God and Goddesses

Well I finally got all the Gods and Goddesses finished (Ceres, Iris, and Juno from topleft.) The mask on the bottom was the first one I made in this process, and I find it amazing how visible the improvements in my process are if you look at it in comparison to the top two. Anyway, have to run and work on the last two Air elementals so that I can go to Uncle Iolo's party tonight.

Get Out of Your Self

Today was the first good day in about a week and a half since I started getting sick. It is very strange but I swear that this last cold really affected me emotionally as well as physically. I saw my friend DW again today, who was the generous person who gave me the cold, and asked about her symptoms and she mentioned the exact same thing. She said that it didn't last very long congestion wise  but that she was exhausted and emotionally messed up for several days. 

I actually had quite a bit of energy and managed to finish a second Earth Elemental mask, and almost finish the second Goddess mask. I'll put up a picture tomorrow morning as soon as I polish off the last bit on that Goddess. I also helped DW perfect her 14th century dress pattern so that she can start cutting fabric. I also got a copy of the pattern so that I can alter it for myself. I have some lovely yellow linen that I think would make a wonderful cotehardie with some of the pewter buttons we have cast on the sleeves and a dark brown belt with pewter findings. DW also brought over lovely food, brownies, and beer and so I was very happy.

Then this evening I was able to take the masks over to fencing and show a friend of my husband's who has done a lot of work with leather hardening. As soon as I get this project out of my life then I am going to have to go to Jerry's Art-O-Rama and find some real rabbit skin glue and traditional, non-acrylic gesso. He gave me a lot of great things to read and so I'm looking forward to having time to go through them.

I also was able to get back to my Bible study for the first time in a month, and what a gift that group of people is to me. I never have had a women's group before and it is such a warm, nurturing, supportive environment. I also had a realization afterward as I was helping someone try to work though a really hard problem, that sometimes the bright side of the darkness we go through in our lives is that having been though it, we can help others find their way. It was a tremendous blessing to get out of my self for a while and in to compassion for another person.

The picture is one that I took two summers ago of the Labyrinth of the Cathedral at Amiens seen from a window in the Organ Loft. It seemed to express the way I have felt this week. With great thanksgiving for another day on the journey, I wend my way to bed. 

Memorization

Well, the mask progress was slow today. I did completely finish one and got two more close but nothing that would make a good picture. However, today I codified some of my methods for memorization of lines for theatre (Shakespearean theatre specifically,) so here they are.

Motion

Always move in some way when you are trying to memorize. Kinetic motion somehow causes the brain’s memory system to function better.  Strangely I find sewing great for memorizing because of the motion and the repeated pattern of sound from the machine.

Chunking

I can only learn about 8-10 lines at a time in a long speech, or about half a page of short line dialog. So when I am learning I take this much, learn it then move on to the next chunk. Then I go back and try to put the first two chunks together. When I get that right then I keep going and add another chunk to the end. About a page of 12 point type lines is the most I have been ever able to learn at one sitting.

Rule of 3’s

Education theory says that you have to do (or hear) something 3 times correctly in order to learn it. For me I start with the book and say the chunk of speech aloud from the book 3 times (by the third time I’m trying not to look at the book so much). Then I try to say it from memory 3 times checking myself from the book at the end. By the time I can say it right 3 times in a row, I usually have it.

Short vs Long Practice Sessions

Practicing mindfully for 15 minutes a dozen times a day is better than practicing for hours straight. This is perfect for single speeches. If you write your speeches out on cards, or have the play on your phone this is perfect for carrying around with you whenever you have a free moment.

Different types of Input

Using multiple types of learning helps to solidify things in your memory. If you can write or type your lines, as well as read them, as well as make a tape to listen to or read aloud, as well as read with onother person, you will learn it much better than if you only do one of these things

What Are You Saying?

You will never be able to remember a line well unless you know what it means. If you are having trouble take the line apart gramatically, and then make sure you know what every word in it means specifically (not just in a general sense). Looking up words is a great way to find images and connections that can help you remember the lines.

Following the Verse

With Shakespeare in particular, the rythym of the verse is very strong and if you flip just one word around, or replace a word with a different number of syllables you will loose the entire line.

If you are having difficulty with a line try slowing it down and really exagerating the rythym of the verse in your speaking (in practice not performance). Also if you just can’t get a line make sure you have correctly analyzed the stresses and verse pattern within it.

It also works very well to look for cool language tricks like Alliteration because Shakespeare uses them all the time and they can really help the line stick in your head once you recognise them.

Do Not Compromise

As a musician I have learned that if you make mistakes in practice you will make them in performance. It works better for me to slow everything way down until I can do it perfectly and be totally conciously engaged even if this means I can’t practice as long (because total attention is exhausting.)

As you begin to get off book, make sure that you go back to the book at least once a day because every day at least one error will try to creep in. If you do something wrong twice, you will learn it that way (whereas it takes 3-5 times to actually learn it right).

If you are working with another person to learn lines, insist that they correct you with every little thing. 

Earth and Air Basecoat

Well lots of progress. All six of the yet to be finished masks have a basecoat now and at least 4 of them have quite a bit of detail. The earth elemental on the left is almost finished, I just have to finish his aurora and then seal and add sparly bits. Wow I'm tired. But I have a friend coming tomorrow so I'll at least have company in my projecting.

Earth and Air Elemental forms

Well, here are the final shapes of the masks for the Air Elementals and the Fire Elementals. I actually was able to form the last of the masks for the Tempest today and so tomorrow I just have to stiffen them, cut the eyes and paint them. There are four total of these elementals to paint and then I have detail painting on two of the goddesses to finish.  Afterward I have to punch holes and string ties on all of the masks. I hope to deliver them this week because I think they will really help to create the character of the spirits, and because I so want my life back. 

On the good news front, I got word that my message in a bottle was approved with one small change so I need to make 20 of those. How did I volunteer for all this again? Oh that's right because I love my friends.

I am eagerly looking forward to Wednesday because my friend Gia is coming over to help dig up and fix one of our garden paths which is really overgrown with weeds, and I hope to document the process. It is absolutely the best weed defense I have ever seen and has cut my garden maintenance time significantly. 

Off to bed now to hopefully sleep.

Final Two Mask Shapes

Yesterday we got the last two sculpts molded and we experimented with the new molding material Hydrostone from Armadillo clay. It was much more difficult to mix to the correct texture but made for a beautiful mold. Here are the first masks made in the molds as well as the finished and in progress masks all lined up on the mantle. On to design the auras for these two. I look forward so much to this project being done and having my life back.

Earth and Air

Well I actually managed to make progress. I'm 4 masks down and 7 to go. I also managed to get the air and earth sculpts done so that we can cast them tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be feeling up to it. But for now it's just nice to have my sweetie home for some quiet time.

Finished Spirits

Finally got the masks finished last night. Added in more details and faded back the sharpie with a glaze of color over the top of it. Then once dry I gave them a coat of clear UV proof acrylic sealant and let that dry. Then I let that dry and then glued on some clear iridescent sequins to catch the light and sparkle.

I wonder if I have put in too much detail. The fire spirit in particular came out a little girly. But that's all well, I have a second chance with the second pair.

Still feeling off, but the cold is pretty mild and so I am mostly just having to nap. I work up from the nap today with one cat on either side of my legs in the perfect yin yang of kittens. It was terribly hard to work myself out of the covers without disturbing them.

Adding Detail

Well I am now to the stage where I can really tell what they are going to be. I am going in and adding details with a Sharpie marker (OK so I am a total hack, but I can draw a cleaner line than I can paint). Next step is to fill in some contrasting colors and a few more highlights and shadows and then on to ornamenting with gems and sequins. The trick for me at this stage is I see all the asymmetry in the masks and it bothers me, and so I have to keep reminding myself that even God doesn't make faces symmetrical so it is a little presumptuous for me to think that I can.

Blah, sick. Going back to sleep now.

Building up layers of Color

So I finally am getting to do the fun painting today. Here is the first step, building up translucent layers of color over the base coat to try and establish the over-all color. Next step will be adding detail and more shadows. Have to take a break to go get soup and juice from whole foods to treat the sickness, and head to Armadillo clay for more Hydrostone for casting. We used up an entire 50 lb bag on three casts. Amazing! Hope to finish these 4 today but it will depend on how long I have to nap for the sickness.

Basecoat, Finally!

Finally got a basecoat on the masks today, I also have four of the spirits that have been finished shaping and are being painted, and two more goddesses cut out and being shaped. The fire elemental is 2 coats of Ceramcoat Gleams Metallic Gold and the Water Elemental is on coat of Folk Art Metallic Green Pearl and one coat of Folk Art Metallic Blue Pearl. The picture makes it look bluer and darker than it actually is. I really like using the metallic and pearl paints on the leather because I feel it maximizes the unique character of the material.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I get any farther tomorrow because apparently I am coming down with something so tomorrow may be lying around feeling miserable. sigh...

Can I paint yet? Now?

Well my friend Gia came over today to copy some patterns and to help me with the masks. We got a lot done. I now have 4 spirits completely ready to paint and 2 more goddesses cut out and about half way shaped. She forgot to eat lunch, but she brought a bunch of vegetables from a client's garden that she is caring for, and we made up a lovely salad. I didn't know you could eat Broccoli flowers but they are absolutely delicious. Anyway it way so pretty as well as tasty that I had to take a picture, besides which Gia dressed to match my plates. I am going to have to go and find some broccoli to plant now.

Anyway I had a great discover today that I can paint the backs of the masks with Gesso and it makes them much stiffer and also makes the back more comfy on the wearer's face. These are the masks with eyes cut, one layer of shellac, Vinyl spackling in the crevices to make them less obvious and gessoed backs. I am so ready to paint. I have been ready to paint for the last 3 days. However I have rehearsal tonight so I can't even start till I get back. sigh...

Closer and Closer

So close to finished I can taste it. I got the aura pieces cut out and shaped and now am gluing them on. I made them from a slightly thicker leather for support and then just shaped them by hand by pinching to form the details. In this pick I am gluing them together with Crafter's Pick The Ultimate Super Glue. I am trying to find an alternative to Barges Contact Cement which always makes me feel bad from the fumes. We'll see if this works. The clothespins are holding together the glued seam. I think that once it sets up I will cover the seam with a very thin goat or pig skin to make a nice finished look.

First Masks

Eureka! I finally got the first leather masks out of the molds yesterday and they are gorgeous. I was able to achieve much more interesting detail by pressing the leather into the negative mold than I was shaping by hand. Here is a picture of the end result with the patterns for the auroras which I have to shape by hand and add to the mask today. 

I also came up with a unifying theme for the show spirits. After looking at the forms all day yesterday as I was making them I realized that one reminded my of fire, and the other of a crustacean. I then realized I could go with an elemental theme and have fire, air, and water spirits. The earlier fancy mask I made could be used for the gods and goddesses. So I just have to come up with a design for the air spirits and I have my concept. I thought I would try to get these two finished today and then hopefully tomorrow just start cranking them out. I think my friend Gia may be coming over to help make them tomorrow which will be great if it works out.

OK so I'm off to greet the day and find more coffee.

Casting Plaster

My husband and I are a bit odd. One of the ways we express our love is to work on projects together, because we find that the interplay of our skills and intellects very satisfying.

So for Valentine's day we got up early in the morning and started get ready to cast the plaster for the mask molds. We decided to make a very simple copy of one of the life masks first so that I would have a male and female head to work on when I have to give the loaner ones I am using back to my friend. Then we had to make a hardware store run for buckets to mix the plaster in. So eventually we got back and painted the masks with mold release and got the head we were going to cast set up.

Jim found some boards in the garage which were perfect to use as a base for the head and then we decided to cut the bottom out of an old plastic storage bin and use it to contain the plaster.

We got a lot of good information from the tutorials at Goblin art available here. We mixed up the plaster using the proportions in the tutorial and pored it on the first basic head with this result.

I purchased Hydrocal White by mistake instead of Hydrostone at Armadillo Clay down on east forth street. Hydrostone is much harder and makes a mold less prone to wear and tear. However I think it will be fine for this project and I will simply by the correct stuff for next time. We were able to separate fairly easily. The mold release works very well on the plaster and the clay does not stick at all. However we did have a problem with an undercut piece in the nose and ended up breaking off the tip of the nose in the positive life cast we were working from. However I think it will be all right because we have filed down the problem in the negative mold and we will simply get the right casting material and make a positive.

Working hard we were able to cast one of the clay masks I made which came out beautifully. We also got the third one ready to cast on sunday and then I cleaned up the house of all the project stuff so that we could have a nice evening and dinner at home with some time together.

It was a really fun, creative Valentines day for both of us.

Message in a Bottle

I had some adorable visitors today. My friend DW came over to finish her pattern and brought her two Italian Greyhounds, Lou and Willow Rose, with her. They are amazingly calm for dogs. They are a lot more like cats in that they like to curl up in a nice warm spot and sit there for hours. This is Willow Rose all curled up in her blankets which I just thought was so sweet.

So, we finished DW's pattern and are cutting the full size mockup from muslin, which she will finish at home. I am very pleased with the result and can't wait till Tuesday when we get to sew the mockup together.

The rest of the day way taken up by finishing the clay sculptures for the mask casting tomorrow, and then making a prototype for the message in a bottle promo piece for the Tempest. My friend Casey who is coming up the marketing ideas for the Tempest described this letter to me as being written on the back of a ships log, aged, and beaten the sea. So I decided I would try to recreate that process exactly. I took an old book which I had begun but never finished and tore several pages out of it to work with. (I can always finish the book with one less signature of paper if I wish). I then came up with a design in Photoshop for a ship's log taken from real 19th century logs that I found on line with some small maps and drawings that seemed appropriate. I then set up a custom printing size and ran the book pages through our large format inkjet printer. They printed beautifully, better than I imagined. 

I then took the printed page and soaked it in salt water and crumpled it. The paper is wonderful because it retains it's integrity and becomes almost like a wool fabric when wet. I then laid the paper down on a protected surface took the distressing ink pad and ran it ink side down just above the paper so it picked up the high spots and added brown aging. This was a little intense so after I did the backside I put it back in the salt water bath and scrubbed it some to fade it. 

I then let the papers dry out in the sun. I then took some watered down Gesso and a natural sponge and gave the paper an uneven coat to simulate the effects of salt on the ink. Once the paper was dry I ironed it flat and smooth and then went back into Photoshop to design the message for the other side. I printed the other side with the message and then tore the paper into segments and re-crumpled it. I then took some sand and shell fragments and some glue and made some random spots of glue on the note and poured the fragments over the to give it a kind of crusty feel. Here is a picture of the finished piece. I actually wonder if it is too subtle. Maybe I washed out too much of the ink. Anyway I think I will take one copy and try tea dying it to age the whole thing darker and then spray it with a light coat of acrylic sealer.

Well, we will see if it works with Casey on Monday. Time to turn in. We have a big day of mask mold casting tomorrow.

Lunch with the Evil Uncle

Well, I didn't get to blog yesterday because I was being too productive. (Isn't that exciting). I got a great start on the clay mask sculptures that I am going to use to cast mask making forms. I also helped my friend DW work on a pattern for a lovely 13th century dress which I am completely going to steal for myself.

However the highlight of yesterday was taking my dear friend and adopted uncle, David to lunch. We went to Madola's italian market which reminds me a lot of the lovely little cafes in Europe particularly in their wonderful pastry case which is just so beautiful I had to take a picture of it. I had a lovely salad niscoise (definitely my favorite it Austin.) and so I could share some of the delightful goodies with David.

I was also able to get down to fourth street to Armadillo Clay and get the special Hydrocal paster for casting the mask forms for the Tempest masks. So I started shaping the clay forms for casting.

I built up rough areas of clay on the life cast and then smoothed them out and shaped them with some basic tool and my finger until I got the effect I was looking for. The white clay is Sculpy and the Yellow clay is Plasticina Medium. The Sculpy was much easier to work because the Plasticina was crumbly and did not bond well with itself. I hope the Sculpy does OK and doesn't deform in the casting process because I much prefer it. I can't cast till saturday because I'm hoping to have my hubby's help to figure out the Plaster process, and so today I'll be trying to create the message in a bottle to use as promotional material for the Tempest. So I'm off to the paper store to find a good base paper.

Sadness and Worry

Today was an odd day. Scattered through the day came bit of news that my old employer was laying off another round of people many of whom I know. It is the strangest feeling of remembered sadness from all the times I was in the middle of it, and odd guilt that I am finally free of that particular endless circle of pain. I found the words to the anthem we sang tonight at choir practice spoke directly to my heart.

I'm weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

Devil Woman

Well, I am feeling a temendous sense of accomplishment today because I finally finished cleaning up and reorganizing my art closet. I had to make some new boxes to store the mask making supplies and had to clean up so I would have a place to put them. I absolutely love my craft closet. Originally it was actually a linen cabinet and a coat closet that was too shallow for hangers in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. When Jim and I redid that area of the house we decided to combine the two into one big shallow closet with double doors and it seemed to be the perfect place to store all the arts and craft supplies.

We decided to use the same shelving system from Lowes but this time with wooden shelves since the boxes were much heavier and we didn't want things falling through wire shelves. We got the boxes from the container store and then used them to set up where we would put the shelves so that we could have them fit perfectly. It is a dream to go and just pull out the whole box of supplies for whatever I am working on. I just have to remember to put it back.

Today's craft project was actually finishing a pair of horns that I started as an experiment when I was making the prototype mask for the Tempest. I had a couple of little scrap triangles of the 2 oz leather and so I quickly dampened them with some water, curled them in to a cone shape and glued them together with ModPodge just to see what would happen. After they looked like the would stay together I gave them a little bit of a curve by pinching them with my fingers and then dried them in the oven. 

So today to finish them off, first I trimmed the open ends of the horns off flat and even so they wouldn't irritate me against my face. Then, I took them in the mirror and figured out where they should be on my head. Next, I used a magic marker to make small horizontal dots where I was going to punch hole to put a string to hold them on to my head.

I then used a leather punch on the smallest setting to punch two opposing holes in each horn and strung them on clear 1.8 mm elastic (used for beading.) I tied a knot around the elastic so it would fit on my head. I used vinyl spackle to fill in the crack that was left over from rolling them into a cone so that they would have a nice even surface and let hat dry for about an hour while I went out to an appointment.

After they had dried I gave them a coat of ModPodge for extra stiffness and let that dry while I took a short rest.

Then I got out my acrylic paints and painted them to have a nice variegated surface. I wanted to keep the kind of fleshy leather color at the bottom so that it would look like they grew out of my skin. I started with a base color that was a flesh color with a little bit of champagne gold for sparkle. I then built up some lights and darks with a dark copper brown and a light pearl white. I then tinted the ends of the horns a bit redder with a wash of metallic red. The finishing coat is a thin coat of pearl white which I put on with a brush and then blend in with my fingers to make a smooth texture without brushmarks. This helps to blend together all the shading into a seamless texture. This picture shows one horn finished and one with just the base coat.Violà. Devil Woman.

Keeping Cats Clean

I love our kittens. They are absolutely the delight of our lives. However I have to say that having cats has its drawbacks. Animals in general just seem to generate dirt. Who hasn't had the unpleasant experience of walking into someone' house and immediately knowing they had animals? Well my husband and I are determined that our house will not smell like cat, ever!

So to achieve this goal we have experimented with many different litters and moving the box to different places in the house. We sound the most successful place was the garage and we added a cat door to the interior door for the garage so that our kittens could get to their box. We also came up with a really great idea of putting the cat boxes on the lowest shelf of the wire shelves that we use to organize the. The reason that this works so well is that litter falls though to the catcher mats below. After you clean the box then you can give the mats a quick shake out onto the floor and then easily sweep everything up from under the boxes without having to lift them up or move them. Also we keep the litter, the broom, and a set of grocery sacks close by so that everything to clean the boxes is easily available. The Fresh Step Unscented and Undyed litter is absolutely the best we have found. We tried corn litters, wheat litters, paper litters, pine litters and other clay litters and the Fresh Step absolutely has the least odor and clumps the best.

Now for inside the house. The other thing that bothers me from a cleanliness standpoint is that our boys scatter their food outside their bowl. So you end up with little cat crunchy bits all over the kitchen floor. We managed to fix this problem with plastic mat that keeps the bits contained. Then my fantastic husband bought me a little inexpensive brush and dustpan that I keep with the food in the cabinet just above where I feed them. That way every time I feed them, I just sweep up the old crunchies. It is like preventative cleaning. Hooray!

And then of course there are those days when the kittens have a little problem with personal hygiene. For that we found some great cat wipes at the local pet smart. They don't have a lot of scent or too many bad ingredients and they work like a charm. The boys tolerate them pretty well, and they don't seem to irritate sensitive places.

Now for the breath, well we haven't found a solution to the cat breath problem yet except not to ever feed them fish.

Saffron for Relief

Well this is mostly going to be a post about women's issues, so be forewarned.

There are times when I simply despise being female. They happen with regularity once a month. I have never been able to figure out if I am simply pathetic or what, but for at least 3 days out of the month I feel as if something is tearing me apart from the inside and it really affects both my temperament and quality of life. And so in the current Renaissance I am experiencing with natural health, I decided I was going to fix this problem! Sadly it was easier said than done.

Finally last December, I found a fleeting reference for saffron being used to treat women's cycle issues. I didn't think about it much at the time because I was busy with the holiday season, but mentally filed it away as something to investigate later. However, less than a week late I happened to be in the wonderful creative chaos that is Sur La Table looking for Christmas gifts. As I turned around, in the very center of the shelf exactly at my eye level, haloed in light from the overhead was a tiny jar of saffron. I stopped dead. Now this is going to sound strange, but I immediately had the thought that this was in some way important to me. God tends to work in my life in these kind of strange coincidences and I had actually been praying for a way to better cope with these issues in my life. So, I thought, what can it hurt to try it? I could always simply use it as a spice if it didn't work.

Well amazingly, it did work incredibly well. I have gotten to the point where I can really sense when I am started to feel the effects of my cycle. As soon as I started to feel off a bit, I went and had a cup of tea to which I added a few threads of saffron. I let it steep till it was a nice golden color. Sure enough about and hour later, I had no pain. I still had some of the other effects of tiredness and emotional fragility, but I could actually function. And so it became a pattern. I would wake up in the morning feeling like I was tearing apart, and have my saffron tea, and about an hour later I would feel almost normal. 

Well it may be a placebo effect, but it has worked very well for two months now and I have been more comfortable for these two months than ever in my entire adult life. I found a really interesting (but small scale) study from Iran which actually supports the same thing I have experienced. You can find a link to it here.

So to make my tea, I usually take Traditional Medicinals Organic Pregnancy Tea which contains raspberry leaf, lemon verbena, spearmint leaf, and several other herbs that are also supposed to be helpful with PMS symptoms. (I would never actually drink this tea if I were pregnant without consulting a doctor. You have to be really careful with herbal remedies when pregnant. Traditional Medicinals may have a PMS tea as well but they don't seem to carry it at my Whole Foods.) I then add about 2-4 saffron threads and let it steep for 8-10 minutes. I also usually add a little Stevia to sweeten it because I have found that Stevia is fantastic at helping with women's yeast issues. It comes out a lovely golden color, tastes delicious, and helps me feel much better.

Saffron is available from Sur la Table for a small jar for $14.00. It is actually the dried flower stigmas of the saffron crocus. It is expensive, but it really lasts a long time because you only use a few threads at a time. Make sure when buying that the stigmas are a bright red color. If they are faded that means the spice has been on the shelf too long and lost it's flavor and effectiveness. I get Stevia, and Traditional Medicinals teas from Whole Foods, although some HEB's actually carry them as well.

The glass teapot in the photo was a gift from my mother, which at the time I thought was pretty extravagant and a bit silly. However, once I started using it I have absolutely come to love it. The candle warmer in particular works extremely well for long leisurely mornings.

Spirits Finally Finished

I finally got the prototype mask done for the Tempest and I am very pleased. I had to paint the back, and do some small touchup work to the front. I then added a few gems and some transparent sequins to the front to catch the light, and a bit of gold trim to cover the leather seam. I put them on with Crafter's Pick glue which seems to have worked very well on the first mask that I added gems to. The sequins and trim are a new thing so we will see if they stay on. I also sprayed the whole thing with a light layer of  acrylic sealer to see if I could give it more protection from absorbing heat and moisture. Only time will tell.

It is by far the most complex and cool mask I have done so far, and I'm very pleased also by the process improvements. I think tomorrow will be a documentation day before I put everything away.

Anyway, short post today because it has been a very full weekend and I am exhausted.

Spirits Some Progress

What a day! I had to get up at 6:00 in the morning and go down to Sanctuary to leave at 7:30 for the van to Houston.  I was running so slow that I only made it with a minute to spare. The van ride was a bit of a tedious adventure but full of very pleasant people and fun stories. I just hate traveling en masse.

However we finally made it there in time for an early lunch and then we performed our play Rubies in front of an audience of around 100+ women. It was a wonderful audience, very responsive and sensitive and it inspired all of the performers to new heights. It was really beautiful afterward because Cynthia Clawson, the author's wife (and one of my heroines musically) told me that the character I ended up playing was a real woman and dear friend of hers that had passed away, and that she had been very moved by my performance. It was a blessing to get to be there and make that kind of magic with such cool people. I was fascinated to hear stories of many of these people who have been in theatre longer than I have been alive and have done amazing things.

The trip home was very long though, and I was so happy when I finally got home around 6:30 to just sit on the couch with my glass of wine and paint my prototype mask. It seems to be close to done. I just want to touch up a few gluing and painting places tomorrow, and then paint the whole thing with sealer, glue on some braid to cover the joins and a few gems for fun and call it finished.

I'm not sure what I'll do with it, if they decide they don't want them, but I'm sure I can find an occasion to wear it. It would probably go great with my sari.

Spirits and Busy Days

Well, today was really busy. I worked on the prototype mask for the Tempest all morning and then I has to stop to clean the house for the people coming over. My gardening buddy came at 10:00 and we were able to clean up the whole front yard so it looks beautiful and ready for spring. Then there was more mask work until my friend DW came over at 4:00 to work on costumes. Fortunately she was late so I was able to get the whole house clean and ready for the party before she showed up. We started drafting a pattern for a 14th century dress, but I ended up draping her instead because the pattern was pretty tricky. And finally around 7:30 everyone showed up and we had a lovely party. So anyway I am exhausted and still didn't finish the prototype. sigh... However I did make a bit of progress from the picture above. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll have it done and ready to send for approval. And now swiftly to bed.

Masking

Well I finally had my Eureka moment after several pretty frustrating days. I thought I had the new mask process working yesterday and then when I tried it large scale I was totally unhappy with the result. So I took a break today and fixed all my old masks (picture above) when has gotten bent out of shape. That little bit of down time helped me figure out some things.

WHen I was finally done fixing the old ones, then I was able to get the prototype for the Tempest spirits. This is a picture with the base coat of the paint job. They are based on a combination of Nepalese masks and chinese Opera masks. I hope to document the making process as well but it wont be till Sunday because Tomorrow is full and Saturday I go to Houston to do the play. Anyway, I hope to at least get to finish painting this mask tomorrow morning so I can send it out to see if people like it.

Creative Dissapointment

Well, I had hoped to have the leather mask making process to put up here today, however yesterday was a bit of a disappointment. Sadly leather working does not seem to be one of those skills that grows in neglect and every time I come back to it the start is like an old junker car: fits, starts and backfires. So, I am cleaning up and starting over today, literally.

When I hit a serious roadblock, I find the best thing for me to do is take a break to allow the frustration to dissipate, and cleaning fits the bill perfectly. Since I tend to work in the eye of a tornado of creative mess, this is always much appreciated by the husband. 

A good friend once told me that when you run into a wall if you try to change your approach and come at it from a different angle, in the process you may find a way around or you may end up in a new wonderful place altogether that you never expected. I'm hoping for someplace in France, personally. And on that note, I'll leave you with a picture from 2 summers ago of my ideal house in the Hortillonages of Amiens, France.

Scones and Tea

I woke up today with a terrible craving for scones and tea. By around 10:00 I simply couldn't fight it any more and so while I was waiting for my friend to come over I put in this batch of scones made from Stonewall kitchen organic mix that I picked up from Whole Foods. The flavor was nice, but they used a quite a bit of butter and it made the texture a bit different. It satisfied the craving, but I regretted being in a hurry and not using my normal recipe which I have modified from The Celtic Cookbook by Helen Smith-Twiddy. I also like this fancier recipe modified from a 1998 Bon Appétit which I often make after holidays to use up extra cranberry sauce. Mmmmm . . .

Drop Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/8 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/2 cup milk

1 large egg

1/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice (half a lemon)

1/4 cup golden raisins, currants, cranberries or blueberries (optional)

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine the dry and wet ingredients to make a soft dough mixing as little as possible. (You can mix either of them separate as much as you want, however as soon as you combine dry with wet you must stir as little as possible because the more you mix the tougher your scones will be after baking. This works exactly the exact same way with muffins.)  Pat into 8-9 inch rounds on a greased cookie sheet or scone pan. Score into wedges with a knife. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar or fennel seed if desired. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes.

Cranberry and Creme Fraiche Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut in pieces)

2 large eggs

2/3 cup chilled creme fraiche or sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup dried cranberries or 1/3 cup cranberry sauce

Directions:

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Rub in butter with a pastry mixer or your fingers until mixture is crumbly. Separate eggs and reserve the whites. Whisk egg yolks, cream and vanilla together. Mix in cranberries. Gently stir into dry ingredients. Turn dough out onto floured work surface and divide dough in half. Pat into 8-9 inch rounds on a greased cookie sheet. Score into wedges with a knife. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350° till pale golden, about 26 minutes.

My best friend Maureen gave me a lovely scone pan one Christmas which makes baking the scones much easier because you simply push the dough into the pan and then it makes perfect triangle shapes. They are available from William Sonoma here. The nonstick surface was great for getting the scones out of the pan. This was actually the first chance I have had to use it for scones, though it works very well for cornbread also.

Painting a Wizard

So the rough idea for the poster for The Tempest was approved by the board and now I get to finish painting it for real. It is interesting, this project has really sparked a resurgence in my interest in painting in Adobe Photoshop. One of the strange things I find is that with certain skills when I do not use them for a while, they somehow continue to develop without any input from me. Costuming is like that and apparently Photoshop skills are as well.

I'm working on the faces first because I find them very interesting but I think Gary's hands will be the hardest part because he couldn't hold them steady so there will be a lot of work to make them look right.

Here is the repainted version of Cherie's face (a bit left to do). You can see from the finger beside her what I mean about the hands. I'll post the finished version when I get it.

OK I have Gary's face repainted. I think he almost looks a little like Johnny Depp as an old man here. Now on to the hard part.

I had to pull out all the magic onto another layer so that I could fix Gary's cloak and hands. The hands were really hard because they were so blurry, but I think I finally got them. I used a texture on the shirt and coat to try and give it a feeling of cloth.

Ok so it is a day later. Last night I finally got the information for the poster and was able to integrate that. Now I only have to finish the logo treatment and then repaint the ship/water/magic effect area and then it will be ready for revisions. I had to by a font called Arcanum for the logo, but I think it is a very well designed and unique script and so I think I'll get quite a bit of use out of it.

So finally I got the ship and storm repainted with the help of some stock images because I had no desire to paint a galleon from scratch. I also worked on the type a bit. There are a few more small places where there are sharp edges that I need to fix but I am leaving it for tomorrow when I can do a big print of it and check that for errors. It is easier for me to see problems in a physical print than it is on y small screen.

So here is pretty much the finished piece barring revisions from the BOD and my tweaking. Hurray!