Monday, August 20, 2012

Dragonstones, Doorbells and Texas Dudes

Sea serpent and a crab by O. Van Soest (Age 10)
Colored pencil and Micron pen on paper
The final week of adventure opened with the smallest enrollment of the summer--two brave adventurers who faced the threatening mists of Terra Incognita on their own. It's amazing how much suspense can be created with only three of us. We were able to take the story further and deeper, so we were "off the page," improvising new material, more often than we were "on the page."

The Dragon's Eye Ventures Facebook page has an album of beautiful photos from the week--the shadowpuppetry was especially stunning. A delightful sea chart was created by one of our two artists, complete with a whole array of hilarious sea monsters. The origin maps were simple in shape and design, yet full of wonderful photos of family journeys.

Here are just a few of the things the three of us learned during this final adventure:

1)  Dragons are not always willing to part with their dragonstones, even for a good cause--like saving the world. World's End may be someone's idea of a good time.

2)  Doorbells don't always signal welcome guests, and even the lords of the underworld can make a foolish mistake. ("Ruh roh ... is that a dragonslayer at my doorstep?")

3)  And finally, the next time you decide to become Bob Marley the Texas dude, make sure the mist isn't listening. Mist has an impeccable ability to mimic any creature. You may find yourself coming back to haunt you.

A week of laughter, fun and wonderful solutions to every challenge thrown by the mist.