Monday, August 31, 2015

GISHWHES 2015 + IGGPPCAMP Recap + Other Updates




Kale! Cosplay! Random Acts of Kindness!

I realize that August is already done and over with, but it was such a busy month that I need to dedicate a whole post to it!  The first week of August involved the annual G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S. event, (better known as the Greatest Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen), and this was my very first time participating. It was nerve-wracking not knowing what to expect, and frustrating not being able to do everything I wanted, but the amount of fun involved was astounding and very worth it.

For those not familiar with GISHWHES, it's a week long competition that takes place every year and was founded by the actor Misha Collins (who plays Castiel on Supernatural), that involves working in teams with people from around the world to complete as many items as possible from a secret list of  over 200 "tasks". They range in weirdness, from the not so weird 'random act of kindness' to more creative tasks like videotaping yourself making a paper airplane using only your mouth, transforming a well known actor into a My Little Pony and getting said actor to re-tweet your creation on Twitter, or the one pictured above: draw a picture of Misha and the Queen as 1950's pin up BFF girls. Yes, as you can see, some of the tasks allow you to exercise your artistic talents, (which I was especially excited about!), and this was my creation! It had me giggling the entire time I was working on it. The addition of kale was an extra something on my part, and I'm hoping it landed my team (the Robinhoods) some extra points! (Also, in case you don't know, kale plays a very large part in GISHWHES!)

Unfortunately, I was not able to do a great many other tasks, but one of the things I did manage was the task of buying brand new backpacks and filling them with school supplies for kiddos in need! School started back up this past week in my neck of the woods, so I'm hoping the two lil tykes that ended up with the awesome Dino and Frozen backpacks that I bought them are happy and set for success this year. It feels good doing nice things!

excuse my makeup-less derp face - it was a brutally hot day and the sun was blinding.




At the time of my writing this, the winning team has not yet been announced, but it should be, soon! The grand prize is a trip to Costa Rica WITH Misha Collins!!! AMAZING!!!


If you follow me on Instagram, you will have already seen the photos of my participation in IGGPPCAMP 2015's "Great Closet Cosplay Challenge" - we had to come up with outfits using only things we already own (no buying new items!), with a new theme each day. I was quite proud of myself and had a ton of fun with these looks!  I definitely want to incorporate more of this into my everyday wardrobe choices.

Two of the challenges were Pixar Animals/Objects and '80s/'90s cartoons. I did Kevin from Pixar's Up, and Phil of the Rugrats!





Other challenges were Disney Princesses (or Princes!) and Sci Fi or Fantasy characters. For those, I did Flynn (Eugene) of Rapunzel and Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly.


Other camp activities I participated in were a Google+ hangout with my troop telling ghost stories, and making digital friendship bracelets.


As for other things, (I know I haven't been real talkative on the interwebz lately), but I've been doing a ton of reading, as well as trying my hand at art journalling. I'll have some posts that go into greater detail at some point, (maybe), but I wanted to share this creation that I posted on Instagram last weekend:



The very same actor whom I just talked about at the start of this post, Misha Collins, was attacked and mugged by lowlifes a week ago. He is okay, but he did sustain some gnarly injuries, (stitches on his lip, for one), and the whole thing just left me feeling extremely affected and sad.

It sucks when bad things happen, but especially when they happen to somebody you admire who couldn't be LESS deserving of it... Misha Collins is not just some 'actor' - he dedicates large amounts of time and energy encouraging people to embrace their weirdness, and to be kind to themselves, and most of all to OTHERS. GISHWHES itself is founded on the act of making the already-crappy world we live in just a little bit brighter, so when the guy who dreams of a better world is rudely attacked by it.. well... it just hits you hard.

But I'm happy he's okay. It could have been a lot worse.. I did the journal spread using watercolors as a way of sending good vibes to him and his family.


That's it for now!

Until next time,

G.


3 comments:

  1. I was so sad I missed out on GISHWHES this year - had to opt out, because I got so busy with camp stuff. But I guess I did a good deed giving my spot to someone else, since I had already payed ;) Your drawing is awesome, and I'm sure those kiddoes getting the backpacks loved them! So happy you had fun at camp, too. I saw several of your Closet Cosplays, and they were great!
    And ugh, those people attacking Misha! Happy he is alright.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love my Misha!! He's an angel! ;)
      There's always next year for GISHWHES.. Maybe we can be in the same team! :)

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  2. My friend takes part in GISHWHES every year. I never have but I've helped her with so much that I feel like an honorary participant.

    Your artwork is amazing!

    ReplyDelete

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