Engagement, inspiration, and impact: Jabebo on the move!
June 3 — What a spectacular day at the 48th Annual Bellefonte Children’s fair!
We were lucky to secure a spot next to Tropical Sno, Rosie’s Perogies, and the bounce house castle. The glorious weather yielded a great and happy crowd, including some of Tomalei’s new and old neighbors.
Tomalei managed to catch a whale, and later shared a watermelon Gatorade with him. We even got to meet the Queen – the Grange Fair Queen that is. Ella Smith taught us how the queen is selected and shared some of her queenly duties. In turn, we taught her about our art and how to make a paper pulp starfish.
We had a great time with show and tell, teaching children, parents, volunteers and vendors about how our art is a great representation of how communities can engage in both upcycling and recycling. We were very popular, with children lining up to try the blender bicycle and a packed tent of starfish makers and painters. I think we were neck and neck with the bouncy house castle, which is surely a terrific feat!
Perhaps our other tent neighbors, Mount Nittany Health, were impressed by our constant healthy pedaling? We were very interested in their healthy living corn hole game and their crew of volunteers. We visited the Duck Pond and Fishing games to gather water for making pulp, to help some kids wash their paint-covered hands, and to take in all of the festivities as we walked.
Many thanks to the local Rotary club for this wonderful event! We will definitely participate again next year!
April was busy with community engagement and travel!
April 12 – Sexual Assault and Prevention Month Event (Penn State, University Park)
With our colleagues from the Penn State Gender Equity Center and the Peace Paper Project, we enthusiastically engaged students, faculty, and other adult learners at our first Penn State event. As a part of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM), this special event highlighted the transformational power of art through paper-making and recycling material that would otherwise be discarded as waste.
Drew Matott founded the Peace Paper Project in collaboration with the art therapy community to run papermaking programs that help individuals around the globe overcome their traumatic experiences around the globe.
Students asked lots of questions about recycling, art as part of “social good”, and how to make the best paper pulp starfish 🙂 Who knew college students were so into painting and trying out our pedal-powered, paper pulp-making blender?*!
April 22 – ZooAmercia (Hershey, PA)
Jabebo celebrated Earth Day with our friends, colleagues, and excited visitors at ZooAmerica in Hershey, PA. We joined ZooAmerica’s Party for the Planet, sharing tales of cereal box recycling for our biodiversity-focused earrings and paper pulp figures.
Guests at our booth were thrilled by the ride on our special bicycle, using pedal-power to run a blender that chopped up and recycled cereal boxes into paper pulp right before their very eyes.
More fun followed as our guests created planet-friendly art from the paper pulp – molding and painting of starfish, paws, and fancy fishes!
April 29 – REEF.org First Arts and Science Festival (Key Largo, FL)
Citizen scientists engage with REEF snorkel and scuba dive around the world, surveying marine environments. With a remarkable total of 250,000+ surveys conducted at over 15,000 locations by more than 16,00 volunteers over 3 decades, REEF’s database of marine life is one of the largest in the world! *Stoplight Parrotfish”
Kevin, an avid fish geek and surveyor, helped make REEF’s first festival a big splash for kids of all ages who made and painted paper pulp starfish with us, perused the biodiversity in our earrings, and appreciated our fish ornaments! We were really pleased with the enthusiastic reception of the activity and that we contributed to educating locals about the reef watershed in which they live and do business. Jabebo sells earrings to a number of locations in South Florida and so we try to stop in as many as we can during our trips. After a quick survey of fishes offshore, Kevin’s journey continued, mixing business with the search for inspiration for Jabebo’s art. After an overnight at Bahia Honda State Park, which included snorkeling, strolling and observing wildlife, Kevin paid a visit to Crane Hammock in Marathon, MacArthur State Park, and the Hobe Sound Nature Center.
- Spectacular day at the 48th Annual Bellefonte Children’s fair – June 3
We were lucky to secure a spot next to Tropical Sno, Rosie’s Perogies, and the bounce house castle. The glorious weather yielded a great and happy crowd, including some of Tomalei’s new and old neighbors. Tomalei managed to catch a whale, and later shared a watermelon Gatorade with him. We even got to meet the Queen – the Grange Fair Queen that is. Ella Smith taught us how the queen is selected and shared some of her queenly duties. In turn, we taught her about our art and how to make a paper pulp starfish. We had a great time …Spectacular day at the 48th Annual Bellefonte Children’s fair – June 3 Read More »
- April was busy with community engagement and travel!April 12 – Sexual Assault and Prevention Month Event (Penn State, University Park) With our colleagues from the Penn State Gender Equity Center and the Peace Paper Project, we enthusiastically engaged students, faculty, and other adult learners at our first Penn State event. As a part of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM), this special event highlighted the transformational power of art through paper-making and recycling material that would otherwise be discarded as waste. Drew Matott founded the Peace Paper Project in collaboration with the art therapy community to run papermaking programs that help individuals around the globe overcome …
April was busy with community engagement and travel! Read More »
- Something New – Ornaments!
We have created two ornaments based on our “Twelve Days of Christmas” earring design. Check out the pictures! These are made from paper pulp leftover from our earring making process. The scraps are soaked in water, put in a blender and pulp is made. Thick “sheets” of paper pulp are formed and allowed to dry. The backs are custom decorated by our production team and then are engraved and cut with the laser cutter. Because each sheet is hand painted on the back, each ornament will have a unique color scheme and pattern on it. These make perfect gifts for … - Has anyone seen my Nurse Shark?
Towards the end of March as Mary and I were winding up a month long trip in Florida by visiting our daughter attending college in Sarasota our life size and life like paper pulp version of a nurse shark disappeared. Our trailer was parked in a hotel parking lot over night when it was broken into. Not everything was taken, and thankfully not the most expensive thing being our stationary bike and blender. But items items of various value including a bag of favorite clothes and sandals we stowed believing they would not be missed for the remainder of the … - A Different Kind of Fishing
This October I fully immersed myself into a watery parallel universe, a sister-verse to the Bird-verse I reside in most of the year. The Reef Environmental Education Foundation, REEF.org, holds it’s Reef Fest in Key Largo every fall to empower citizen scientists enthusiastic about fish and reef habitat to go out looking for and identifying fishes. After joining a few years ago I was able to attend Reef Fest this year myself. This year the conference was held October 14 – 18. Morning activities included scuba diving, or snorkeling to survey fish in the Florida Keys and/or Kayaking around the … - Winter Market at the Rivet
Last weekend we set up our both at the Winter Market organized by our local Discovery museum and maker space. It was very exciting to be participating an event like this finally! In order to maintain social distancing people had to reserve a time to enter in advance but it was fully booked and so there was a steady stream of people visiting. I debuted a newly purchased a bicycled powered blender to demonstrate how we make paper pulp out of our scraps of cereal boxes. - A New Jersey Field Trip
Mary and I took made a trip east to New Jersey as far as the seashore to explore and visit some business locations. We had some supplies to pick up in Lancaster which inspired our making the trip rather than paying the cost of shipping 50 lbs of earring backs. A company called Lancaster Metals Science makes the custom designed wire loop we glue to the reverse of the earrings and the finish our recent order. On our way we went through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to stop at the Poconos Environmental Center. We have not heard … - Return home through the land of Oz
8/7 There is still a lot to do before leaving Colorado. First I stopped at a Wild Birds Unlimited in Ft. Collens to drop off some samples and then not far is the Gardens on Spring Creek with a gift shop and a history of buying our earrings. However, they have none of our earrings in the store so apparently it is time to try and rekindle their interest. The buyer is not present but members of the staff are very intrigued and that is often a good starting point. The gardens offer plenty to see and educational too. There extensive … - Dinosaur National Monument and the Flat Tops Wilderness
8/3 Presumably the newlyweds are on their way to Yellowstone National Park on their honeymoon camping trip. It is time for me to head back east. I had spent some time studying the map for a route and a place called the Flat Top Wilderness called out to me. It was more or less due east so would not take a lot of extra diving to get there. I could also visit the quarry at Dinosaur National Monument again. As I past through Vernal I stopped in at the Utah Field House of Natural History and it happened to be …Dinosaur National Monument and the Flat Tops Wilderness Read More »
- Mid Trip Wedding
7/30. Finally it is time to catch up with my family in Mountain Green, UT, where my brother and wife and where their grown children live near by. The reason for my journey across the country this weird summer is my niece is getting married on Sunday. The wedding had to be cancelled from its spring date when the coronavirus changed everything and in spite of the uncertainties of the subsequent months the engaged decided they would follow through on their commitment to each other. Unfortunately, the attendance would be less, especially among those of use from the East, and the … - Moab and Arches
7/24 Yesterday day I spent some time exploring Moab in general and even drove up the Kane Canyon road as far as I could and then a 4 mile hike up Hunter Canyon. There was a big boulder there in the middle of the river bed with a place you can walk under. On my return in this same spot I go my first look at a Canyon Wren and as I squatted in the shade it hopped within 4 feet of me. Having seen this side of the Colorado River I decided on the Kings Bottom campground as a … - Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the La Sal Mountains
Starting at dawn from Trinidad, SE Colorado, it still took me most of the day to make my way across the center of the state on meandering highways though it was a beautiful drive. I did stop in a couple resort towns to wander a bit. These outdoorsy mountain towns seem to be happening places regardless the season. Salida was really neat because you can literally white water raft or tube right into downtown. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of newer parks in the west to begin carrying our earrings and having never visited It was a …Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the La Sal Mountains Read More »
- Carrizo Canyon in the Comanche National Grassland
One a previous trip I was driving east through Southern CO on 160 and just after the town of Kim i spotted a series of info panels in the middle of a completely unmaintained pull over. I decided to stop there to picnic. The grass was growing up and it was difficult to decide where to park so i pulled right up to the kiosks. It had a map showing an auto tour for the Comanche National Grassland as well as panels on the geology, nature and fossil rich natural history. Clearly the service made some effort to make the …Carrizo Canyon in the Comanche National Grassland Read More »
- Southern Kansas and the Cimarron National Grassland
I spent Wednesday night in the Cimarron National Grasslands in a campsite surrounded by small ponds and of course there where birds. Mostly the usual crowd i have become acquainted with, orchard orioles and red-headed woodpeckers eastern kingbirds and a mockingbird keeping a close watch. No more Scissor-tailed flycatchers however. Cimarron is much dryer and marks there transition into short grass prairie. The river itself stays mostly dry but there is mud and puddles from recent rains. Yesterday i covered a lot of ground starting with the Great Plains Nature Center, being a customer for a number of years, has been …Southern Kansas and the Cimarron National Grassland Read More »
- El Dorado St. park birdingtwo days into my Utah trip I stopped early enough to camp at a state park in Kansas. It’s a big park in compassing a sprawling reservoir not far from Wichita. Of course I picked the campground at the most popular use area since that is where my gps took me. The blue stem point is where the birds are which I discovered exploring the north side of the park after pitching my tent. It’s a beautiful spot with prairie on one side and the lake shore on the other. There are numerous scissor-tailed fly catchers, so much fun to …
- Spectacular day at the 48th Annual Bellefonte Children’s fair – June 3We were lucky to secure a spot next to Tropical Sno, Rosie’s Perogies, and the bounce house castle. The glorious weather yielded a great and happy crowd, including some of Tomalei’s new and old neighbors. Tomalei managed to catch a whale, and later shared a watermelon Gatorade with him. We even got to meet the Queen – the Grange Fair Queen that is. Ella Smith taught us how the queen is selected and shared some of her queenly duties. In turn, we taught her about our art and how to make a paper pulp starfish. We had a great time …
Spectacular day at the 48th Annual Bellefonte Children’s fair – June 3 Read More »
- April was busy with community engagement and travel!April 12 – Sexual Assault and Prevention Month Event (Penn State, University Park) With our colleagues from the Penn State Gender Equity Center and the Peace Paper Project, we enthusiastically engaged students, faculty, and other adult learners at our first Penn State event. As a part of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM), this special event highlighted the transformational power of art through paper-making and recycling material that would otherwise be discarded as waste. Drew Matott founded the Peace Paper Project in collaboration with the art therapy community to run papermaking programs that help individuals around the globe overcome …
April was busy with community engagement and travel! Read More »
- Something New – Ornaments!We have created two ornaments based on our “Twelve Days of Christmas” earring design. Check out the pictures! These are made from paper pulp leftover from our earring making process. The scraps are soaked in water, put in a blender and pulp is made. Thick “sheets” of paper pulp are formed and allowed to dry. The backs are custom decorated by our production team and then are engraved and cut with the laser cutter. Because each sheet is hand painted on the back, each ornament will have a unique color scheme and pattern on it. These make perfect gifts for …
- Has anyone seen my Nurse Shark?Towards the end of March as Mary and I were winding up a month long trip in Florida by visiting our daughter attending college in Sarasota our life size and life like paper pulp version of a nurse shark disappeared. Our trailer was parked in a hotel parking lot over night when it was broken into. Not everything was taken, and thankfully not the most expensive thing being our stationary bike and blender. But items items of various value including a bag of favorite clothes and sandals we stowed believing they would not be missed for the remainder of the …
- A Different Kind of FishingThis October I fully immersed myself into a watery parallel universe, a sister-verse to the Bird-verse I reside in most of the year. The Reef Environmental Education Foundation, REEF.org, holds it’s Reef Fest in Key Largo every fall to empower citizen scientists enthusiastic about fish and reef habitat to go out looking for and identifying fishes. After joining a few years ago I was able to attend Reef Fest this year myself. This year the conference was held October 14 – 18. Morning activities included scuba diving, or snorkeling to survey fish in the Florida Keys and/or Kayaking around the …
- Winter Market at the RivetLast weekend we set up our both at the Winter Market organized by our local Discovery museum and maker space. It was very exciting to be participating an event like this finally! In order to maintain social distancing people had to reserve a time to enter in advance but it was fully booked and so there was a steady stream of people visiting. I debuted a newly purchased a bicycled powered blender to demonstrate how we make paper pulp out of our scraps of cereal boxes.
- A New Jersey Field TripMary and I took made a trip east to New Jersey as far as the seashore to explore and visit some business locations. We had some supplies to pick up in Lancaster which inspired our making the trip rather than paying the cost of shipping 50 lbs of earring backs. A company called Lancaster Metals Science makes the custom designed wire loop we glue to the reverse of the earrings and the finish our recent order. On our way we went through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to stop at the Poconos Environmental Center. We have not heard …
- Return home through the land of Oz8/7 There is still a lot to do before leaving Colorado. First I stopped at a Wild Birds Unlimited in Ft. Collens to drop off some samples and then not far is the Gardens on Spring Creek with a gift shop and a history of buying our earrings. However, they have none of our earrings in the store so apparently it is time to try and rekindle their interest. The buyer is not present but members of the staff are very intrigued and that is often a good starting point. The gardens offer plenty to see and educational too. There extensive …
- Dinosaur National Monument and the Flat Tops Wilderness8/3 Presumably the newlyweds are on their way to Yellowstone National Park on their honeymoon camping trip. It is time for me to head back east. I had spent some time studying the map for a route and a place called the Flat Top Wilderness called out to me. It was more or less due east so would not take a lot of extra diving to get there. I could also visit the quarry at Dinosaur National Monument again. As I past through Vernal I stopped in at the Utah Field House of Natural History and it happened to be …
Dinosaur National Monument and the Flat Tops Wilderness Read More »
- Mid Trip Wedding7/30. Finally it is time to catch up with my family in Mountain Green, UT, where my brother and wife and where their grown children live near by. The reason for my journey across the country this weird summer is my niece is getting married on Sunday. The wedding had to be cancelled from its spring date when the coronavirus changed everything and in spite of the uncertainties of the subsequent months the engaged decided they would follow through on their commitment to each other. Unfortunately, the attendance would be less, especially among those of use from the East, and the …
- Moab and Arches7/24 Yesterday day I spent some time exploring Moab in general and even drove up the Kane Canyon road as far as I could and then a 4 mile hike up Hunter Canyon. There was a big boulder there in the middle of the river bed with a place you can walk under. On my return in this same spot I go my first look at a Canyon Wren and as I squatted in the shade it hopped within 4 feet of me. Having seen this side of the Colorado River I decided on the Kings Bottom campground as a …
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the La Sal MountainsStarting at dawn from Trinidad, SE Colorado, it still took me most of the day to make my way across the center of the state on meandering highways though it was a beautiful drive. I did stop in a couple resort towns to wander a bit. These outdoorsy mountain towns seem to be happening places regardless the season. Salida was really neat because you can literally white water raft or tube right into downtown. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of newer parks in the west to begin carrying our earrings and having never visited It was a …
Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the La Sal Mountains Read More »
- Carrizo Canyon in the Comanche National GrasslandOne a previous trip I was driving east through Southern CO on 160 and just after the town of Kim i spotted a series of info panels in the middle of a completely unmaintained pull over. I decided to stop there to picnic. The grass was growing up and it was difficult to decide where to park so i pulled right up to the kiosks. It had a map showing an auto tour for the Comanche National Grassland as well as panels on the geology, nature and fossil rich natural history. Clearly the service made some effort to make the …
Carrizo Canyon in the Comanche National Grassland Read More »
- Southern Kansas and the Cimarron National GrasslandI spent Wednesday night in the Cimarron National Grasslands in a campsite surrounded by small ponds and of course there where birds. Mostly the usual crowd i have become acquainted with, orchard orioles and red-headed woodpeckers eastern kingbirds and a mockingbird keeping a close watch. No more Scissor-tailed flycatchers however. Cimarron is much dryer and marks there transition into short grass prairie. The river itself stays mostly dry but there is mud and puddles from recent rains. Yesterday i covered a lot of ground starting with the Great Plains Nature Center, being a customer for a number of years, has been …
Southern Kansas and the Cimarron National Grassland Read More »
- El Dorado St. park birdingtwo days into my Utah trip I stopped early enough to camp at a state park in Kansas. It’s a big park in compassing a sprawling reservoir not far from Wichita. Of course I picked the campground at the most popular use area since that is where my gps took me. The blue stem point is where the birds are which I discovered exploring the north side of the park after pitching my tent. It’s a beautiful spot with prairie on one side and the lake shore on the other. There are numerous scissor-tailed fly catchers, so much fun to …