May I introduce the flying squirrel lady.

Hi, sorry this post is a bit late. I have mixed feelings about what I decided to do for my performance piece and have been mulling it over.

My original plan for my proposal is to take an alter ego my family created of me and bring it to fruition. I adore working with yarn. I think there is great symbolism and art in it. My family has made fun of it at times. Quite a bit. My family came up with a version of me in my old age where instead of a crazy old cat lady, I am a crazy flying squirrel lady. I am not quite sure what my mania is, I do have a pretty awesome homeade suit however. The crazy flying squirrel lady has a crocheted suit that looks kind of 'afghan-y'. The flying squirrel shape was chosen for comic effect; to see me shuffling with homeade fabric between my limbs, add some ears and a tail and the whole table is laughing at the mental picture. I have spent the last couple of weeks asking people who know about this crazy flying squirrel lady what they think she would do on a day to day basis. She hands out cookies, throws lemons, wraps people in scarves, flys squirrels like kites, throws cats, jumps out of trees at people, and jumps out of bushes too.

For my performance I am going to make the suit. This is something I have been thinking about for weeks trying to figure out the dynamics and technicalities. It may look something like a bizarre romper when I am done. I plan on using up my yarn stash. I am a bit of a yarn hoarder. I come from a family of yarn hoarders. I am a third gen crafter at least. I only have one closet of yarn. I think I have one of the smallest stashes in the family, as it will not last beyond my life expectancy.

Once I have made the suit I plan on creating all the scenarios with whomever I can get to help. I have put a shout out at work, and I have some great people lined up to help. I am going to record all these interactions and do my very best for them to look as natural as possible. I think I am going to have no audio in this video and edit it non narratively. I plan on doing most of it outside, I think a great deal of the filming will be in Wascana park. Wascana park works really well for me because I live right beside it. I plan on using the same camera I used for the first project. I think I am going to avoid using a tripod, the less static the footage looks the better.

In class I am planning on having the video projected on to my person. I will be knitting, I will have the projector screen up to add to the importance of the video being projected on to me. It is important that I knit, as this whole alter ego came to fruition from others judging my love of it. I am going to continue working on a wrap I should have finished ages ago but have not been able to work on. I used to craft every day. I had to. Otherwise I would self destruct from fidgitiness. This wrap was started at a very important funeral in December, and I worked at it a bit when I came home and lately have abandoned all craftiness. When I made the lungs for the last project it was the first project I had made in over a month. The piece is very much about my personal identity, and the identity that others project upon me.

I feel that using people who are aware of the project in the video works out theoretically. These are the people connected the creation of the crazy squirrel lady, and people who will be dealing with her. I am going to go to great lengths to get at least one of my brothers involved, they have a pretty big role in the creation of her.

I did not realize how uncomfortable actually doing this would make me. Hence the delay posting this, I've been trying to come up with another idea all day. On the one hand making this gives power to the jokes and the criticisms my family and friends have of my love of making things. It feels degrading at times to think about. On the other hand I am taking it and making it my own. Despite my having very little input on the actions suggested I perform I still choose how I carry them out. I do feel that if I actually make the suit the joke will be manifested in reality and I am a little afraid of that, I do not know what will become of it.

I will be doing the bulk of the project over reading week. I will bring my crocheting to break up my essay writing, and to occupy my breaks at work. Have a good week off everyone.