Des Moines Art Festival

This weekend, Tiny Circus traveled to Des Moines, IA for the annual Des Moines Art Festival after weeks of preparation. We took off early Friday morning and spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday working with festival-goers. Part of the work we did included a do-it-yourself animation station, which allowed passerby to come in and learn about stop motion by creating their own out of assembled objects. At another station, people made props for an animation called "The History of Cities." Finally, inside our newly-completed mobile airstream studio, festival attendees helped us shoot the animation with freshly made props.

Our participation in the Art Festival also included a showing on Friday and Saturday nights. The Saturday night show even included some raw footage taken from the day's shooting!

At the animation station, Ally demonstrates the kinds of movements that make stop motion work.
A crowd gathers in the do-it-yourself area on Friday as "The History of Maps" plays out of the baby airstream. Participants had the opportunity to shoot a few frames and then watch the playback.

Inside the new airstream studio, a group of young volunteers helps with the shooting for "The History of Cities."
Inside the airstream, looking out at the festival...
Outside, festival-goers work on creative paper props, including animals, a parade, and more. Both children and adults collaborated to make beautiful and original work.

Saturday night's audience waits patiently for the show to begin, with another beautiful Iowan sunset in the background.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend in Des Moines. Tiny Circus was glad to get out, enjoy the festival, and make art with people.