Alladin Opening Night

A little out of order but here goes...the photo above shows the final scene which featured a very lively musical number and we can see 'Leather John' wielding his sword.

The Market scene which was where the initial action took place following Act 1 where we were introduced to Abanazar and the genie of the ring.

Cafe scene. Guess I'll have to rustle up photos of the cave and sarcophagus scenes.

This has to be the best production On Cue has ever done. It was so well acted, funny and just a joy to watch. The pacing of the show was crack on and every detail worked. It feels like On Cue is growing and taking on a life of its own - I could see us being quite the theatre town in the near future, mill closure or not.

Magical Interlude

The Painting Crew was delayed for a couple of hours this afternoon while we were transported to an intimate and magical world of marionettes and puppets operated by a master in the craft from Iceland. He admired our sets and commented on how surprising it was to find such abilities 'at the ends of the earth'! ??
He carves each of his performers - this is his most intricate with articulated feet - but sometimes makes use of only his hands and a couple of simple props.
For more info about this amazing artist search Figura - The Art of Puppets

The Oviatts Are At It Again!

The Oviatts are creating oversized stuff - this year is the ever so appropriate inukshuk.

They're a well known local constuction company and a few years ago started to make creative use of the slower winter months to make the biggest objects that their equipment could tackle.

It all started with a snowman. A 40 foot high snowman. Last year it was giant log deer based on the more diminutive lawn ornaments, then at the end of winter they created a snow board track for winterfest and now...this.

My mom posed for scale. She and my father are in town for the first time in 6&1/2 years for my art show opening tomorrow night.

I ordered the nice weather specially for the visit.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Here comes the rain again.
And there goes another one....a little bird leaves the cage.
16 year old girl at the the village took her life yesterday. I always think I don't know people when I first hear these things and then the avalanche of recollections and details buries me right along with them in the end.
There was a little girl at the high school last May/June who - although not in one of the art classes - I allowed to sneak into the mural because she knew all the fish from going out on a fishing boat with her father. She also used the word 'epiphany' correctly.
It better not be her.

Snowhenge

It's that brief, magical time of year before the snow piles high enough that it's inaccessable - when a kid can still roll the stuff into balls. Several fairly massive installations just appeared in the schoolyard recently which give it the impression of a 'henge'. Gotta love elementary school age engineering and the efforts they put into it. Wooden forts, snow stuctures, dams...

I was here at Roy Wilcox school last year when I heard principal Janet give the following announcement:

"We are trying to drain the upper field and need to allow the water to flow across the staff parking lot. Please refrain from all dam building in this area. Do not try to contain the water in any way. Thank-you. No Dams."

Getting the Boot

At last. Made the classic mistake of 'putting it in a safe place' but finally located it this evening. I created this a few years back for a group exhibit titled 'Gumboots Reign'. I researched rain related sayings and song lyrics, printed them out, added various local lichens and pinned or glued them to the cork I'd fixed to the boot.
Putting an uber cheapie price tag on this but if it doesn't sell (for $40 Canadian) I'll be quite happy to display it in my home or maybe gift it to my TwinniesA&B as memories of home.

It's actually Q's boot from when he was 12 so maybe it should go to him

Epic Proportions

Detail from cafe scene - just a little section of the 8' X 16' wall. Fortunately Gail dug out some posters with Chinese symbols she'd painted previously for a Dry Grad and we used some old faux brick flooring from a different grad for the floor. Still. Painting random stone blocks turned out to be rather time consuming.

Penny and Gail measured all the painted surfaces we've been working on and it amounts to a grand total of 2600 square feet almost doubling the previous blockbuster which was The Shoe Show which resulted in 1400 square feet. (I was essentially on my own for that one though)

The final flat I painted is another shop - noodle shop I figure - which I gave 2 windows on which I wanted to add some fretwork. I couldn't remember exactly how it went, Gail couldn't figure out a design and Penny wasn't able to get on the internet so I decided to research it over the next week for when we return for touch ups and last minute details.

Penny's comment to this was "So what you're saying is...we shouldn't fret"

Sarcophagus 100% Complete

Relieved to have this little lady off our plate.

After a very picky, pokey start this morning* we were able to tackle many more square feet of sets and I'd confident that we'll be able to tackle the 2 remaining more major set pieces by the end of tomorrow. I'd like to say that it might even be a short day but that's probably a little optimistic.

*the Props person was in this morning and quite lost so I had to spend a good deal of time with her, then with the director clarifying & guiding: didn't wet a paintbrush till almost noon.

(you'd think this was a proffessional production judging by the hours invested but no...just a crazed band o' amateurs.)

Black Tide

I hope we're at the end of a black season for our town - at 6 months duration it's been long enough. Fires, accidents, death and most recently a murder. I just realized this evening that TwinB knows 4 people from here who have died in the last 3 months. The first was Jacob who would have been 10 years old this past Monday, then not so surprisingly Cheryl (57 and chronically ill) followed closely by a friend from here who also lived in Calgary and died under suspicious circumstances and now 3 days ago, a stabbing which killed a young man she was aquainted with.

It's enough.

The 25 Hour Sarcophagus

Penny's painting herself into an early grave there - but wouldn't you just know it - even that situation couldn't make her look grumpy!

Up top is the sarcophagus at the halfway mark where I estimated that it will probably have eaten up about 25 hours of painting and research time between the 3 of us.

Dang!

I Am A Rock

...but thankfully not An Island this time around, as I've had 4 (YES! four people) working with me on sets! We've covered a lot of area with many more surfaces to go. They're all very accomplished in various disciplines so I can parcel out all the different assignments in a manner that satisfies and does not diminish these same folk so optimistically we can keep plugging away till done.

Kitimat. Closed.

Eurocan paper mill closes for good in 3 months. All schools in town are closed for the rest of the week due to swine flu causing absentee rates as high as 60%. The watercolour workshop I was scheduled to facillitate for the Ministry of Children & Families teambuilding day has been postponed as has a dinner and dance the husband & I were supposed to attend.
In spite of all this we'll still be welcoming people from all across the northwest for our very large arts and crafts fair on Friday and Saturday, getting real close 'n cozy then sending them on their way...kind of wonder how that's gonna play out...