Lantern-making: what fun we had!

The lantern-making workshop on Saturday was a great success! So many Sparke Street residents appeared - at least for a cuppa, scone and a chat - and most joined in the workshop to learn about the fine art of lantern-making, led by Ken O'Regan and Marly. A few people, originally convinced that they couldn't possibly make a lantern, DID make a lantern and were very happy to take home their creation of cane, greaseproof paper, tape, PVA glue and string.

Some great stories came out of the gathering - tales of people who had lived in various Sparke St houses in the 1930s and another story of a family of 8 squashed into a 2 bedroom home - cosy! Much of the conversation was just about getting to know one another so Sparke Street, which has always been friendly anyway, will be even more neighbourly.

We guess that at least 30 people came along and certainly in excess of 30 lanterns were made. A production line emerged - a few guys seemed to particularly enjoy the engineering side of the cane armature while others were happy to get smeared in PVA glue and cover the cane with greaseproof paper. As the day progressed and confidence increased, people became more creative and innovative with their designs. So we ended up with lots of beautiful cottages but also with a tee-pee, stars and the ubiquitous outside dunny, with redback spider, of course! People adorned their cottages with pencil-drawn carpentry, shrubs, flowers, pets and solar panels.

Thank you to Jenny from City of Newcastle who popped around to enjoy the scene. A BIG THANK YOU to Ken and Marly for their fantastic preparation and patient guidance in lantern-making techniques. And a very, very BIG THANK YOU to Tammy, Paul, Alice and Tom for the use of their backyard!

We're really set for a fun night next Saturday 10th September 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM.
Here are some pix:

All images: Carolyn McKay or Brian Joyce