Jacob Devaney

Textile Artists' Elizabeth Newman, and Jacob Devaney The illustrious Giggly Sprout and Gumbo Wobbly show off costumes consisting of hand-sewn beadwork appliqué and many expressions of batik, tie-dye, and bath dye. The fabrics we use are rayon, silk and cotton velvet, and muslin. We always use Procion MX fiber reactive dyes. You can learn more about the costumes and characters with a video search on www.culturecollective.org

Below, I have included our traditional bios, which you can feel free to cherry-pick if you need any more information: Living Folklore, Inc. has brought their delightful characters and stories to festivals and theaters across the country for over a decade. Living Folklore stories invite people to realize that everyone has a significant part to play in the unfolding of our shared cultural history on Mother Earth. Giggly Sprout and Gumbo Wobbly, Living Folklore's Signature Characters, have been recognized for their exquisite, hand-crafted costumes, music, and use of traditional vaudeville, circus, and physical theater skills. Having developed close friendships with native elders on Navajo and Hopi, Living Folklore's Founders, Jacob Devaney and Elizabeth Newman, have openly embraced the traditional and ancient wisdom of clowns as an archetype, and story as a tool to shape culture. Now, Living Folklore, Inc. fuses history with the endless possibilities of modern technology and media application. Welcome to The Age of Living Folklore!

Living Folklore Founders: Jacob Devaney, when not touring with the clowns or making sets, puppets, and costumes, is a Web and Graphic Designer. Jacob has created numerous afterschool programs at local elementary schools, plays rag-time piano and has an undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology.

Elizabeth Newman, when not creating imaginative worlds for Living Folklores Characters, is a Craniosacral Therapist with a practice in Sedona, Prescott, and Southern California for the past 7 years. Her work, specializing with children, has influenced her art greatly, as she is passionate in her studies about the brain, healing, and the body. Elizabeth speaks at conferences about the healing benefits of laughter in the work-place, and teaches at local massage schools.

Together, they helped to create and are board members for The White Buffalo Children's Foundation, which sets up cultural exchange programs for inner-city kids from New Orleans to meet native kids on reservations in Arizona. Both Elizabeth and Jacob love going on hikes in the canyons and mountains of The Southwest and share a great reverence for the outdoors. It is their belief that imagination, inspiration, and celebration are the tools needed at this time to integrate the wondrous findings of science with the ancient wisdom of story and nature. Living Folklore is where these dreams, and skills converge to find expression.

Most importantly for the site, we would like to mention: Photos taken from "ABC's For A Better World" available online at: www.gigglebubble.com