2008 Woodie Awards
Magic of puppets
Alumnus helps Katrina victims with sock monkeys
Ashley Waite
Issue date: 1/26/06 Section: Features
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Bringing communities together through sock monkey sewing events has been an important part of Ryan Ballard's art during the last few years. Since he was a Central sculpture student four years ago, Ballard has hosted several community gatherings to teach people how to sew sock monkeys for part of his ongoing creation of sock monkey puppets and sculptures.
A major project
After graduating in 2001, Ballard went on to New Orleans where he continued to live and work as an artist. As a mentor to inner city New Orleans kids, Ballard single-handedly created after-school fine arts programs constantly writing grants to help kids and promote fine art in the poor, under-funded New Orleans school district where the arts were inevitably placed on the back burner and taken out of the classroom.
Along with Ballard's social commitment to the arts in New Orleans, he created a bizarre and fun-loving traveling puppet troupe called "Razzamataz." With glitzy burlesque hand-built stages, sock monkeys, paper maché and other wild, wacky puppets, Ballard toured and performed his puppet shows at galleries and various openings for kids.
Unexpected disaster
Just as Ballard began making a name for himself in the New Orleans art circuit, the unimaginable happened, and all was lost in Hurricane Katrina. When the warning came to leave the city, Ballard and his girlfriend left New Orleans with their Jeep, a few clothes and a canoe to go camping while the storm subsided, leaving behind a whole lifetime of photographs, clothing, pets, art and a 1969 Ford Fairlane. Little did they know what they had with them would be all that was left from their home.
Unlike so many, Ballard brought with him his laptop which contained records, photographs and documents of all the grants, shows and art work thus far. Not wasting any time and equipped with a positive outlook, Ballard started a new life of writing grants for school districts in Colorado Springs. He is working with the community making sock monkeys and plans for even bigger and better projects coming later this year.
A major project
After graduating in 2001, Ballard went on to New Orleans where he continued to live and work as an artist. As a mentor to inner city New Orleans kids, Ballard single-handedly created after-school fine arts programs constantly writing grants to help kids and promote fine art in the poor, under-funded New Orleans school district where the arts were inevitably placed on the back burner and taken out of the classroom.
Along with Ballard's social commitment to the arts in New Orleans, he created a bizarre and fun-loving traveling puppet troupe called "Razzamataz." With glitzy burlesque hand-built stages, sock monkeys, paper maché and other wild, wacky puppets, Ballard toured and performed his puppet shows at galleries and various openings for kids.
Unexpected disaster
Just as Ballard began making a name for himself in the New Orleans art circuit, the unimaginable happened, and all was lost in Hurricane Katrina. When the warning came to leave the city, Ballard and his girlfriend left New Orleans with their Jeep, a few clothes and a canoe to go camping while the storm subsided, leaving behind a whole lifetime of photographs, clothing, pets, art and a 1969 Ford Fairlane. Little did they know what they had with them would be all that was left from their home.
Unlike so many, Ballard brought with him his laptop which contained records, photographs and documents of all the grants, shows and art work thus far. Not wasting any time and equipped with a positive outlook, Ballard started a new life of writing grants for school districts in Colorado Springs. He is working with the community making sock monkeys and plans for even bigger and better projects coming later this year.
