The art of Peeps
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on August 31, 2017 1:55 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Karin Thompson glues candy down to a wooden background in the hallway outside of her studio at the Arts Council of Wayne County. The content is inspired by Eli's Friends and features animals riding in the back of a truck.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Kate Thompson, left, and her mother, Karin Thompson, work on Karin's submission for the Arts Council of Wayne County's Peeps contest. The sculpture is of cartoonish-type dogs riding in the back of a truck with their ears and tongues flying in the wind. Karin made the Peep sculpture for Eli's Friends.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Karin Thompson stocked up on Peeps months in advance to make her sculpture of cartoon dogs riding in the back of a truck for Eli's Friends.
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News-Argus/BECKY BARCLAY
Stacia Weed works on her Peep portrait of Goldsboro's own Malpass Brothers. She also did Peep sculpture of the front facade of the Paramount Theatre.
Karin Thompson had a special storage unit filled with Peeps -- all kinds of Peeps, rabbits, chicks and even ones with hearts on them. For a while, it housed Peeps in a space 4 feet high and about 6 feet deep.
"My daughter and I bought out every Peep that was available here after the holidays," Thompson said. "My mom bought out cases of them at the commissary on base, too."
She had scooped up all the Peeps that could be found in Wayne County. She found blue, purple, white, pink and yellow bunnies, all sorts of colors of chicks and some other odd Peeps.
But they weren't for eating.
Thompson used them to create a work of art out of them.
It was all in fun -- and for a trophy and bragging rights -- for a first ever Peep sculpture competition, hosted by the Arts Council of Wayne County.
The creations are on display at the Arts Council through Sept. 17. And visitors may even vote on their favorite Peep sculpture; votes are $1 each.
Any sculpture done for a nonprofit organization, will receive half of the money from votes, with the remainder going to help fund the Arts Council's programs.
Arts Council director Wendy Walker said the marshmallow masterpieces could be either a three-dimensional sculpture, a two-dimensional mosaic or a diorama.
Businesses and local organizations were invited to create or have a local artist do a Peep sculpture representing something about the business, what the organization does or maybe a favorite place to visit in Wayne County.
"Peeps are magical things," Ms. Walker said. "Everybody loves a Peep. Everybody talks about Peeps. Some people eat Peeps, some display Peeps. We make art with Peeps."
The idea for a Peep sculpture came from an arts council in Maryland. "Penelopeep," a huge dragon with three eggs in her nest, was brought to Wayne County from Maryland so people here could see what a Peep sculpture was.
"We had her at the mall about a month, and the day we went to take her away, all the mall walkers were just devastated that we were taking her," Ms. Walker said. "They said they would talk to her as they walked. She's making an impression on people."
And she'll probably make even more of an impression when, for Beak Week, her eggs hatch. They've already been given names -- "Topaz," "Sparkle" and "Fluffy."
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Thompson did a Peep sculpture for her friend Barrett Rae, owner of Eli's Friends. It is of several different kinds of dogs in the back of a truck with their ears and tongues blowing in the wind. The finished piece is four feet high by eight feet wide.
She said it's just something whimsical.
"Barrett wanted something involving dogs, and she likes whimsical stuff, like cartoonish dogs," Ms. Thompson said. "Everybody can find something about cartoon dog that their dog does that, too."
Thompson has been taking her dogs to Eli's for a while now, and when the opportunity to do a Peep sculpture came up, she approached Rae about a sponsorship.
"She said she'd love to," Thompson said. "She's purchased a lot of my artwork over the years."
Another sculptor was Stacia Weed. She did the front facade of the Paramount Theatre and a portrait of the Malpass Brothers.
"We wanted two projects," said Stephanie Slusser, Paramount Theatre service coordinator. "One that represents the Paramount building because we are so proud of it and another that represents the Malpass Brothers because they are a staple at the theater."
After the exhibit at the Arts Council, the plan is to put both Peep creations at the Paramount, Slusser said.
Weed said it was trial and error working with Peeps and something she'd never done before. She ordered a total of 1,200 Peeps for her two sculptures.
"Bunnies are definitely the easiest to work with because they are flat," she said. "But I've had to actually cut off the heads of so many Peeps to make them flat. It's kind of like an Easter massacre."
Weed met the Arts Council director through an art class she took at Wayne Community College.
"Miss Wendy Walker approached me and asked me back in May if I'd be interested in doing the Peep project," Mrs. Weed said. "I didn't really understand what was going on."
But she agreed to do the two for the Paramount.
While working on her Peep sculptures, Weed had to keep the marshmallow candy hidden from her 2-year-old son, Max.
"I don't like Peeps as much as my husband and kids do," she said.
"Max is in daycare during the day. I've been able to get things done then, but then I have to hide the Peeps. Otherwise, Max would destroy them.
"It's fun working with Peeps. I never thought I'd be working with this type of medium."
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Walker said some of the Peep sculptures will be for sale when the exhibit is over.
"The ones that don't sell, an arts council in another part of the state has shown an interest in doing something similar, so some of the Peep sculptures will go there," she said.
"I think people should come see them and see what you can do with candy and odd things," Thompson said. "We need to get the arts out there in any way possible and get people involved and for them to see what we do. If it's playing with candy, that's OK. Peeps are just magical little things. And even if you don't eat them, you know what they are."
Anyone wanting to vote for their favorite Peep sculpture can drop a dollar in the box next to the sculpture or vote for their favorite by texting ACWCPeeps to 71777.
For more information about the Peep display, call the Arts Council at 919-736-3300.