Category Archive for ‘Art’ at eastowners

« Older Entries

Archive for the 'Art' Category

Cobwebs (another writing warmup)

Published

dead headphonist

on August 19, 2008

in Art and UFO

. 0 Comments

Current Mood: Worried Soul

I’m trying to get back into songwriting and I’m in the mood to chew up some creative juices tonight, so I wrote another quick little missive. Could use a little work, but not too bad for five minutes.

–

To slip down a hole in a plastic shoe all you must do
Is put down the drink and put paper to ink
And a man sits on top, smiles a toothless grin
Whispering “hey there partner… let us begin”

You search in the dirt for answers to the cancer
But the smiling man just sits and waits for you
Is it true? What color is blue?
He just sits, smiles, and waits for something new

He tosses you a blank book
In it, a stick with a hook
You reach deeper inside
Searching the crevasses with the crook

But you find nothing inside but
creosote, cobwebs, and lost time
Searching desperately, you being to cry
You lament when you didn’t even have to try

Enter The Imagination Station

Published

charmaspice

on July 22, 2008

in Art and Kid-friendly

. 2 Comments

Current Mood: Ecstatic emoticon Ecstatic

For those of you born in the late 70’s or in the 80’s (or those with kids born then) do you rember seeing on PBS Mark Kistler’s Imagination Station drawing lessons? I remember watching it with my brother’s - Larry in particular, as he liked to draw. Mark’s little mini shows taught you how to draw in 3-D using perspective, and shading, as well as some other things - all things I was not all too familiar with before going to his Art Camp with Clare. I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination - most of the time Clare tells me my drawings don’t look like their supposed to, but I always give it my best shot. I can however say though, that after attending Mark Kistler’s Art Camp with Clare, I think I now have some artistic skillz I didn’t even know existed!

Apparently Mark was on PBS with 65 episodes of his Imagination Station series, he also did a few other drawing series on TV, and he has also written some “How to Draw” books, as well as done some DVD’s. His philosophy is one of the best one’s I’ve read in a while it simply says: “learning how to draw in 3-D builds a child’s critical thinking skills while nourishing self-esteem. His positive messages on self-image, goal setting, dream questing, environmental awareness and the power of reading have inspired millions of children to discover their awesome individual potential.” Mark is also extremely high energy, and keeps kids (even adults) excited about drawing and being creative while teaching you how to do some pretty cool drawings. If you’d like to learn more about Mark please click on the link above, he also does what sound like some awesome school assemblies.

So, you might be wondering why I’m blogging about a summer art camp I did with Clare…why it was so special and blogworthy…was I PBS star struck, kinda, but it was even cooler than that! Earlier this Spring a flier came home from Clare’s school about Mark Kistler’s Summer Art Camp, I looked at it, and suddenly it hit me who he was. I was super excited because I remembered him from my younger years. What was even cooler, was that they were taping this art camp to be aired on PBS later this year (with any luck). Mark and his team paired up with Farris State University to tape all 5 sessions of his art camp for the entire week he were here, and every student and parent was to be a part of his live in-studio audience! Parents were required to stay for the younger 5-7 year old session, but after staying this year I think I might stay every year I sign Clare up. At least until she kicks me out due to embarassment. It was that much fun, and they encourage you to participate with your kids! Which might I say is key in having a good relationship with your children, because too many parents are dropping their kids off at school or summer camp and not taking a part in their kid’s life because they want to be rid of them. Granted, some days I find myself in this rut, but most days I’m right there along side Clare…having just as much fun as she is. I’ll step off my soap box now.

Now, Clare & I are not early risers, but we had to be the week we had art camp. If you were not there on time, you couldn’t get into the class because they were recording it. I told Clare it’s practice for school! Each session was an hour long, and if your kids were older they could do more than one session, but for Clare 1 hour was about all she could take. Being in TV land for an almost 6 year old is boring, (well other than the fact that she knew she’d see herself on TV eventually) how many times do we need to rehearse the opening to this afterall? She didn’t understand “cut”, “edit that”, or why we couldn’t leave until they were done shooting what they wanted - no matter how over our time limit we were. I thought it was kinda cool, but then again, I know what’s going on. Art camp isn’t normally like this, according to one of the mom helpers, it’s just this summer was special because of the video taping. The price wasn’t too bad either, at $89 for the week (they also give you discounts for adding classes, and offer scholarships for families in need). Many of you are gasping, I heard you. The nice thing is, Mark, his team, the video crew, and everyone helping out with this was doing this for free. That’s right free. They are donating the shows to PBS, and then all of the money raised through the fee’s to come to the camp, buying a T-shirt (gotta have that), and any donations they recieve go towards them getting the distribution rights to put this on televisions accross the world. I think that’s a pretty sweet deal.

Now, if your still reading this…I applaud you! I tend to ramble, especially when talking about something as monumentous as this. Come on, we’re going to be on PBS! If you click the continue link there are some pictures I took of Clare’s and of my own artwork. Clare has become more inspired since going to Art Camp, and is drawing things she wasn’t before - like marshmallows. We drew a few fun marshmallow pics, and since then she’s been in a marshmallow mood. Now we aren’t Picasso or anything, but I think these represent our best works. Enjoy the art!

Continue reading ‘Enter The Imagination Station’

Dates Really Do Count

Published

charmaspice

on September 22, 2007

in Alcohol, Art, Date-Night and Food

. 0 Comments

Current Mood: Cool emoticon Cool & Lovey

Last night for the first time in about a month Brad & I were able to get out for a much needed Date Night. I know I’ve blogged about these before, but let me tell you why they are so important. We started doing these regularly about a year ago, and it has helped us out in more ways than we can count. I know it sounds cheesy…Date Night…but seriously it’s one thing we forgot how to do after embarking on marriage life and the decision to have a child. We were so busy thinking about jobs, parenthood, and jumping through the hoops of life that we forgot about US…and what we like to do together. It’s something that I think every couple should do, and it should be an institution! We get so wrapped up in every day life that we forget about the things that drew us to this other person that we chose to commited our lives to. So I urge anyone in a long term relationship to make sure that they fit a Date Night into their schedules on a regular basis.

Last night we decided to head out to Bar Louie in Woodland Mall. They have yummy out of the ordinary bar food, and a happy hour we were unaware of….meaning martini’s for pretty cheap, and that’s what we’re all about! I think they were about $5 each, regularly probably around $7.50. I had a few Peartini’s along with the Blackened Fish Po’ Boy. Brad had a variety of martini’s including the Peartini, and the VooDoo along with the Shrimp Po’ Boy. We also shared their absolutely wonderful Salted Pretzels. There isn’t much special about these, other than they are soft pretzles sticks (easy for sharing and dipping) and they come with queso, yellow mustard, and honey mustard for dipping. We stuffed ourselves to the gills, and decided to see if there was a movie playing of interest at the new cheap 2nd run theater at the mall. There wasn’t much in our time slot, and nothing that we wanted to see. So, we headed to Meijer.

We actually had an agenda for going to Meijer this time. When we went camping with our parents a few weeks ago for the Wine Festival, Brad’s Dad had purchased a table top propane grill for a pretty reasonable price. He had said that he had gotten it at Meijer for about $25…Brad thought that it’d be a great alternative for us instead of buying a full grill for a much higher price. Being Demi-vegetarians (we eat fish/shrimp…and that’s the only type of meat we eat) we have been wanting to grill our vegies, Boca Burgers, Smart Dogs, and Shrimp Kabobs for years now! So, for a grand total of just over $30 we purchased a table top grill & a mini propane tank to go with it. I think we’re going to do some grilling this weekend before the nice weather ends! We also picked up some Jones Soda that was on sale (one of Brad’s fav’s), and some Strawberry Kiwi flavored Vodka from Pinnacle on a whim…hey, we are still working on the impulse buying - at least this time it was a relatively cheap impulse buy! We also picked up some frozen lemonade for mixing and to drink on these somewhat warm early Fall days.

We were actually home relatively early this Date Night. While it was somewhat short, it was nice. I just enjoy spending time with Brad - alone - without having to take someone to the bathroom as soon as our food arrives, listening to “Hey, did you know” or “I have a question” every 5.8 seconds. We love our daughter, but she drives us CRAZY sometimes! Other than dealing with retarded people in the parking lot of the mall (a fine lady ignored the 3-way stop, laughing her way as she turned in front of me…as with most malls-ALL incoming traffic has the right of way), and trying to find a parking spot on a Friday night (we finally found one, and then the girls were parked the wrong way making them go the wrong way down the one way parking lot lanes). Ah well. Funny enough, we ended our date by falling asleep on the couch around 10:30pm. I guess that’s what happens when you’re old!

This morning/early afternoon has been relatively quiet around the Eastowner’s house. We made brunch, Vegetarian style, with eggs, toast, and Morningstar Fake Sausage Links. Clare of course ate tons of food for her growing body, and Brad & I enjoyed our Michigan Maple Coffee from Shuil with our food. This afternoon we will be heading up the street for Eastown’s Street Fest. Every year they close down the street and offer up live music on 2-3 stages, and venders up and down the street selling their wears. If time permits & we have the gumption to go…I read in the paper this morning that their’s a Marching Band Competetion up in Rockford. I doubt we’ll go, but it might be a nice end to our already groovin’ day.

Getting my mind off of stuff

Published

dead headphonist

on September 16, 2007

in Art and Technology

. 0 Comments

As many of you know, I have a liking for digital art and I sometimes liken myself as a bit of a digital artist (though nowhere near as good as some folks I know who are gifted artists in the real world). I also have a tendency to mimic those things that I see around with my own style applied; more adaptation than artistry I guess.

The end result is something that creates a little quick artistic outlet for me.

I really enjoy logo work and messing with text. Here’s a little bit of my latest Photoshop work, which you will also see around the site (I do most of the graphics around here from scratch, barring the tiny icons, which are done by folks much better at that sort of thing than I am.

There’s nothing really special here, just basic effects and trying to mimic the glass effects I see around. I also like the reflection thing quite a bit; especially for graphics that I’m just presenting to something to look at. It adds some depth and is a really stupid-simple effect to pull off.

Both of these items are things I’m thinking about using on the site. Typically, I’ve always used a full graphic logo at the top of our various websites. The fact that this one uses only text with a header background has bothered me since the beginning, but it’s been at the bottom of my list of things to “fix”. So there it is; a little preview of what you might see on the site in the future.

distracted– more clay

Published

dead headphonist

on July 28, 2006

in Art

. 0 Comments

After yesterday’s triumph with the “orange man”, who incidently has found a rudimentary mouth, I got “inspired” or somesuch and started work on the first prototype head for the main toon of the animation that I will be working on. I expect it to evolve as I practice more with clay and learn the tools and tricks. Anyway… here is a quick couple of snapshots in case you’re interested.

By the way, Colorado trip was wonderful. Pics will be up in the gallery tonight, along with a blog entry.

more clay.

Published

dead headphonist

on July 27, 2006

in Art

. 0 Comments

Just a quick update to post some new sculpture pics. I’m getting a lot better I think, but I still need to head to the art supply and get some better tools. This is all done with my fingers and a small plastic sculpting tool that came with the clay… obviously not all that smooth.

clay

Published

dead headphonist

on July 9, 2006

in Art

. 0 Comments

Here it is… my first clay toon. Be kind… this is the first time I’ve really sculpted anything… and this is just a head. It’s quite small… only about 1.5″ in diameter. I need some better tools to work in that tight of a space or I need to get some more clay.

clay toon 1

clay toon 2

Crazy.

Published

dead headphonist

on July 7, 2006

in Art

. 0 Comments

So I cancelled both accounts to World of Warcraft this week. Char isn’t playing anymore and I really don’t have time to play at all anymore. I think I’m back to signing up for too many projects, but I’m HAPPY… I have LOTS of creative stuff going on and I feel ENERGIZED. I am probably feeling the most motivation I have in years. A month or so back, an old friend, Rob, posted to staggercat.com and we got back in touch and have been brewing a couple of new projects.

The first is the idea of a long-distance “track sharing” recording project, where we all record our parts in our respective recording studios and then get together at the end of the project and do the final mix and mastering. We going to start with a couple of tunes and see how it goes. I’m really geeked about this. I played in a band with Rob in high school and part of college (Dead End Roads) and I’m really excited to be working with him again. It sounds like we’ll eventually get the whole “old crew” together to work on the project.

The second project is a script for an animated pilot episode for a show that Rob wrote around a comic that he has created. It’s brilliant stuff and again, I’m geeked to be working on this. I’m going to try my hand at stop-motion animation based on clay models. I have a lot of pre-work to do, but I think this is going to be a real growth project for me… completely different than anything I’ve ever done and I’m looking forward to the challenge. This will get some of the want I have to sculpt out of my system too. I’ll post video of the stop-motion study that I’m planning on eastowners.com.

My third project is a NEW BAND! Matt has gotten most of the group together in the Kzoo/Battle Creek area. I suspect that we’ll start rehearsals this fall with recording in the winter time or spring. It is, as of yet, unnamed (as usual), but we have some ideas. Look for rehashing of old tunes and some new ones. We’re trying our hand at some genres that we’ve never played before, so this should be interesting.

Work is going well. We’re in the midst of removing the company from the parent company, which is one of the more challenging exercises of my career. We will be successful though. We have a great team and I’m confident that the company will come out standing at the other side of carveout. We’re getting to do some really neat things with server virtualization that I think is the future of enterprise IT. If you’re interested in what we’re doing, please drop me a line.

Hot Town Summer in the City

Published

charmaspice

on June 5, 2006

in Art, Family and Music

. 0 Comments

So….even though the official date hasn’t passed, it’s feeling like Summer around here. Things have been pretty well around here. The beginning of the week was filled with much the usual of the YMCA and Clare & I went thrift store shopping for some shorts for her. There’s this awesome store here in GR called Once upon a Child that buys peoples used clothing and baby things. Most clothing is anywhere from $3-8 depending on what it is, the larger sizes may be more too. But I bought a bunch of shorts, some jeans for the Fall, and a cute little dress. We hit Max 10 to see if there were any pj’s for cheap to complete Clare’s summer wordrobe. Unfortunately there weren’t, but I did find a pair of jeans for me as well as a shirt for Brad for cheap….because everything is under $10. My sitter came Wednesday afternoon, and I hit the mall for an shopping trip. I don’t usually shop, but I am cat sitting for the next couple weeks and had some money that was burning a hole in my wallet! So, I found some reasonably priced capri’s for summer….since I hate wearing shorts with my psoriasis. I figured if we were heading out to CO in July again…..I need something that breathes a little more than full length jeans.

On Thursday we took my car in for repairs finally. Good thing too as the struts needed replacing, some kind of boots needed replacing (they hold grease in around the joints on the axle if I remember correctly…..I don’t know much about cars!), and the Serpentine Belt needed replacing as well. So…..thank god I got a credit card recently! I hate doing things like this, but we have no choice as the Audie is our main car that we drive all over the state, and we are planning to drive out to CO in a month. So, I would rather charge the money than break down in the middle of Nebraska or in the middle of nowhere MI. We’ve also learned that Brad’s VW is not completely fixed. After driving it for a while it will no longer start….like it thinks it’s too hot when the temp gage says otherwise. So…..after we pay of my car’s debt we will be getting Brad’s car fixed, hopefully for good. It drives fine, you just have to plan on turning it off somewhere you plan on being for over a half an hour, unless it’s a short trip…because it does fine on short trips. We found that out after trying to leave the dealership when we dropped my car off. So, we headed home, made dinner, and I decided to walk to my hair appt….as I pay for it whether I’m there or not. I’d much rather enjoy spending that money on me than nothing. It wasn’t too bad, I walked about a mile (I think it’s about 9-10 blocks there) in 25 minutes. I was a little hot when I got there, but the walk did me well! But now that we know what to expect with the VW, I think it’ll be okay to drive it. So, until Wed I get the clown car to drive around town….Woot Woo!

This weekend we headed downtown for Festival of the Arts. It was kinda fun to walk around downtown and watch all the dancing or musical performances going on. We watched and Umpah Band…..shorts & suspenders check! Clare went in and painted a picture, and we drew on some sidewalk with chalk. There was a ton to eat…..ranging in price and type, all smelling pretty yummy! Then we went to Q-doba for some dinner, and drove a very tired Clare home to do some sparklers and ground flowers in the front yard. It was a good start to summer! She hit the bed early, as she was TIRED. Brad and I had margarita night while watching some Engineering Disasters on Modern Marvels.

On Sunday Clare and I did an art project…..it’s kinda cute, but looks nothing like a giraffe, as I can’t draw very well. Had some lunch, and lounged around the house for a bit. I started my new book for book club, The Virgin Suicides…very good, and looks like it might be a quick read if I ever get an afternoon of quiet time to do it. I used to be able to sit in the back yard and read for hours while Clare played, now I have to run around and get her things or stop the dog from being annoying or whatever. Children! Today I think I will mow the lawn, and catch-up on some laundry. Hopefully, it’s a peaceful day in the neighborhood, and I can keep my sanity.