trials and initiations that will accompany your physical and mental 26 mile journey. We are there to provide you with a decisive crisis that will transform you in some way… for better or for worse.

You don’t have to be a Republican or a Democrat to eat a chili cheese dawg, you don’t have to be religious, or an agnostic or an atheist, you don’t have to be tall or short or skinny or fat or any specific type of person to eat one of our questionable creations. You just have to pick a very unexpected and strange option that greets you at mile 5. We’re not all born with money, but we’re all born with time, and none of us know how much each of us gets. This existential fact hits home when marathon participants round the corner and see us hollering, cheering and handing out these improbable (but desirable) tasty greasy globs of low nutritional value.

Our chili dogs may give runners those extra carbs and salt that’ll boost them through the next few miles… or our chili dogs might give some that miserable belly bomb feeling, standing in the way of their personal victory, we’re never quite sure. What we do know is that we run out every year, and that even if not all runners EAT a chili dog, they always smile and laugh when they see us.

We laugh together, and we offer each person, each hardworking person working on their aspirations and athleticism, we offer them a chili dog. Because that’s just such a wildly unreasonable thing to do during a sporting event in a town that praises eating right, getting enough sleep, having good skin tone, etc. In our absurdity lives camaraderie, and every runner is fed like family, while supplies last.

Disco’s playing, hotdogs are steaming, the stove is cooking, cowbells are ringing, horns are blaring, we are a nonstop hollering cheering chili cheese machine! They think we’re deranged, getting out there in the morning and making super sloppy chili cheese dawgs, but we know they’re truly the wacky ones, they’re running 26 miles!

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