Little Black Cat-Dragon

This is what Kate came up with for Halloween this year--a cat-dragon. We got her a black hoodie and I picked up some black fleece and pink satin a while ago, but I've been so busy painting that I haven't been able to work on it much. I found some time this week to squeeze in working on the ears and spikes, and then today I did a rush job on the wings and tail and got it all finished. The ears turned out more like horse ears than cat ears, but she looks pretty cute!



I just made straps on the wings to connect them to the arms, rather than stitching along the whole sleeve. (I was in a hurry!)



Doug took her down to Michaels this afternoon for a bag-decorating and face-painting activity.  (Cute bag--Doug said he and Kate worked on it together.)

We had some pretty heavy wind and rain earlier today, but by evening it had let up a bit, so Doug and I threw on our hanboks (and put the green dragon cape on Andy) and we went down to the trunk-or-treat at the church.  (It's at 6:00.  They say if you get there at 6:15 all the candy is gone.)  Then Doug took Kate out around the neighborhood while I stayed home with Andy.  He might be coming down with something so we didn't want to stress his immune system.  They were out for quite a while so they must have had a good time, rain and all!

Happy Halloween!

Painting Don Giovanni

My latest project with Tacoma Opera--Don Giovanni, the tale of a rake punished.  Seductions, murder, a singing statue, and the fires of hell.  Exciting!



Over the summer, Tacoma Opera moved their offices to the Landmark Convention Center, which used to be the Temple Theater. The theater is still there, but now it's used as an event venue rather than a theater. They said we could use the stage area for painting whenever there wasn't an event happening, so I got to paint there rather than in a chilly warehouse in Lakewood. On the whole it worked out very well, though I did lose a week of painting time when they had a rash of events back-to-back.



Painting the fires of hell.

Part of the plan involved creating some cloth walls that would be hung over the orange walls, to reveal the fires of hell at the end.  I got three big canvas drop cloths to cover the stage with while I was working, and then Noel (the director) came by and said, "We could just paint these!"  So I did.  (I didn't get any pictures of that part.)  I spread two of the cloths out on the stage and wet them down to get the folds out, and let them dry over the weekend.  Then I spent a day roller-ing on a base coat and stippling them to match the other pieces. 



Load-in at the Rialto.  There's no backstage shop area, like at the Pantages, so they just stack stuff everywhere.



Going up!



When I was working on the orange panels I didn't have them next to each other, so I figured I would do more blending once we got them put up, and maybe add some red splatters, but Noel said it looked good the way it was.

There were a lot of changes to the set--things that I painted that didn't get used, and things that got added and I had to paint after they were put in place. It happens.

On Monday I took a spill--I was cleaning up and carrying two paint cans to the edge of the stage when I caught my foot on the edge of my drop cloth and went sprawling. I skinned my knee, and one can popped its lid, sending a delicate spray of bright red paint over my hair, my face, my eye...it was like a horrifying scene of bloody carnage. (I came home and took a shower.) I was limping around for a couple of days, but I was still able to do what I needed to. Whew!



Taking my work home with me--I painted these shutters Wednesday morning before going in. The kids had a half day, so I picked them up and took them to Mary McGiffin's house, and then was busy painting till almost 6:30. Long day!



The painted drop cloth walls went up, and there was enough fabric left over to cover the lower area also. Score!



The cloth walls were attached with velcro. Everyone said they looked really good. (Hardly like painted drop cloths at all!) I suspect we may be using this technique again in the future.

Dress rehearsal day is always a bit frantic. We had a lot to do, and we were busy right up until the last minute.

Noel kept telling me to add more orange. I wasn't completely sold on the idea, but it did look pretty cool with the dramatic lighting at the end! I did feel that the all-over stippling may not have been a good idea, though. When you have a uniform layer of stippling it all just ends up looking the same. (I think I did better with the Romeo and Juliette set. I shall redeem myself next time!)



Tony and I had a four-hour work call Friday morning to finish up a few things. (More orange stippling!)



I begged a couple of extra tickets (for Friday, since Doug has evening class on Wednesday), so I got to go to opening night with Anne Marie, Mary, and my friend Mimi (who I met through Two Peas years ago!) It was a blast. We got a blurry group selfie!

The ending was particularly stunning. Don Giovanni descends into hell, but the Rialto doesn't have a trap door, so Noel came up with a really clever solution.

(Photos by Peter Serko, from dress rehearsal.)



Don Giovanni is confronted by the statue of the Commendatore while the furies peel back the cloth walls. This part was so cool--I knew it was coming and I was still impressed. Anne Marie said it was like the walls were melting. (The furies are not in the opera, originally, but they worked well.)



The middle section is on wheels, and the whole thing moves forward very slowly as the statue sings. (Creepy!)



The furies lift up the lid. (This got painted before opening night.)



Don Giovanni is thrust into hell and the furies close the lid on him. (They had a light under the unit, from behind, so there was a glow coming up through the opening. It looked amazing.)



The other principals come out and sing, "So end all who do wickedly!" Or something like that. (That's Karen Evans in black--she was Mother Abbess in our multi-stake Sound of Music.)

We went out in the lobby to see Karen, and I heard a lot of people telling Noel how stunning the ending was. Those special effects were really something!

This is the fourth time I've painted for Tacoma Opera, but the first time I've done  the October show.  It's been a busy month.  (Halloween preparations at home have been very minimal.)  Now I have to wait till January to start painting the next show! Maybe I'll start working on that mural in our bathroom.

On a Misty Morning

The spiders are decorating for Halloween!

Kate and I saw an astonishing number of webs on the way to school.   Thousands of webs.  It was pretty amazing.  And slightly disturbing.  I mean, I suppose they're there all the time, but the dew just makes them stand out.  Kate said we should get ready for the spider apocalypse. 

I would walk 500 miles (and 500 more)

My sister Betsey, finding herself ready for a life-changing experience, is walking the Camino de Santiago through France and Spain.  My friend Rebecca was the one who suggested it, as she was getting ready to walk it as well (the above is a gelli print that I made for Rebecca earlier--the scallop shell is a symbol of the pilgrim's road).

The most well-known part of the road is the 500-mile French Way (featured in the movie The Way with Marin Sheen) but Betsey, who is the original author of the term "we do it the hard way," decided to add an additional 500 miles to the journey by walking the Le Puy route through southern France first.  She's been blogging about it at A Nice Day for a Walk and we have all been loving following her adventures and gorgeous photos. After a month of walking she made it to St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port (the beginning of the French Way) and is crossing the Pyrenees into Spain.

You can read Betsey's own words about her reasons behind her pilgrimage here.  She's been through some amazing changes in her life and we're just thrilled that she's able to do this.  It's inspiring.  Makes me want to go walk somewhere.  (I did see where there's a guy who's trying to establish a pilgrimage route in Korea.  Hmmmm....)

Buen Camino, Betsey!  You're halfway there!

Conference Weekend (two years later)

October General Conference marks two years in our new house. Hard to believe it's been that long! There are a lot of things that we were hoping to accomplish that we still haven't, but on the whole it's been a good ride. We had a nice weekend at home, listening to Conference and working on various projects.



I spent the time putting together a stamp of a Korean song.  This is some very fiddly cutting.  I got four lines done. The other four will have to wait for another time.



And here's what Doug was working on. It's a Korean temple beast from one of our photos.



Kate made this out of Sculpey. (It's Gulper.)



Andy has been making Duplo block letters. This is an M. He wanted to hold it sideways. I was just impressed that he was willing to hold it up for the camera at all--he hasn't really been clear on the concept in the past.

I'm supposed to start painting the set for Don Giovanni tomorrow.  Going to be a busy month!

The 2015 Tomato Round-Up

Here's what I grew this year!

Paul Robeson 



Laurel of Heirloom Tomato Plants believes this is "the finest tomato in existence." It does not disappoint. The flavor is just amazing--rich, earthy, and complex. Most black tomatoes seem to be very tasty, but this one is something else.  Our plant wasn't the most productive but I will definitely grow this one again.  Frequently. Seeds from TomatoFest.

Summer Cider



I really like this one. I would describe the flavor as bright and fruity.  (I wasn't sure if I would like "fruity" in a tomato, but it's quite good.)  Good grower (did have some trouble in the heat),  nice big tomatoes.  Nice texture, too.  I'll grow this one again.  Seeds from Marianna's Heirloom Seeds.

Black Yum Yum
 


I chose this one on the recommendation of a lady in a Facebook heirloom tomato group who had a tomato tasting party, and Black Yum Yum was by far everyone's favorite. It is super tasty. Bright and zingy, with a deep rich flavor. They're generally slightly smaller than a golf ball, but there is quite a bit of variation in size .  Our plant was in a bad spot, being the last on the west end of the row--it got the brunt of the afternoon sun as well as the hot air from the heat pump blowing on it, but we still got a pretty good harvest. I'll definitely try it again in a better spot. Seeds from Marianna's Heirloom Seeds

Pruden's Purple



There's a guy in the heirloom tomato group who's always talking this one up, so I had to give it a try. Great flavor, nice meaty texture. The plant was one of my most vigorous growers at first and then had a little trouble in the heat, and wasn't setting blossoms for a while. We still got some really good tomatoes. Will grow this one again.  Seeds from TomatoFest.

Chadwick Cherry



A great cherry--prolific and tasty! This one became my go-to snack on the way in and out of the house... I'd just wander over and grab a few ripe ones. It's a bit on the larger side, as cherries go, and has a great flavor. Does split in the rain. Seeds from TomatoFest.

Blondkopfchen



Small yellow cherry (the name means "little blond head" in German).  This one needs a lot of space and a lot of support. It starts out as a dense, compact plant, and then it sprawls everywhere. It grows huge clusters weighed down with dozens of fruit. (I was not prepared!) The flavor was not a favorite, though. It's strong and tangy but not very sweet. (Reports vary, though.  There may be different strains, or perhaps the taste is affected by soil or other conditions.) 

Chocolate Stripes



This is another one that I picked after reading the description on Laurel's site.  (She makes everything sound so good!)   It is a tasty tomato, and gorgeous.  The skin is a bit thick.  Supposed to be indeterminate but mine behaved like a determinate plant, for some reason.  I thought I had accidentally pinched off all the growth tips, and I kept waiting for it to sprout some suckers, but it never did.  (This was also the first plant that I pulled up at the end of the season, due to blight.)

Chocolate Cherry



Pretty much everyone who tried this one really liked it.  It's got an unusual flavor--almost a grape-like note, which sounds weird but it works.  It can get a bit sour when over-ripe.  Splits heavily in the rain.  I got the seeds from a swap on Facebook.

Amazon Chocolate



Another recommendation from Laurel.  It's got the rich, earthy flavors of the black varieties, with a bit of tang to it. I didn't like it quite as well as the Paul Robeson.  The first set of seeds I got didn't germinate, so I got these from somebody on Facebook. 

Big Rainbow



I was not impressed with this one. It has a strong tang but really nothing going for it. Not a good flavor at all. I kept trying it and it never got any better. It's supposed to be striped on the outside and have red veins running through the inside, but mine were just all orange, all the way through.  (Good vigorous grower, though. Just didn't taste good.) The seeds were from a packet (Ferry-Morse) that I picked up at Lowe's.  That may have been the problem.  Maybe I just got a bad strain. It's supposed to be a really good tomato. 

Todd County Amish



This is a super-tomatoey tomato. Like someone distilled the essence of tomato flavor and injected it all right here. This ended up being my "extra" plant, and it was in the backyard in not-quite-as-ideal conditions as the others, but it grew and produced pretty well.  Tomatoes were all fairly large, and had this deep star-shaped cracking around the stem.  I probably wouldn't grow it again, but it's just a matter of taste.  (I liked the Pruden's Purple better!)  Seeds from TomatoFest.

Black Krim

(I seem to have missed getting a picture of this one.) It's a popular tomato, and ours did really well, but honestly I found it a little bland after the Paul Robeson.

Not-Flamme



This one was a bust. Flamme (or Jaune Flamme) is described as having a "rich sweet flavor." It's also supposed to be spherical. I began to suspect something was amiss when mine came out looking more elongated. Gary at TomatoFest agreed that the parent plant probably got cross-pollinated with something else. What I got was not Flamme. These were nearly flavorless, which was really too bad as the plant was incredibly vigorous and productive. If Flamme grows anything like that (and tastes better) it's a winner for sure. I'll have to try again and see if I can get the real thing.

I went a little crazy this year--thirteen plants!  I don't think we'll be able to do that again, as we'll have to practice crop rotation to keep the soil healthy.  It was fun to try out so many varieties.  Now I'll have a better idea of what I want when I have to be more selective next year. 

These were all started indoors, and transplanted outside at the end of May (in the Tacoma, Washington area).  We had a very dry, sunny summer. 

This is a great book about all things tomato!