Honk if you love geese? You may feel the urge to honk these days on South Oak Park Avenue-not due to the traffic by Avenue Ale House and the expressway but because of the new exhibit at the Artisans & Crafters Unique Boutique of the Oak Park Women’s Exchange.
The imaginations of local artists and groups have taken wing, and the results are more than a dozen cleverly decorated geese in a collection called “The Great Goose Waddle.”
The Waddle is a new fundraiser for the longtime Oak Park handicraft co-op and shop.
Waddle creator and chairman of promotion Rhonda Harris is quick to point out that she was not the first to be goosed.
“There is a whole subculture of people who collect large, plastic geese and dress them up,” she explains. “I was not one of those people.” Now, with a few decorated geese on display under her wing, she just may be.
Harris says her inspiration for The Great Goose Waddle was the unique clothing-geese fleece?-specially created and sold at the Artisans & Crafters Unique Boutique.
“I am always impressed by the workmanship of these beautifully created and just clever costumers for the decorator geese that people display in their homes,” she said.
Harris, an accomplished beader, also lends a hand at “Bead In Hand,” the bead store on Harrison Street.
“I was counting entries for a decorating contest they were having involving pigs, and I thought it would be a great idea to do something like this for Artisans.”
Her group embraced the idea and everything fell neatly into place, except for one major hurdle.
“The manufacturer of the plastic geese had stopped making them,” said Harris. “I called several places and they all said the manufacturer had gone out of business. Then I heard they were starting up again and was able to purchase them from a store in Des Plaines.”
The large, molded plastic geese are on sale for $25 at the shop. “Everyone is encouraged to buy a goose, decorate it and display it in our exhibit,” said Harris. Many of the geese on display have been donated to the Artisans & Crafters Unique Boutique and are for sale. However, some are for exhibit purposes only, and will return home with the owners. “There are no guidelines or rules,” stresses Harris. “Just let the creative juices flow and run with it.” Or waddle with it, as the case may be.
The first goose to answer the call was “Heidi Ganseblumchen” a fetching Swiss miss-style goose. Isabelle Herdeg, the artist, is from Chur, Switzerland, and paid tribute to her homeland. With long blonde braids, Swiss-style hat and clothing, surrounded by alpine flowers, “Heidi” looks ready to yodel instead of honk. “Isabelle had so much fun that she is in the process of creating a male Swiss-style goose,” said Harper.
To get the attention of passers-by at 839 S. Oak Park Ave., yellow plastic webbed footprints trail along the sidewalk, leading to the store. In the window is a “cooked goose” that, when electrified, spews steam around a black stew pot filled with vegetables and looks terrified with bugged-out eyes.
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Inside, posed throughout the diverse boutique, you’ll find a gaggle of guest geese including:
“Four Part Harmony,” a goose that can also pass for an elephant, peacock and giraffe, created by The Art Club of Oak Park and River Forest High School, led by co-presidents Lucy Bannon and Taylor Feldman.
“Shake Your Tail Feathers,” a veiled Middle-Eastern belly dancing goose, adorned in chainmail by artist Dawn Fromel.
“Honker Holiday,” created by the Hephzibah Children’s Association’s overnight staff, the Jimmy Buffett-style goose is on tropical vacation under a Tiki beach umbrella.
“Luau Lanai” also has a tropical theme as the goose wears a flower lei and traditional grass hula skirt, created by West Indies-born floral designer Diana Hadaway.
“Peking Duck Duck Goose” nests in a rickshaw in full mandarin silk costume with a Dim Sum lunch, created by Deanne Alexander, founder of Sweet Thyme bath and body products.
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Harris’ own creation, “Griselda the Great” is a fortune-telling astrologist, complete with tarot cards and charming powers. Harris incorporated more than five different beading technique stitches in Griselda, including chevron, right angle weave, brick, square, and peyote. The entire process took Harris two and a half months.
“As a kid growing up in the ’50s, I always wanted to be a gypsy for Halloween,” she recalled. “That was my inspiration for Griselda although I keep thinking of new concepts that would be perfect for a new goose.”
“Happiness is Making a Blanket” was styled by Sharon Kurth after the “Peanuts” cartoon characters. Kurth spearheads the group’s Project Linus project, where blankets are made and donated to area shelters and service organizations to comfort children in crisis.
Shoppers at the Artisans Unique Boutique are given ballots and asked to vote for their favorite goose. The ballots are put in a locked box and one member is charged with the final counting.
Harris says with a laugh that thanks to the Waddle, she is now a goose snob. “I drive by people’s houses and when there is a decorated goose in front, I stop and critique the wardrobe.”
The last day for the exhibit is Saturday, Aug. 30. The silent auction for the available geese will be concluded, all the ballots counted and the winning goose announced.
Then it’s on to the next big thing. “We have a doll’s tea party on Saturday, Sept. 20,” Harper notes. Girls are invited to attend this free event, bring their favorite doll and have a tea party that includes craft-making and refreshments.
“We have artisans who make the most beautiful doll clothes-we currently have some renaissance-style clothing that is just exquisite,” said Harper.
And then there is their primary fundraiser, the 34th annual Holiday Craft Fair on Sunday, Nov. 2 at OPRF High School.
