Friday, October 28, 2005

Longing for a new scanner & printer


The Halloween cards are finished and ready for the mail. I used Kinkos to print the buggers out, thinking that the quality would be better. Plus, by the time I got them printed out, I would have drained the color cartridge in my printer. Well yes they look really nice, and the ink is much better than what my printer uses; but damn, at about two bucks a card, I would have been better off going to Hallmark. I think my cards are great though. I love the fact there is no mistake that mine were made just for friends and family.
I need a new printer and scanner. A good graphics printer for photos and cards, and a good scanner to load years of photos and negatives. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Why do I bother custom making cards? First, I love working with paper. Second, I like to think that the person who receives a custom card knows that extra effort was made to let them know that they were being thought of, and not just part of a robotic holiday mass mailing. But then I could be blowing smoke up my own ass.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

What else with paper??...Card Modeling

I just thought I would post this topic since I find it to be interesting. Where have all the cardstock models gone? For years miniature models were made of wood and paper. In the 1940's when materials were scarce during WWII, in the U.S. and throughout the world, hobbyists and children everywhere were making realistic models from cardstock and white glue. After the war, the United States began churning out metal and plastic models for the general public, thanks to a booming economy and the almighty retail engine of the U.S. nuclear age. The rest of the world however, continued to produce excellent cardstock models for the hobbyist. Thanks to the power of the internet, we can find these models more easily, and many are as attractive as a plastic or wood model. But the best would be the "oh my god, you made that out of paper?" factor. The more realistic paper models are infinitely harder to construct than a plastic counterpart. When you consider that you are taking a two dimensional image and warping it into a three dimensional image.
The included picture is included to answer two questions. The first answer is yes, I have tried to make some of these and have come up lacking. As the picture of the MIG-19 can attest. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday though. I even made the stand myself. I'm sure with practice, I will get better over time. The second answer is, when I finish a model, origami, card, or other paper dust catcher, I display it for a while then I give it to my three year old and we play with it. Again with the MIG-19, shortly after this picture was taken, we took it over to my friend Joseph's house and flew it 'til it broke. A fun way to spend a Saturday.
To find cardstock models, there are many resources on the net. Fiddler's Green has many that are nice and reasonably priced. Scale Models International, and cardmodels.com can be good places to start as well. But if ships, cars, and planes aren't your thing, then check out my favorite site Flying Pig. Rob Ives is a genius, and a wonderful guy for sharing his talent with the world.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Terry Parsons Remembered

From the UK Telegraph
Terry Parsons, who died on September 8 aged 59, played a vital role in ensuring the success of Barnum, a musical loosely based on the life of the circus impresario Phineas T Barnum, by training its star performers in clowning and other circus skills.
Parsons had cut his teeth as a clown with the Ringling-Barnum "Greatest Show on Earth" circuses, and later, with his wife Danuta (famous as "The Spider Goddess"), became a circus trainer with the Big Apple Circus and its New York School for Circus Arts.
They were involved in the original 1980 Broadway production of Barnum, with Jim Dale and Glenn Close, and when the show transferred to London in 1981, they taught Michael Crawford and the rest of the cast. Their responsibilities encompassed not only the training of the performers but also the creation of rigging for aerial stunts and the safety of the artists who were required to juggle, clown, perform acrobatics and even aerial and high wire stunts.
Terry Lee Parsons was born on March 8 1946 and studied Theatre and the Arts at West Virginia State University. He went on to join the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown College, from which he graduated to tour with the Ringling-Barnum "Greatest Show on Earth" circuses for some years, often as the character clown "Spike".
He met his Polish-born wife Danuta, a graduate of the Warsaw Circus School, while performing with the show. She became a specialist in aerial choreography and together they brought her Spider Goddess to the BBC Television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show.
Parsons acted as an instructor in the Ringling-Barnum Clown College, in addition to becoming head clown for a unit of the Ringling circus.
Terry and Danuta Parsons were involved in Barnum from 1980 onwards, and assisted various directors on different productions of the musical in America and in other parts of the world, including the Joop van de Ende production with Mike Burstyn in Holland in 1988. They returned to London in 1993 for the show's revival and subsequent tour, with Paul Nicholas in the leading role.
On this occasion, they were not employed only as circus trainers; Danuta acted as circus captain, and Parsons as technical stage manager and resident director for the tour.
Apart from the BBC television production of Barnum with Michael Crawford, they were involved in various American television shows, including Circus of the Stars and Highlights from the Greatest Show on Earth.
They also worked in parks and fairs, sports and trade shows, nightclubs and at conventions and shopping malls. At the time of his death, Terry Parsons was working as operations manager for Celine Dion's New Day show at the Colosseum, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas.
His wife and their son and daughter survive him.


Last night the circus folk and show people got together to remember one of our own who left us way too soon, Mr. Terry Parsons. Everyone who knew Terry was quick to point out what a kind and helpful man he was. The clowns talk about what a great boss clown he had been and how he was both willing to share is knowledge, but knew when to let the younger clowns try their own thing and learn from their mistakes. On the Clown College e-mail list Terry and his wife have been remembered fondly and often.
Peggy King did a wonderful job of bringing everyone together for the event which she held at her home. Peggy is a wonderful host and is warm and welcoming to all who enter her home. Circus clowns spanning four decades were there. Earl Chaney, Danise Payne, Jimmy & Brenda Graham, Joel Heidtman, Skeeter Reese, Bill Whitter, Scott Linker, Ron Severini, Peggy King, Jeff Loseff, Richard Fick (designer of Danuta's spider-goddess costume) made a guest appearance via speakerphone, and others that I am sure I left out, but my memory is bad and I left early. Sweets and Stone of the world famous King Charles Troupe were there, Bulgarian circus families were represented as well as several former members of the talented Ringling dance squad. In short (ahem) every available circus performer showed up last night to swap stories, show movies, and tell Terry's lovely and talented wife Danuta what a wonderful man her husband was to have touched so many lives. Later, the members of Celine Dion's show arrived to also pay tribute to Terry.
Thank you Danuta for sharing your wonderful husband with us. He is loved and will be missed.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Beggar's night/Trick-or-Treat/Dia de los Muertos


I know I haven't posted in a while, but there are Halloween cards in the works. Between those and the fact that I have to work for a living, I have found myself a little short on time. Now I plan to turn my full artistic attention to Halloween.
I haven't come up with a jack-o-lantern design yet, but I'm sure inspiration will hit in time for the big day. If you find yourself stuck for ideas, go to the Zombie Pumpkins site and sign up to be a member. The stencils on that site will truly make you the envy of the block. Don't feel like a lantern? Want to try something a little more sculpture oriented? Then head to the Grumpkins site for an idea of how to get it done.
As for decorations, my wife has to keep me in check to keep from buying out the store. My daughter and I have discussed the idea of a flying crank ghost, but I don't know if this year will be the year.