March 2010 Archives

Great music, interesting visuals

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I've watched this one a couple of times, and enjoy it more each time.

ETA: In case you don't know all of the paintings.

ETA II: And yes, the blackface in the rendition of "Olympia" is rather troubling. I didn't notice it the first couple of times I watched the video, sad to say.

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Just in time for the end of March.

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Project Completed!

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Since December, I have been working on a painting for the wall of the nursery for the new son of my good friends. We have been referring to it as "the mural", though we decided to paint it on masonite and mount it to the wall, rather than paint it directly on. That way, if they move or he outgrows it, the painting can be moved.

Just getting the board home from Menards proved to be quite a trick. It was too big to fit in the car, so it had to go on top. M. and I had enough rope to tie it down, but we didn't have enough rope to make it really secure against gusts of wind at the front. So we rolled down the windows and drove really slowly, each of us with one hand out and up, hold the board down as the wind tugged at it. We laughed at our own ridiculousness pretty much non-stop all the way home.

The painting was a copy of a scene from Trina Schart Hyman's Saint George and the Dragon illustrations. N. had wanted a scene with actual dragn fighting, but we decided that it might be too scary for a really wee one, so we picked another interesting scene.

After gessoing the board, I traced the picture with the help of a projector.

Then I began the long process of turning that drawing into a painting.

Since I was using acrylic paints to copy a watercolor, I decided to mostly use washes or color, with only a few thicker areas here and there, and to let the pencil lines remain part of the finished look.

The last step (for me) came this Sunday, as I painted a bright red border around the edge to frame it.

Now all that remains is to get it mounted on the wall in the nursery. I'm looking forward to seeing it up, and I'll post a picture when it is. Both M. and N. were quite pleased with how it turned out.

I must admit, I was quite nervous when I started. I haven't really painted much since college, which was ages ago, and even then I was more of a photographer than a painter. My paintings tended to be very stylized and abstract. But Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorite artists, and M. and N. are two of my favorite people, so I couldn't not do it.

If you care to, you can also see a slideshow of the photos above.

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Pink Terror

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The is strange and delightful. That is all I have to say on the matter.

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Encore!

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Mad Max

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A pair of my cufflinks is featured in this cool p-poc treasury: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=122237 Check it and click! (expires Wednesday morning)

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Mentioned elseweb...

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A pair of cufflinks from The Floating Market has received a favorable mention on Small talk about big things. Check it out!

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Notes for Friday

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1. I am bound and determined to sell these hair sticks today. They are on sale right now for $5 off the regular price, and they are totally charming.

2. Starting today and for the next seven days, I have a tile ad up on Craft Cult. I'm hoping it does some good.

3. I have a wonderfully creepy treasury, "The Unsettling Toy Box" on Etsy at the moment.

4. This weekend, I expect to finish an art project I have been working on since December. I'll post pictures as soon as I do.

Happy Friday! What are you up to?

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Just a little something...

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To put you off your sleep.

The Unsettling Toy Box

(It will only be around till Sunday.)

Holy cow, I never knew!

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Apparently, at approximately 5:00am EST, Thursday December 31 2009, a treasury list that I made was featured on the Etsy front page. (It was about 5 hours later that one of my own items made the front page for the first time.) Check it out!

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Accepted on craft gawker

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All hair sticks $5 off at the Floating Market, limited time only.

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New treasury:

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It's a Tie!

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In Etsy's Treasury West, until early Sunday morning.

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Centurian Shipping Special

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FREE shipping on any order $10 or more for the 100th person to make The Floating Market an Etsy favorite!

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Springy Springy Spring

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Ok, so technically it is still winter, but it feels like spring. It smells like spring. That's the important part.

Yesterday evening, it was grey when I got off of work, but it was also 50 degrees and not raining. I hauled out my bike, pumped up the tires, and went out for a ride. It was wonderful! There was still a bit of chill in the air, of course, but a pair of fingerless gloves were sufficient to keep my hands cozy on the handlebars.

Riding along, I smelled woodsmoke, mud, saw dust (from a construction site), and, at one point, ganja (near Willy St.). It was neat to smell things besides salt and cold.

The mist was rising up from the Yahara River and Tenney Pond in very interesting ways. I did find myself wishing for my camera, but all I had with me was my phone, which wouldn't do. (Actually, with the lighting, I'd have needed my camera and tripod.) However, we are getting to the time of year when I actually do start bringing my camera with me when I go out. At least, much of the time.

Daylight Savings Time starts on Sunday (hence my current treaury and spring becomes official the week after. Granted, this is Wisconsin, and late snow storms are not unheard of. Those are always a little hard to deal with, mentally, but even if we get an Easter Blizzard or WIAA boys basketball tournament snow...it's only a little time before that is all just a memory for a few months, and we all start smiling.

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Art and film

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A friend of mine passed me the link for this video, a 5+ minute rough cut "teaser" for a series called In the Room.

I don't know much more about it than what you can find on the Vimeo page, but it looks really neat and I'd love to see the finished product. The one thing that I do know is that my friend's step-mother is the composer in the 4th segment.

Check it out!

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Booyah!

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As of this afternoon, I have a new scanner. I am very, very excited by this, as it means I can finally start scanning some of the many, many prints I have available. It also means I can restart my stalled project with the family photo albums. The old scanner just couldn't handle it any more.

To celebrate, I now have a new print up at Irving Place Photography: Red Gym.

Red Gym

I also have a treasury for the next few days: Forward!, a tribute to spring, Daylight Savings Time, and Wisconsin.

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Nominations for the 2010 Hugo Awards close next Sunday. As I am still eligible to nominate (having been to WorldCon last year), I have been giving it some thought. I can nominate up to five in each catagory.

Best Novel, current thoughts are:
The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The City & The City by China Miéville
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Best Novella, Best Novelette...dunno. I don't think I read any new ones from 2009.

Best Short Story is also a dunno, as I can't quite remember which that I read where new in 2009. I'll have to look it up.
ETA:
I'm liking K. Tempest Bradford's "Élan Vital"

Best Related Work is a category that I know very little about.

Best Graphic Story is going to require more thought, and I'd be happy to take recommendations. (Any science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form appearing for the first time in 2009.)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form:
Coraline
Star Trek
Moon

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
"Epitaph One," Dollhouse

Best Editor, Short Form; Best Editor, Long Form; Best Professional Artist...dunno. I'll have to think on it.

Best Semiprozine
I believe Shadow Unit qualifies.

Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer, Best Fan Artist, John W. Campbell Award...dunno.

I'd welcome any thoughts and input on categories that are blank or incomplete.

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Local Artist Highlight

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Blackbird Marmalade Creations is the work of C. Jane Washington, a Madison artist who makes the most wonderfully creepy art dolls.

I first came across her work at last spring's Odyssey Con art show, and my first thought was, "I know these creatures!" They were very much like the little beings, good and bad, that scampered around my imagination as a child. (See also.)

I picked up one of her cards for future reference, at which point it did that thing that business cards like to do to me: it went into hiding for a while. I rediscovered it last night, and was reminded to check the website, and hence, this blog entry.

Coincidentally, she is also on the WisCon 34 Art Show committee. (Or perhaps she *is* the art show committee, as these things sometimes go.)

Anyway, her work is delightfully creepy, scarily cute, and terrifyingly toothy. Go check it out.

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Countdown

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Just over two weeks until the schedule for this year's Wisconsin Film Fest is announced. I'm getting bouncy with anticipation.

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About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from March 2010 listed from newest to oldest.

February 2010 is the previous archive.

April 2010 is the next archive.

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