"Celebrate the Year of the Dragon": Afternoon of Crafting will be held Saturday, January 28 from 1-3:30pm. Cost is just $20 for three crafts: noisemakers, dragon masks, and origami dragons! Great for kids 8+. Call or email the Phoenix Rising Center in Thomaston, CT to sign up.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

I have just launched a project through kickstarter.com to give a boost to my latest endeavor which you may already be familiar with: cuckoobean pals!

Kickstarter.com is a wonderful site where artists, musicians, restaurateurs, or anyone else with a creative idea they'd like to get off the ground can put together a project and ask for financial backing to bring it to fruition. Well, I have one and I'd love some help bringing it to the public!

Anyone wishing to contribute to my project will be able to do so through my link to my project on kickstarter.com: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/664696411/cuckoobeantm-pals-imagine-create-participate. It only takes as little as a $1 contribution to get my project rolling. In appreciation for your support, you'll receive some cool rewards including cuckoobean merchandise. Please keep in mind that if my entire initial funding goal is not met within the 45-day launch period, the project will not be funded and no rewards will be issued. The launch period runs until Thursday, February 16, 2012, 10:46 am EST.

Please tell your family and friends!

Art Exhibit at the Silas Bronson Library

Starting today January 3 through February 29, 2012 you can see some of my unique masks and whimsical animal sculptures at the Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury, CT.

Please visit bronsonlibrary.org for library hours.

Join me and the Valley Arts Council tomorrow evening from 6:00pm-9:00pm for the opening of a great new show featuring my personal favorite art subject: bugs! The show is called Metamorphosis "Transformed by Art" and runs until September 10, 2011.

Visit valleyartscouncil.org for details.

Art Classes at Valley Arts Council in Derby, CT

I'll be holding two demonstration classes this May at the Valley Arts Council building in Derby, CT: one for papermaking on May 11 and the other for bookmaking on May 18. Both from 7:00pm-8:00pm. For more details and to sign up, go to: http://www.kafergraphics.com/VAC_classes_May.html

Hope to see you there!

Mask Making Workshop April 9

Join me for a mask making workshop just for kids! To be held at the Ansonia Nature Center on April 9 at 2:00pm. Kids will learn how to make and decorate papier mache masks. Seating is limited, so sign up today! Call the center at (203) 736-1053 for details.

Side view of a recently finished project called "Queen Bee." Note the tiny egg in her arms. Made from a number of recycled materials including a paper towel roll, paper, a chopstick, aluminum foil ball, and fabric scraps. Other materials used: masking tape, plaster sheets, ribbon, wire, hot glue, gold beads, and polymer clay. Check out the "before" photo to get a glimpse of how it started out.