Paper jumping jacks can put a little spring in your step

I don’t remember precisely why I got interested in jumping jacks – not the kind you do in the gym – the kind you cut from paper. With a little clever knotting and tying, when you pull a string, the figure’s arms and legs dance and flip around. Jumping for joy. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t take much to amuse me.

A jumping jack is a mechanical toy, usually made of wood, and was a toy shelf staple of the 1800s when most toys were made at home by hand by family members or the child himself.

When I lived part of the year in Lincoln, Neb., I often went to exhibit openings in art galleries. All my traipsing around to bask in the wonder and beauty of artists’ work had a pleasant result. I ended up with a collection of art show announcements and public relations materials printed on good card stock, which featured wonderful photographs of fabulous works of art.

One day, after I had done my stint of working on the novel I was writing at the time, I focused my attention on dolls, doll making, paper dolls and assorted other doll-related things. That was when the thought of jumping jacks leaped – if you will pardon the pun – into my mind. At the public library, I found a book containing a basic pattern for a jumping jack and detailed instructions on how to string it to make it “dance.”

Soon, I had cut up my art show opening announcements and had reconfigured them into jumping jacks. What delighted me about fashioning the paper toys was the element of surprise the process contained. If I placed the patterns a certain way, the design elements of the original image were transformed into a completely different arrangement. The process reminded me of my writing process – the act of taking a fact and mixing it with my imagination until that fact became a handmaiden to fiction. The process reminded me of jazz, too – state the theme, improvise on the theme, compose on your feet, offer your heart and soul to the universe.

No two of the jumping jacks I made ever danced alike and that’s one of the reasons I love jumping jacks. Despite the uniformity of the pattern – a torso, upper arms, lower arms, thighs and lower legs – each one is an individual with its own unique personality.

All it takes to make a jumping jack is some sturdy paper, watercolor paper or old greeting cards. It’s easy to draw the patterns for a torso, and arms and legs. But if the thought of drawing is too daunting, visit www.osv.org/kids/crafts14.htm for a jumping jack pattern, and instructions on how to string it so it will kick up its heels with jolly abandon. This pattern uses brass paper fasteners at knees, elbows, shoulders and hips, but I prefer to use a needle with a large eye threaded with crochet cotton, which I knot front and back.

A jumping jack made from watercolor paper invites one to fill in the features and clothing, thus imbuing the creation with even more personality. If the feet are given pointed toes, the jumping jack takes on the aura of a ballerina. The possibilities are endless.

Currently, I am cutting up old Christmas cards to make jumping jacks. Next year, I’ll scrawl a holiday message on the back of those little guys, drop them in an envelope and mail them to far-flung friends. Hopefully, those friends will hang the jumping jack on the Christmas tree to remind them of best beloveds and dear ones, whose presence in their lives causes them to dance and prance with joy.

Snippets

. Old Point Comfort Gallery in Waldoboro seeks fiber artists for the exhibits Tapestry in Maine, a juried exhibition set for June 16-July 31; and Handmade Carpets: Art Meets Function Aug. 4-Sept. 18. The shows are open to artists who live in Maine. Entry deadline is April 10. To learn more, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Old Point Comfort, 28 Pitcher Road, Waldoboro, ME 04572; call 832-8133, or e-mail shotchki@midcoast.com.

. Quilt artist Elizabeth Busch of Glenburn announced the launch of her Web site, www.elizabethbusch.com.

. Lots of free crochet patterns are available at www.crochetpatterncentral.com.

Ardeana Hamlin can be reached at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.