Bus Stop Opera: The raddest thing I've ever done

We just had our last performance today, so it won't be posted on the website yet, but if you want to know more about the concept and creator of Bus Stop Opera, here's a link.
And today's OregonLive.

Haha. If you look closely in the picture in today's Oregonian in the Arts section, you'll see a tiny me in my Trimet outfit (the newspaper has a larger version of this image). I'm looking the other way, so my face isn't recognizable, but it's me!


Our last day of performances went well considering the different conditions we were given like rainy weather, and a hospitalized tuba player. All in all, a really enjoyable and memorable experience. The best part was receiving the confused, shocked, and eventually pleased looks on people when I suddenly started singing to them.
Everyone involved in the show was positive and enthusiastic, and as far as I could tell, there was no pretentiousness. Lots of smiles. The energetic environment helped me to be less nervous, although I still had butterflies sometimes!
I was a stand-in for another singer who suddenly became ill this weekend. I am thankful I had the opportunity to do so many performances with the troupe (9 out of 12 performances- 3 performances a day) We each sang just one song, which were taken from dialogue that the director/coordinator obtained through conversations with everyday people at Portland Trimet stops. The dialogues were then composed into songs by various people. My character was "Diana" the bus driver. I wish I could meet the real Diana.
Out of the six singers, my song came first. On one hand, being first was disappointing because it provided me with a small audience (sometimes no audience at all!) since nobody was expecting a show to happen right there and then. On the other hand, I had the highest element of surprise. :D
Even if there isn't a musical/opera/dance troupe around to join, I highly encourage anyone to burst out into song or prose or clog dancing if the moment strikes you- even at bus stops.
I am a bit hypocritical since I probably won't do anything like this again unless it's with an organized group. ;)

Kudos to:

The directors and coordinators of Bus Stop Opera- it wouldn't exist without you!

The musicians and singers- a talented bunch!

The Original- they provided us with a nice dinner! Yum!

Time-on-Time- a "fellow" bus driver who enjoyed my singing. I guess he's never late?

Trimet Maintenance- I had an enjoyable conversation with a man involved in that department.

My First Exhibit!

Tonight was my first official art exhibit. It was awesome to see my work framed and hanging in a gallery. All the pieces I showed were created in PSU classes, so it's like a recent retrospect of my school work. Haha.



My dad took these pictures. With him around, I don't ever have to worry about hiring a professional photographer. :)



This series is made up of acrylic paint and unique, textured papers. I'm working on a new series now which is going to consist mostly of paper. It's a fun medium!



My boss bought this picture (above photo). He was almost more enthusiastic about the show than I was! It is at my work, by the way, which is a gallery/framing/art supply store. He did all the framing + made postcards and posters + he hung the ones that needed to be hung. The only thing I did to prepare for the show was mop the floor!



I had a lot of fun. Lots of friends and family stopped by to see the show. They made my night. :) It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without them!

Life Drawing at home!

Posemaniacs.com
This website has 3D renderings of male and female humans posing in traditional figurative drawing poses. You can download the "Random Pose" application onto your iPod or iPhone- of which I have neither.

"No, you are dead Pinocchio. Lie down."

Watching Walt Disney films as an adult is a completely different experience than watching them as a kid. Tonight I popped in the VHS of Pinocchio and enjoyed the movie with my sisters, and I realized why as a kid I had nightmares of Monstro the Whale- he's scary as heck! In fact, the whole movie is scary! I didn't realize as a child that this film is a dark fantasy story. It's not just about a puppet boy who can do cute little tricks. There's a not-so-subtle moral to it about being a good little boy and doing what your parents and crickets tell you to do. For some reason I didn't catch onto that moral as a kid. I think I was spacing out to much on the art of the movie.
And the donkey thing?!

"I wanna go home to my mama!" was what one of the poor little donkey-boys cried to his captors. For some reason I don't remember that scene scaring me as a child, but seeing it today kinda pulled at my heartstrings! And they don't even resolve it! The audience is left to assume that the donkey-kids are doomed to eating hay and working at a salt mine for the rest of their lives.
Disney, your movie is freaky, and when I was a kid it made me feel uneasy and gave me nightmares of being chased by an angry whale. Now, I appreciate the dark approach to the story, and more so the quality of the animation and the detailed paintings incorporated within the film.
Also, thank you for Jiminy Cricket. Without him, the movie would be horribly depressing. BTY, is that the voice of Mickey Mouse?
Carlo Collodi wrote the original story of Pinnochio which began as a strip in the newspaper then later published into a book. This website contains every page of the original story, "Adventures of Pinnochio", as written by Carlo Collodi and illustrated decades later in 1926 by Attilio Mussino, translated into English. It is BEAUTIFUL!

I looooooove clowns. Almost every page has an illustration.

The moral of the story is less than just doing what's right, but more about respecting your parents and appreciating the sacrifices they've made for you.
There must be a place somewhere out there or online where I can get these kinds of books for my own collection.

EDIT: I bought the book. It is LOVELY!

Happy Art! :D

I learned about this book which encourages art, color, and happiness!:

http://www.lithe-apathy.com/colors_artbook/

All proceeds go to the National Organization of Rare Disorders, so these people are charitable AND talented!

TheFunTheory.com also hopes to inspire happiness. Here's the latest they've done:

Echochrome

The name of the game Echochrome is about as sweet as the game itself. I first came upon it when my little sister and I went to the M.C. Escher exhibition at the Portland Art Museum last Fall. Of course it was the only thing that little sis enjoyed about the visit, but I was definitely impressed by the game as well.

This Christmas, my older sis and her hubby decided to spoil my family by buying us a PS3. I'm so out of it when it comes to modern game systems, but I learned today that you can download games off the internet and straight into the PS3... That is so awesome! So the first game I get is Echochrome. Simply put: it's trippy.

Basically you are dealing with a three dimensional world using Escher type logic. The concept is as simple as a tetris game or pac-man, and everything is white except for the black outline that forms the objects. I don't know how to explain this game any better, so here are some Google pics to show ya what I'm talking about:The manequin guy is falling through the hole, but he is going to land on the object that is two dimensionally below him.

You can custom make levels. In fact, most of the levels you play are custom made by people like you and me.

In conclusion, if you've got a PS3 or you know somebody with a PS3, download Echochrome, especially if you like thinker-type games. Oh, and the background music is beautiful, too.

24 Hour Comics!

First, meet Invisible Man.

Now go here and see my comic that I did for the annual 24 hour comic challenge at the beginning of October. I can't believe I haven't posted this earlier! Read the other comics, too, because they are awesome. I did "Circus", and my brother-in-law did "The Haber-Dash." There's also some flickr pics of the cafe- called Backspace- that hosted the event.

I LOVE 24 hour comic day, and I encourage any artist, doodler, or comic book fan to try it out!