amazing photos courtesy of joe-clarke.com
So, I've been up to a few things this summer...
As some may already know, when I'm not making things, drawing or writing, among other occupations I'm also a professional stilt walker. Which is why summer often finds me in a field, being a lot taller than usual and dressed as something ridiculous whilst surrounded by thousands of people.
First up on our festival circuit this year was Sunrise, which turned out to be the mud apocalypse so sadly no stilting there, but as my first muddy festival it was certainly... an experience. And I don't mean a bad one! Though bringing a pair of wellies might have helped me out a bit, rather than enduring the, erm, lovely damp feeling of trench foot in a pair of second hand walking boots I immediately spent a fiver on as soon as I slid my way on site. But trifles such as appropriate footwear and keeping vertical were no problem for these two legendary loons who showed everyone how it's supposed to be done:
Next, I was very excited to be at Secret Garden Party for the first time, which fully lived up to the hype. I was blown away by the sheer enormity of the creativity and effort that goes into making the site installations and the whole experience so special. Friday and Saturday were still no shows for us peg stilters, due to the lingering mud, but come Sunday the prevailing sunshine had given the ground a slightly firmer, yet rubber-like density, so it was off to join the New Orleans-stylee voodoo parade and finally have a stilt boogie.
Nozstock was a fun little adventure into the heart of Herefordshire with the
Pariah Circus crew....a sweet, chilled out kind of festival, with a more family-orientated vibe...
....and after much anticipation, BOOMTOWN FAIR happened - the craziest, biggest, most upside-down inside-out festival I've experienced yet. My last time there was two years ago; unfortunately culminating in driving myself to hospital afterwards with chronic asthmatic problems (a long time coming really - don't smoke, kids! Assmar sucks!). Hence, I was really looking forward to being able to enjoy it this year. Finally, we were blessed with four days of beautiful sunshine too! And the cherry on top would probably have to be witnessing the fiery awesomeness of the three-legged arachnid Arcadia stage in action. The Arcadia crew put on the most incredible shows - if you get the chance to see one, don't miss it.
I was also excited to proudly unveil the new crow-inspired feather mohawk I made especially for the summer performances.
I love wearing this piece, it's big, showy and totally rockin!
More crow inspired-costume pieces to come.
by the way - I
kicked ass at Stilt Pong, hosted by
Kings of Ping. I think it's my new favourite game! Also, check out the bearded dude posing effortlessly in the background with a can of red stripe:
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