Monday I watched Buffy. Yeah, I went to Costco and Home Depot too, but mostly I watched Buffy. Oh, and I was bitten by fleas.
Karen vs. The Fleas
A war against a vicious enemy is being waged within these walls...
How to Kill a Flea:
1. Identify the Flea. Look on your body. Notice pieces of lint. Try to pick them up. If they jump away from you, good chances it is a flea.
2. Do not try to squish it. While fleas are amazingly easy to catch as they are grazing upon your skin, they are also amazingly hard to kill. Attempting to squish them will only result in awe and irritation as you see them jump away from what you thought was a squish of death.
3. Throw it out your window. Since said fleas are impossible to squish, catch them and toss them out an open window. While this is not the most effective treatment, you will find six out of every ten fleas you catch end up where you want them - not in your room.
4. Instead of squishing, roll the flea between your thumb and forefinger. While fleas may be unsquishable, they are not unflaten-able. Once you've grabbed your flea, take it in between your thumb and forefinger and roll it like you might a tineey-tiny ball of clay. After doing this for about five seconds, you will discover your flea has not withstood the trauma and is now dead. Do this until you have rid yourself of all fleas on your body.
5. Detonate a flea bomb. While number four is effective, it is not practical. Who can take the time to roll all of their household fleas to death? Instead a flea bomb will to the trick. After a day to two or trying to kill your fleas in all other manners, you will find the detonation of a flea bomb surprisingly satisfying. If you find yourself muttering "Die fleas! Die!", do not be alarmed. Such mutterings are an appropriate and normal reaction. Remember; flea bombs are toxic. Take the time they need to do their job to relax in a flea-free environment. Most anywhere but your home will seem a good choice.
6. Call an exterminator. As your vengeance for flea blood will have risen to an all time high after finding that a few apocalyptic fleas have survived the flea holocaust, the price a professional may quote will seem like pittance compared your lust for flea lives. Move one step ahead of the fleas and hire the big guns. If you don't the fleas are bound to.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Up close with lightning bugs
Sunday morning I did a whole lot of nothing. I read some books and did some emailing.
Finally, I decided if I didn't get out of the apartment I was going to go crazy. I drove towards the Plaza, and stopped at the World War I memorial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Memorial) . The park was almost empty and so I had the monolith and surrounding grounds to myself. The National WWI Museum, as dedicated by Congress, is under the memorial, and I missed it being open by half an hour. It seems that this is the largest WWI memorial in America. Funny, why is it in Missouri? The 1929 dedication says; "for those who fought in the World War". At the time, one probably could not image what would have passed 20 years hence the date. "World War I is (one of) the most forgotten of this nation’s wars, yet it sowed the seeds of World War II, and as noted, it marked the emergence of the United States as a global power, and as a defender of democratic allies against forces of totalitarianism and aggression. "
I waded in the fountain outside for a few minutes before going up to the main memorial and climbing on the blind seraph-lions. The view from the top is magnificent, and I hung out there for awhile, just thinking. What am I doing?
After the WWI memorial, I drove to Barnes and Noble, where I read magazine and books until I got antsy and left. I did find a neat idea for a sketchbook made out of paint samples. I am going to attempt to make a dozen or so to sell at the zine symposium.
Back at the Pistol, Joe, Tara, and Zack (Zack and Tara run the screenprinting shop downstairs) were hanging out while Uriah and his band practiced upstairs. I chilled with Joe and the crew until Uriah and co. were done. Jared plays the drums in Uriah's band and after practice he invited me to go swimming at his house.
Jared's home is about twenty minutes out from the West Bottoms. He lives with his parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews. They all pooled together to buy a home that was large enough they could all make it home and it happened to come with a pool. We waded around for a hour or so before getting out and going on a walk.
Jared happens to live near a small wooded area that includes a pond and trails for walking. If one knows anything about lightning bugs, one knows these are the sorts of things they love (woods and water, not necessarily trails for walking). The lightning bugs were out in abundance. Jared was telling me his some of his childhood stories and I admit I was a bit distracted by watching the blinking bugs. They look like little floating L.E.D. lights. At one point on our walk, we were an audience to a lightning bug show spectacular, glimmering over a mini meadow.
Jared caught one and gave it to me to hold. Apparently, lightning bugs are very friendly and let you hold them as they scurry across your hand and blink. My lightning friend and I bonded for a good fifteen minutes until he got bored and flew away. Around one or so I said goodnight and headed home.
Oh, did I say I went to the video store for Buffy season four? Well I did and started watching it before bed.
Finally, I decided if I didn't get out of the apartment I was going to go crazy. I drove towards the Plaza, and stopped at the World War I memorial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Memorial) . The park was almost empty and so I had the monolith and surrounding grounds to myself. The National WWI Museum, as dedicated by Congress, is under the memorial, and I missed it being open by half an hour. It seems that this is the largest WWI memorial in America. Funny, why is it in Missouri? The 1929 dedication says; "for those who fought in the World War". At the time, one probably could not image what would have passed 20 years hence the date. "World War I is (one of) the most forgotten of this nation’s wars, yet it sowed the seeds of World War II, and as noted, it marked the emergence of the United States as a global power, and as a defender of democratic allies against forces of totalitarianism and aggression. "
I waded in the fountain outside for a few minutes before going up to the main memorial and climbing on the blind seraph-lions. The view from the top is magnificent, and I hung out there for awhile, just thinking. What am I doing?
After the WWI memorial, I drove to Barnes and Noble, where I read magazine and books until I got antsy and left. I did find a neat idea for a sketchbook made out of paint samples. I am going to attempt to make a dozen or so to sell at the zine symposium.
Back at the Pistol, Joe, Tara, and Zack (Zack and Tara run the screenprinting shop downstairs) were hanging out while Uriah and his band practiced upstairs. I chilled with Joe and the crew until Uriah and co. were done. Jared plays the drums in Uriah's band and after practice he invited me to go swimming at his house.
Jared's home is about twenty minutes out from the West Bottoms. He lives with his parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews. They all pooled together to buy a home that was large enough they could all make it home and it happened to come with a pool. We waded around for a hour or so before getting out and going on a walk.
Jared happens to live near a small wooded area that includes a pond and trails for walking. If one knows anything about lightning bugs, one knows these are the sorts of things they love (woods and water, not necessarily trails for walking). The lightning bugs were out in abundance. Jared was telling me his some of his childhood stories and I admit I was a bit distracted by watching the blinking bugs. They look like little floating L.E.D. lights. At one point on our walk, we were an audience to a lightning bug show spectacular, glimmering over a mini meadow.
Jared caught one and gave it to me to hold. Apparently, lightning bugs are very friendly and let you hold them as they scurry across your hand and blink. My lightning friend and I bonded for a good fifteen minutes until he got bored and flew away. Around one or so I said goodnight and headed home.
Oh, did I say I went to the video store for Buffy season four? Well I did and started watching it before bed.
Shakespeare with a picnic
Saturday morning I hopped off to Hammerpress.
Bobby and I were the only people there all day.
I did a variety of things while Bobby printed his business cards. He'd tried to get some finished the day before, but they ended up being pink toned, when they needed to be straight white. So after cleaning the press three or four times, he was finally on his way by the time the shop opened at noon.
The shop was pretty busy. I helped customers and swept for the first few hours. I also cleaned up inks, leading, coffee cups and water bottles. I organized a giant pile of make readies to that I could see the shop while I printed some more card inserts. A great wave of people came in between one and three. It was a good thing I was there or else Bobby would have been printing into the wee hours of the night.
Between everything else, I ended up printing another 600 inserts before I called it a day at 4:30. The shop didn't close until 5, but Bobby had finished over two-thirds of his printing, and so I think it was safe to leave him there.
I also left early because I had plans. Before going to work, I'd called Jared, Uriah's biking buddy, and asked if he wanted to join me for Shakespeare in the Park since Halliday has to work on Saturdays. He said he was interested and we agreed to meet up at the Pistol and then grab a picnic at Consentinos before heading to the park.
We met up around 6 because the play started at 8 and the website said to get there early to get a good seat. At Consentinos I grabbed a wrap and Jared loaded up on the salad bar. He was nice enough to include some items for me to pick out of his salad such as jalapenos and feta cheese.
We arrived in plenty of time, and as we were getting out of the car, realised we'd forgotten a blanket. Although blanketless, we still scored a good spot, and the grass was chigger free, so we could sit comfortably and not be eaten to death.
Shakespeare in the Park, is located near the Art Institute on a grassy slope encircled by trees. The road ajoining the park is closed off between five and ten-thirty so that the performance is not bothered by passing traffic. The area is set up with entertainment and food outside the open air theater. There is a puppet show and talk in the hour before the play's start, and if one was so inclined, there is food that can be bought onsite.
The theater itself is situated on a small hill, with the stage at the bottom and space for people to sit going up. There are no actual seats built in to the area. The first few feet infront of the stage has five or so aisles of plastic green chairs and there are at least two other areas with chairs set up as well. The majority of the space is set aside for picnic blankets. There are two aisles running up the slope, (made by the type of garden lights that can be stuck in the ground) on either side of the main set of chairs. People can sit and bring their own lawn chairs, blankets, and food to enjoy while watching the play. Some ladies infront of us brought plastic flutes and champagne.
The stage is open to the elements and when it rains, needs to be covered with tarps (Shakespeare has been canceled on account of rain). There were people in Tudor garb wandering around asking for donations, as the play is free, while the soundtrack of Emma added subtle ambiance.
The play of this season, which runs from June somethingeth to July fifteenth, is the Merry Wives of Windsor; play I knew only sightly about, and had never read fully. (I knew there was something about stuffing a guy in a laundry basket) It is a comedy that features prominent witty women, a foolish fat nobleman, and a jealous husband. While the acting was good, and the play entertaining enough, I can understand while it does not get the same attention as some of Shakespeare's other plays. Near the end it gets very weird, and it is a little racy for the average highschool audience since the whole thing has to do with seduction.
At intermission it started to sprinkle, and we were afraid we'd have to go home early, but it only did so slightly and by the time Merry Wives was due to start again, it had stopped. As the evening grew on, the situation of the place became very picturesque. With the oncoming dark, fireflies came out and flanked either side of the stage and thunder rumbled on the horizon enhancing the evening's effect with purple lightning flashes.
The play ended around ten and Jared and I decided to avoid the mass exodus by wandering over to the sculpture garden to talk for a bit. We compared travel desires and played the what-if-you-had-a-million-dollars game while watching the storm over Kansas. Around midnight we headed home and said goodnight.
It was a good post-post birthday evening and have decided I like going to see outdoor Shakespeare.
Bobby and I were the only people there all day.
I did a variety of things while Bobby printed his business cards. He'd tried to get some finished the day before, but they ended up being pink toned, when they needed to be straight white. So after cleaning the press three or four times, he was finally on his way by the time the shop opened at noon.
The shop was pretty busy. I helped customers and swept for the first few hours. I also cleaned up inks, leading, coffee cups and water bottles. I organized a giant pile of make readies to that I could see the shop while I printed some more card inserts. A great wave of people came in between one and three. It was a good thing I was there or else Bobby would have been printing into the wee hours of the night.
Between everything else, I ended up printing another 600 inserts before I called it a day at 4:30. The shop didn't close until 5, but Bobby had finished over two-thirds of his printing, and so I think it was safe to leave him there.
I also left early because I had plans. Before going to work, I'd called Jared, Uriah's biking buddy, and asked if he wanted to join me for Shakespeare in the Park since Halliday has to work on Saturdays. He said he was interested and we agreed to meet up at the Pistol and then grab a picnic at Consentinos before heading to the park.
We met up around 6 because the play started at 8 and the website said to get there early to get a good seat. At Consentinos I grabbed a wrap and Jared loaded up on the salad bar. He was nice enough to include some items for me to pick out of his salad such as jalapenos and feta cheese.
We arrived in plenty of time, and as we were getting out of the car, realised we'd forgotten a blanket. Although blanketless, we still scored a good spot, and the grass was chigger free, so we could sit comfortably and not be eaten to death.
Shakespeare in the Park, is located near the Art Institute on a grassy slope encircled by trees. The road ajoining the park is closed off between five and ten-thirty so that the performance is not bothered by passing traffic. The area is set up with entertainment and food outside the open air theater. There is a puppet show and talk in the hour before the play's start, and if one was so inclined, there is food that can be bought onsite.
The theater itself is situated on a small hill, with the stage at the bottom and space for people to sit going up. There are no actual seats built in to the area. The first few feet infront of the stage has five or so aisles of plastic green chairs and there are at least two other areas with chairs set up as well. The majority of the space is set aside for picnic blankets. There are two aisles running up the slope, (made by the type of garden lights that can be stuck in the ground) on either side of the main set of chairs. People can sit and bring their own lawn chairs, blankets, and food to enjoy while watching the play. Some ladies infront of us brought plastic flutes and champagne.
The stage is open to the elements and when it rains, needs to be covered with tarps (Shakespeare has been canceled on account of rain). There were people in Tudor garb wandering around asking for donations, as the play is free, while the soundtrack of Emma added subtle ambiance.
The play of this season, which runs from June somethingeth to July fifteenth, is the Merry Wives of Windsor; play I knew only sightly about, and had never read fully. (I knew there was something about stuffing a guy in a laundry basket) It is a comedy that features prominent witty women, a foolish fat nobleman, and a jealous husband. While the acting was good, and the play entertaining enough, I can understand while it does not get the same attention as some of Shakespeare's other plays. Near the end it gets very weird, and it is a little racy for the average highschool audience since the whole thing has to do with seduction.
At intermission it started to sprinkle, and we were afraid we'd have to go home early, but it only did so slightly and by the time Merry Wives was due to start again, it had stopped. As the evening grew on, the situation of the place became very picturesque. With the oncoming dark, fireflies came out and flanked either side of the stage and thunder rumbled on the horizon enhancing the evening's effect with purple lightning flashes.
The play ended around ten and Jared and I decided to avoid the mass exodus by wandering over to the sculpture garden to talk for a bit. We compared travel desires and played the what-if-you-had-a-million-dollars game while watching the storm over Kansas. Around midnight we headed home and said goodnight.
It was a good post-post birthday evening and have decided I like going to see outdoor Shakespeare.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday Fun
At work I printed and that is all. I platen pressed it up to 1000 insert tags. Needless to say I was both sweaty and hungry when I finished. Brady left around noon to go to a highschool reunion in Oklahoma City. Before closing, Matt and I shined the shop up so when Brady returned, he would find the wood all nice and shiny verses being covered in dry wall.
On Saturdays usually Brady and Bobby run things, but since Brady was going to be away, I volunteered to come in for awhile and help Bobby, as he needed to finish 3000 business cards before Sunday.
After work I called Halliday to see if she was up for a post birthday Shakespeare in the Park celebration. She was unable, since she'd already agreed to go to a psycobilly show with a friend. I opted to post pone S.I.T.P. and join her at the show instead.
I worked on revising the Ex Post Facto poster to needed specs until ten when Halliday came to pick me up.
The show was at this hole-in-the-wall called the Newsroom. Joe and Halliday say it is one of the more infamous bars and if you're going to see a bar fight someplace, the Newsroom is the most likely candidate.
The Newsroom is made up of three sections, the bar, and outdoor sitting area, and the small backroom which stands as a venue for bands to play. The entire place is a little diveish, however with a slightly classy note added by the vintage typewriters and news articles on the walls. The show was well attended, probably had to do with the free entry. I dressed up in my pencil skirt, heels and a t-shirt and found myself aptly attired. For once, this was a show where ladies dressed up a bit. Usually this is the case with most ____billy shows I've been to, but I was glad the same trends apply to Kansas City crowds.
The music was good, and it felt alittle like going back to some of my roots with ____billy music. ____billy crowds tend to get into the bands, and there was lots of dancing and singing along. Two of Halliday's friends met us there, one who had a husband at Fort Bragg and we talked about the enjoyments of North Carolina. She'd never been to the beach and I told her N.C. beaches are some of the nicest and highly encouraged her to go next time she visited her man.
During one of breaks I had a drink bought for me by the guitarist in one of the bands and then another by a tall guy with slicked back hair. The night ended with me feeling very pretty, but missing Adam very much.
Oh, and I busted my knee on the concrete and now it is purple and a little hard to bend.
On Saturdays usually Brady and Bobby run things, but since Brady was going to be away, I volunteered to come in for awhile and help Bobby, as he needed to finish 3000 business cards before Sunday.
After work I called Halliday to see if she was up for a post birthday Shakespeare in the Park celebration. She was unable, since she'd already agreed to go to a psycobilly show with a friend. I opted to post pone S.I.T.P. and join her at the show instead.
I worked on revising the Ex Post Facto poster to needed specs until ten when Halliday came to pick me up.
The show was at this hole-in-the-wall called the Newsroom. Joe and Halliday say it is one of the more infamous bars and if you're going to see a bar fight someplace, the Newsroom is the most likely candidate.
The Newsroom is made up of three sections, the bar, and outdoor sitting area, and the small backroom which stands as a venue for bands to play. The entire place is a little diveish, however with a slightly classy note added by the vintage typewriters and news articles on the walls. The show was well attended, probably had to do with the free entry. I dressed up in my pencil skirt, heels and a t-shirt and found myself aptly attired. For once, this was a show where ladies dressed up a bit. Usually this is the case with most ____billy shows I've been to, but I was glad the same trends apply to Kansas City crowds.
The music was good, and it felt alittle like going back to some of my roots with ____billy music. ____billy crowds tend to get into the bands, and there was lots of dancing and singing along. Two of Halliday's friends met us there, one who had a husband at Fort Bragg and we talked about the enjoyments of North Carolina. She'd never been to the beach and I told her N.C. beaches are some of the nicest and highly encouraged her to go next time she visited her man.
During one of breaks I had a drink bought for me by the guitarist in one of the bands and then another by a tall guy with slicked back hair. The night ended with me feeling very pretty, but missing Adam very much.
Oh, and I busted my knee on the concrete and now it is purple and a little hard to bend.
and it's My Birthday!
Thursday June 25th
Now I am 23. Hmm, funny to think it.
My birthday was fantastic.
Everyone I knew in Kansas City messaged me to say Happy Birthday and more than one group of people wanted to take me out.
At work, Jen made vanilla cupcakes with lemon icing. Brady treated me to a birthday "if you could cut that paper down, that'd be great". Wendy arrived at noon and she'd brought lunch with her. A delicious Indian inspired lentil soup. Around 1:30 we all took some time off in the office and ate lunch together.
As a side note, I forgot to mention on Tuesday a man came through the Crossroads selling oranges and grapefruit. He brought in some samples and lured us with their delicious taste and then used his mind control schemes to force Brady into buying a bushel's worth. He left with the money and we were left with 80 oranges and 20 grapefruit. Delicious though they may be, that many might be more than we can handle. I've been trying to give them away ever since.
Anyways, after lunch I printed some tags on the platen press before calling it a day.
Why the platen press is used for stationary - the biggest and most important difference is the speed. What would take hours to do on a Vandercook, takes only minutes on the platen. The reason being is the mechanism stamps the paper vs. rolling it over the type. By printing some tags I mean 500, and in reality I was going pretty slow since I'm new at using the press.
One other bonus (or drawback depending on what you're printing) the platen has over the vandercook is the size capability. If you're looking to do something small, say a card or business card, the platen is easier to maneuver the paper with. Something large or long would be harder to print. Brady has four platens. Three are motorized and one has a foot treadle. Which one am I using? Well I'll give you a clue, if it was all I printed on, I'd have buns of steel.
After work, Wendy took me out for a drink and Jen joined us. We went down the street to a little mediterranean bar called "extra virgin" and had cocktails. We eventually ordered some appetizers that included the world's best kabobs. Wendy was incredibly nice and paid for our drinks as was Jen who paid for the appetizers. Wendy had to go home, so Jen, her boyfriend (who'd joined us and Jen says looks like Lex Luther) and I went to the Czar Bar for another drink and roasted eggplant.
We hung out for a bit talking about the death of Michael Jackson before it was time for me to go and meet Halliday and Danielle at the Foundry. I got there just in time to have a milkshake before Danielle had to go to her sewing circle. Halliday and I remained to eat some excellent pizza with garlic on top. (I claimed the garlic as my birthday right)
Halliday and I parted ways and I was going to go swimming at Jared's house, but I fell asleep instead. Kind of a lame ending to an otherwise excellent twenty-third.
I forgot to mention that I received two sets of flowers. One was delivered to Hammerpress from my wonderful parents and the other greeted me on the stairs of my apartment. The second bouquet was from my Adam who made me feel very special and loved. He is the first guy to ever send me flowers that are in the form of a real arrangement, well other than my very thoughtful father.
Damn. Have I said how much I love Kansas City? It fits like a glove.
Now I am 23. Hmm, funny to think it.
My birthday was fantastic.
Everyone I knew in Kansas City messaged me to say Happy Birthday and more than one group of people wanted to take me out.
At work, Jen made vanilla cupcakes with lemon icing. Brady treated me to a birthday "if you could cut that paper down, that'd be great". Wendy arrived at noon and she'd brought lunch with her. A delicious Indian inspired lentil soup. Around 1:30 we all took some time off in the office and ate lunch together.
As a side note, I forgot to mention on Tuesday a man came through the Crossroads selling oranges and grapefruit. He brought in some samples and lured us with their delicious taste and then used his mind control schemes to force Brady into buying a bushel's worth. He left with the money and we were left with 80 oranges and 20 grapefruit. Delicious though they may be, that many might be more than we can handle. I've been trying to give them away ever since.
Anyways, after lunch I printed some tags on the platen press before calling it a day.
Why the platen press is used for stationary - the biggest and most important difference is the speed. What would take hours to do on a Vandercook, takes only minutes on the platen. The reason being is the mechanism stamps the paper vs. rolling it over the type. By printing some tags I mean 500, and in reality I was going pretty slow since I'm new at using the press.
One other bonus (or drawback depending on what you're printing) the platen has over the vandercook is the size capability. If you're looking to do something small, say a card or business card, the platen is easier to maneuver the paper with. Something large or long would be harder to print. Brady has four platens. Three are motorized and one has a foot treadle. Which one am I using? Well I'll give you a clue, if it was all I printed on, I'd have buns of steel.
After work, Wendy took me out for a drink and Jen joined us. We went down the street to a little mediterranean bar called "extra virgin" and had cocktails. We eventually ordered some appetizers that included the world's best kabobs. Wendy was incredibly nice and paid for our drinks as was Jen who paid for the appetizers. Wendy had to go home, so Jen, her boyfriend (who'd joined us and Jen says looks like Lex Luther) and I went to the Czar Bar for another drink and roasted eggplant.
We hung out for a bit talking about the death of Michael Jackson before it was time for me to go and meet Halliday and Danielle at the Foundry. I got there just in time to have a milkshake before Danielle had to go to her sewing circle. Halliday and I remained to eat some excellent pizza with garlic on top. (I claimed the garlic as my birthday right)
Halliday and I parted ways and I was going to go swimming at Jared's house, but I fell asleep instead. Kind of a lame ending to an otherwise excellent twenty-third.
I forgot to mention that I received two sets of flowers. One was delivered to Hammerpress from my wonderful parents and the other greeted me on the stairs of my apartment. The second bouquet was from my Adam who made me feel very special and loved. He is the first guy to ever send me flowers that are in the form of a real arrangement, well other than my very thoughtful father.
Damn. Have I said how much I love Kansas City? It fits like a glove.
Mid week musings
Tuesday
Work was spent getting plates ready for storage (this included lots of card board cutting and usage of so much tape, I ran out twice) and learning the all new platen press, well all new to me.
Plate storage took up most of the day, as there were 40 or so plates to prepare for boxing. However, I did finish in time to have Brady show me how to use the platen press, or as Abra calls it, the clam shell. I will go further into what the point of a platen press is and why one would use it later on.
After work, I came home and put together the beginnings of my Ex Post Facto Show poster, scanning images from books, finding adequate fonts and finalizing my sketch.
Wednesday
I packaged some shipments and worked on cleaning the studio. It is that time of the printing cycle, when Brady starts to get caught up with printing and then it is time to clean up everything that has been printed. I sorted furniture (wooden spacing) and lead spacing, swept, and rearranged some cabinets to make aisle room between the presses.
On a side note, one of the packages I put together was a set of examples for Urban Outfitters. Brady included some Christmas and occasional cards along with a selection of posters. Guess whose poster was part of that selection? If you guessed, mine, you're right. Bobby also mentioned that a bunch of the alphabet posters sold last Saturday. Its a good feeling to have someone buy something you made.
After work I went home and worked more on my Ex Post Facto piece until Halliday called to see if I wanted to escape the heat and spend the night at her place. The answer to that question was an obvious "yes".
As it was two for one burger night at this place called "The Brick" we decided to meet there before heading over to her place. Since Halliday didn't get off work until 9:30, I arrived early to secure a spot before the kitchen closed.
When I arrived I was accosted with the horrible sounds of a solo guitarist attempting to make music. I endured multiple songs telling me about the government and how it is full of trickery and lies. As "Give Me a Passport to Cuba" finished up, Halliday finally joined me.
I had an excellent burger with salsa on top paired with delicious sweet potato fries. While we were waiting for our check, the cook came out and gave us free cookies for us to try, chocolate chip and bacon. They tasted like chocolate chip and our verdict was "not enough bacon". If you're going to go out on a limb, you need to go all the way out - go big or go home, right?
At Halliday's I helped her unload her car and then we settled down with her roommate, Danielle, to watch "No Vacancy", a strange comedy (if you can call it that) starring Christina Ricci.
Danielle has two dogs, one mutt named Honey and one pug, whose name I can't recall. The pug, looks and sounds like a creature from outer space. It sits and wheezes at you until you can't stand looking at it any longer. Honey, on the other hand, is just that. She's an adorable dog made to be petted. She also likes to lick people. I slept on the couch and as the couch is Honey height, I was awoken from my slumber, every so often, by having my face licked.
Work was spent getting plates ready for storage (this included lots of card board cutting and usage of so much tape, I ran out twice) and learning the all new platen press, well all new to me.
Plate storage took up most of the day, as there were 40 or so plates to prepare for boxing. However, I did finish in time to have Brady show me how to use the platen press, or as Abra calls it, the clam shell. I will go further into what the point of a platen press is and why one would use it later on.
After work, I came home and put together the beginnings of my Ex Post Facto Show poster, scanning images from books, finding adequate fonts and finalizing my sketch.
Wednesday
I packaged some shipments and worked on cleaning the studio. It is that time of the printing cycle, when Brady starts to get caught up with printing and then it is time to clean up everything that has been printed. I sorted furniture (wooden spacing) and lead spacing, swept, and rearranged some cabinets to make aisle room between the presses.
On a side note, one of the packages I put together was a set of examples for Urban Outfitters. Brady included some Christmas and occasional cards along with a selection of posters. Guess whose poster was part of that selection? If you guessed, mine, you're right. Bobby also mentioned that a bunch of the alphabet posters sold last Saturday. Its a good feeling to have someone buy something you made.
After work I went home and worked more on my Ex Post Facto piece until Halliday called to see if I wanted to escape the heat and spend the night at her place. The answer to that question was an obvious "yes".
As it was two for one burger night at this place called "The Brick" we decided to meet there before heading over to her place. Since Halliday didn't get off work until 9:30, I arrived early to secure a spot before the kitchen closed.
When I arrived I was accosted with the horrible sounds of a solo guitarist attempting to make music. I endured multiple songs telling me about the government and how it is full of trickery and lies. As "Give Me a Passport to Cuba" finished up, Halliday finally joined me.
I had an excellent burger with salsa on top paired with delicious sweet potato fries. While we were waiting for our check, the cook came out and gave us free cookies for us to try, chocolate chip and bacon. They tasted like chocolate chip and our verdict was "not enough bacon". If you're going to go out on a limb, you need to go all the way out - go big or go home, right?
At Halliday's I helped her unload her car and then we settled down with her roommate, Danielle, to watch "No Vacancy", a strange comedy (if you can call it that) starring Christina Ricci.
Danielle has two dogs, one mutt named Honey and one pug, whose name I can't recall. The pug, looks and sounds like a creature from outer space. It sits and wheezes at you until you can't stand looking at it any longer. Honey, on the other hand, is just that. She's an adorable dog made to be petted. She also likes to lick people. I slept on the couch and as the couch is Honey height, I was awoken from my slumber, every so often, by having my face licked.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Case of the Missing Teapot
Saturday started out with me attempting to brainstorm an idea for the variety show in July. I tried to get somewhere, although between Buffy and the growing heat, I didn't. A few sketches were my pathetic result.
Around noon, Cali came back from escapades about town and told me about an up and coming young designer Monkey Wrench Clothing (http://www.monkeywrenchclothing.com/). Cali, being a designer herself, had traded a swimsuit for an adorable dress, right up my alley. I decided to get out of the house and drive toward Crown Center to check out the lady's booth.
Should it have not been raining, the plaza outside Crown Center would have been filled with people celebrating Kansas City Chalk and Walk Festival. However, the downpour had reduced the participants to a soggy smattering. Monkey Wrench Clothing occupied three of the, maybe, seven tents set up outside. I found the clothing to be fabulous, expertly crafted, and just my style. There were few dresses that I would have liked, but none in my size. In the end, the designer took my measurements and agreed to make me a custom dress in a teal gingham print. It pays to be in with local designers.
As it was lunch time, I headed back in Crown Center to search out some grub. Crown Center is built by Hallmark and includes a giant Hallmark store, go figure, Crayola store, as well as a small amount of second tier stores. The only large name I saw other than the previously mentioned was Victoria's Secret. The design is over done and in the end looks like a food court at a theme park. Also, the shopping area is carpeted and in my opinion, that always makes a mall look dirty verses welcoming.
The one thing Crown Center does have is food. There were at least a dozen places worth looking into for a quick bite. The one place that finally claimed my cash, was Fritz's. Fritz's is unique because your food is delivered by train and then conveyed via a weight sensitive contraption straight on to your table. It was probably the coolest hamburger I've ever eaten. Cheap too. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDeYFZV4xKE&feature=related)
Come 8ish, Halliday and I went out to the Infoshop, a small venue/used bookstore that reminded me of a place back in Bremerton. I think the claim to fame there, other than shows, is their zine collection. It was extensive, massing together all of the underground zines that Kansas City has produced and any the proprietors could/can get their hands on.
There probably weren't more than 30 people at the show, but because of the small size, that was perfect. Everyone was dancing and getting into the groove. It was wicked hot, but worth staying inside for the atmosphere.
I got a free tank top from Modie Bones, a local guy just starting up, met some neat guys from the Intolerants (from Portland, http://www.myspace.com/theintolerantsband) and ended the night with great, slightly rockabilly, rocking from the Muddy Udders (http://www.myspace.com/muddyuddersband). I offered the Intolerants a place to stay at the Pistol and some dinner if they wanted it, and they took me up on it. Halliday and I showed them the way back around 1:30 after an excellent show.
Back home I started cooking dinner (the Intolerants supplied an apple pie) and Joe pulled me aside. Foundations was hosting a show with three touring bands and Joe had agreed to watch the door. Things led to other thing (purposefully being elusive) and a teapot with two thousand dollars went missing.
Needless to say, drama went down. Halliday left, a chair or two got thrown (Foundation's owner and not at anyone), trash cans were turned inside out, the Intolerants questioned (that made me angry), and the Pistol searched until four am when I told Joe to go to bed - if the teapot was still in the Pistol, it would be in the morning. The touring bands left angry and without being paid.
I took control and had to force the issue of sleep and in the end, that is what happened (I did too after some more Buffy).
Sunday
I awoke the next morning at eleven, and helped the Intolerants get their things together while profusely apologizing. When they left, I looked around the Pistol and all I saw was a mess. There were no clean dishes, a mountain of them in the sink, cat hair and dust threatening to over take the living room, and the actual Pistol still had not been cleaned up since the Sodafest. With a call into Uriah, 12:30 was the start time of what would become known as the deep clean.
For five hours, Uriah and I did every possible cleaning task we could think of without busting out power tools. I sweated to the Hearts of Darkness practicing while I sweeped out the Pistol and rearranged furniture. As I attacked a couch, I found what we'd been looking for. A little china teapot stuffed with money.
The rest of the day included resting (with Buffy), going grocery shopping with Uriah, a nap, and going on an uber long night bike ride with Uriah and his friend Jared. Multiple people commented on how nice the Pistol looked.
*Neat foot note: Jared has a pool and invited me to go swimming. Finally, water!
Monday
Again, I attempted to work on the poster, but 100 degree heat made me start feeling sick. I think I'm going to carry around a gallon jug for drinking water, I need it.
At seven I had a member's meeting at the Arts INKubator. We talked about how to turn some space into a store and how to promote the press best on first Fridays.
I came home, went for a short ride, and finished season three Buffy. What will I do now?
I need to figure out a way to work at the Pistol, the crazy heat thing is making it so I am incredibly unproductive.
I posted this from the Arts INKubator, and I might make a habit of coming down here to cool off for a few hours every night.
OH! p.s. the coolest thing happened last night. Joe's friend Kyle found an old suitcase full of vintage items from the 20's-1940's from a guy named Carl. Some awesome finds included: school notebooks, a school paper, vintage valentines, love letters, telegrams, and drawings. I traded him some Hammerpress for a few key items.
Around noon, Cali came back from escapades about town and told me about an up and coming young designer Monkey Wrench Clothing (http://www.monkeywrenchclothing.com/). Cali, being a designer herself, had traded a swimsuit for an adorable dress, right up my alley. I decided to get out of the house and drive toward Crown Center to check out the lady's booth.
Should it have not been raining, the plaza outside Crown Center would have been filled with people celebrating Kansas City Chalk and Walk Festival. However, the downpour had reduced the participants to a soggy smattering. Monkey Wrench Clothing occupied three of the, maybe, seven tents set up outside. I found the clothing to be fabulous, expertly crafted, and just my style. There were few dresses that I would have liked, but none in my size. In the end, the designer took my measurements and agreed to make me a custom dress in a teal gingham print. It pays to be in with local designers.
As it was lunch time, I headed back in Crown Center to search out some grub. Crown Center is built by Hallmark and includes a giant Hallmark store, go figure, Crayola store, as well as a small amount of second tier stores. The only large name I saw other than the previously mentioned was Victoria's Secret. The design is over done and in the end looks like a food court at a theme park. Also, the shopping area is carpeted and in my opinion, that always makes a mall look dirty verses welcoming.
The one thing Crown Center does have is food. There were at least a dozen places worth looking into for a quick bite. The one place that finally claimed my cash, was Fritz's. Fritz's is unique because your food is delivered by train and then conveyed via a weight sensitive contraption straight on to your table. It was probably the coolest hamburger I've ever eaten. Cheap too. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDeYFZV4xKE&feature=related)
Come 8ish, Halliday and I went out to the Infoshop, a small venue/used bookstore that reminded me of a place back in Bremerton. I think the claim to fame there, other than shows, is their zine collection. It was extensive, massing together all of the underground zines that Kansas City has produced and any the proprietors could/can get their hands on.
There probably weren't more than 30 people at the show, but because of the small size, that was perfect. Everyone was dancing and getting into the groove. It was wicked hot, but worth staying inside for the atmosphere.
I got a free tank top from Modie Bones, a local guy just starting up, met some neat guys from the Intolerants (from Portland, http://www.myspace.com/theintolerantsband) and ended the night with great, slightly rockabilly, rocking from the Muddy Udders (http://www.myspace.com/muddyuddersband). I offered the Intolerants a place to stay at the Pistol and some dinner if they wanted it, and they took me up on it. Halliday and I showed them the way back around 1:30 after an excellent show.
Back home I started cooking dinner (the Intolerants supplied an apple pie) and Joe pulled me aside. Foundations was hosting a show with three touring bands and Joe had agreed to watch the door. Things led to other thing (purposefully being elusive) and a teapot with two thousand dollars went missing.
Needless to say, drama went down. Halliday left, a chair or two got thrown (Foundation's owner and not at anyone), trash cans were turned inside out, the Intolerants questioned (that made me angry), and the Pistol searched until four am when I told Joe to go to bed - if the teapot was still in the Pistol, it would be in the morning. The touring bands left angry and without being paid.
I took control and had to force the issue of sleep and in the end, that is what happened (I did too after some more Buffy).
Sunday
I awoke the next morning at eleven, and helped the Intolerants get their things together while profusely apologizing. When they left, I looked around the Pistol and all I saw was a mess. There were no clean dishes, a mountain of them in the sink, cat hair and dust threatening to over take the living room, and the actual Pistol still had not been cleaned up since the Sodafest. With a call into Uriah, 12:30 was the start time of what would become known as the deep clean.
For five hours, Uriah and I did every possible cleaning task we could think of without busting out power tools. I sweated to the Hearts of Darkness practicing while I sweeped out the Pistol and rearranged furniture. As I attacked a couch, I found what we'd been looking for. A little china teapot stuffed with money.
The rest of the day included resting (with Buffy), going grocery shopping with Uriah, a nap, and going on an uber long night bike ride with Uriah and his friend Jared. Multiple people commented on how nice the Pistol looked.
*Neat foot note: Jared has a pool and invited me to go swimming. Finally, water!
Monday
Again, I attempted to work on the poster, but 100 degree heat made me start feeling sick. I think I'm going to carry around a gallon jug for drinking water, I need it.
At seven I had a member's meeting at the Arts INKubator. We talked about how to turn some space into a store and how to promote the press best on first Fridays.
I came home, went for a short ride, and finished season three Buffy. What will I do now?
I need to figure out a way to work at the Pistol, the crazy heat thing is making it so I am incredibly unproductive.
I posted this from the Arts INKubator, and I might make a habit of coming down here to cool off for a few hours every night.
OH! p.s. the coolest thing happened last night. Joe's friend Kyle found an old suitcase full of vintage items from the 20's-1940's from a guy named Carl. Some awesome finds included: school notebooks, a school paper, vintage valentines, love letters, telegrams, and drawings. I traded him some Hammerpress for a few key items.
Stay tuned for our reguarly scheduled programing
Updates will be coming. Yesterday was more than brain frying hot. I started feeling a little sick and in the end couldn't get anything done. Since the Pistol has no air conditioning, I plan on going to the library later to finish these things.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sodafest
On Friday, I probably printed 600 things. I finished the poster I'd been working on all week by adding the final layer, a dark blue. I learned how to do some fine tuning adjustments to the grippers for precise registration. More than enough needed turned out well, although I've certainly learned how important holding the paper down to the timpin is.
Next, I printed a bunch of cd inserts and by bunch, I'm pretty sure there were 400. Those two projects comprised my day with some studio cleaning interspersed throughout.
When I arrived home, there were surprises to be found. The nicest was a care package from my momma, stuffed with goodies like dried mangos and tax returns. The other surprise was a group of guys who call themselves "Chomp Whomp" decorating the two venues. The Pistol was strung with lights and had balloons across the floor. Foundations was festooned with hundreds of streamers.
"Chomp Whomp Sodafest" - a giant show put on by a group of guys from Lawrence, Kansas. It included fourteen bands playing on two stages, free food, soda, and live artists painting.
Joe and I took a ride across the tracks before people started arriving. A daily bike ride, after work, has become a nice little habit.
Due to the heat I fell asleep and missed 5 or so bands (No ear plugs, go me!). I awoke to a raging crowded Pistol. According to Cali, who collected money at the door, she estimated 300 - 350 people came. In the end, each band and Cali were paid 80 dollars, and each venue gained 250 - The admission price was five dollars. Since the Pistol has no Air Conditioning and Foundations seems like it doesn't with that many people, it was an impressive turnout, a crazy party that lasted until easily 3 or 4 in the morning.
The bands kind of melded together for me, but the BLEACHBLOODZ (http://www.myspace.com/bleachbloodz) who I'd seen at the first show, played and they know how to give a good live performance. Most of the crowds just stood with their arms crossed, but the BLEACHBLOODZ gets people involved. The artists set up in foundation were pretty interesting. A bunch of them had giant canvases set up and were painting large graffitiesc murals. One guy had some woodcut prints for sale on a table. As everyone was packing up I offered him six dollars for one and he took me up on it. They'd been originally priced at eight.
I needed some Buffy to help lull me to sleep, then I passed out.
* Appendix
So I know I haven't been updating on schedule. The reason being mostly due to the fact I wake up at nine instead of eight, which doesn't give me enough time to write my day up. I am trying to rectify the situation. In otherwords, look for daily posts again soon.
Next, I printed a bunch of cd inserts and by bunch, I'm pretty sure there were 400. Those two projects comprised my day with some studio cleaning interspersed throughout.
When I arrived home, there were surprises to be found. The nicest was a care package from my momma, stuffed with goodies like dried mangos and tax returns. The other surprise was a group of guys who call themselves "Chomp Whomp" decorating the two venues. The Pistol was strung with lights and had balloons across the floor. Foundations was festooned with hundreds of streamers.
"Chomp Whomp Sodafest" - a giant show put on by a group of guys from Lawrence, Kansas. It included fourteen bands playing on two stages, free food, soda, and live artists painting.
Joe and I took a ride across the tracks before people started arriving. A daily bike ride, after work, has become a nice little habit.
Due to the heat I fell asleep and missed 5 or so bands (No ear plugs, go me!). I awoke to a raging crowded Pistol. According to Cali, who collected money at the door, she estimated 300 - 350 people came. In the end, each band and Cali were paid 80 dollars, and each venue gained 250 - The admission price was five dollars. Since the Pistol has no Air Conditioning and Foundations seems like it doesn't with that many people, it was an impressive turnout, a crazy party that lasted until easily 3 or 4 in the morning.
The bands kind of melded together for me, but the BLEACHBLOODZ (http://www.myspace.com/bleachbloodz) who I'd seen at the first show, played and they know how to give a good live performance. Most of the crowds just stood with their arms crossed, but the BLEACHBLOODZ gets people involved. The artists set up in foundation were pretty interesting. A bunch of them had giant canvases set up and were painting large graffitiesc murals. One guy had some woodcut prints for sale on a table. As everyone was packing up I offered him six dollars for one and he took me up on it. They'd been originally priced at eight.
I needed some Buffy to help lull me to sleep, then I passed out.
* Appendix
So I know I haven't been updating on schedule. The reason being mostly due to the fact I wake up at nine instead of eight, which doesn't give me enough time to write my day up. I am trying to rectify the situation. In otherwords, look for daily posts again soon.
Thrifting madness
Thursday started out with laying down layer three of the poster, a bright green color. However that was all the printing to be done.
Right now Brady is building a new wall in the front of the shop to section it off from the studio, it would seem there have been too many prying eyes wandering too close to the presses. Because of all the noise and mess, there really wasn't time to set up another project.
Instead, I helped Wendy put together a very large order as well as assemble a huge pile o' cards so we are not packaging them as they are bought. To get a card together one must fold it around an envelope and slide it into a cellophane bag. From what I am told, all letterpress cards are packaged this way, by hand, although many large producers outsource to assembly workers. Brady is thinking of going that way to save time for more important things.
I came home to find Halliday working in her studio. Originally we'd planned a night of Rockabilly together, but she needed to finish an order and it was a bit too muggy to get dressed up. Instead I plopped down for some Slayage.
An episode or two of Buffy later, Joe stated that he was in need of some new pants, and "did we want to go thrifting?" When one does not bring enough clothes to wear the answer is always "hellz yeah!". The three of us piled in my car and drove twenty or so minutes north to Smithville, where the "good" thrifting is.
The first stop was not a thrift store but some genius place called Quik Stop where the .49 cent, thirty-six ounce soda is alive and kicking. I splurged and bought one for each of us.
The second stop was another DAV and yet again I was pummeled with excellent prices. I found:
* two dresses
- one red wrap with white feathers, it had shoulder pads, but I pulled them out
- the other a 1950's-like sleeveless number with a yellow and green tropical print
* a black looped belt
* bright pink bloomers with lace and hand sewn bumblebees (1.98)
* a blue and white striped shortsleeve cardigan
* a purple v-neck knit top
total: 21 dollars and change
The last place we hit, because it was getting late and stores were closing was the Salvation Army. My memories of the S.A. are of ratty shelves lined with plastic toys, a few sad racks of clothing and lamps that had died in some 70's reality and returned from beyond the grave. In Bremerton S.A. is a place to go for cheap furniture, not clothes.
This one was not the case. It was packed, overflowing, with clothes. Upon initially walking in, I became overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. I eventually navigated myself to the dresses, but they were mostly 80's styles and the nurse's uniform that could have looked nice dyed, draped funny around my hips. I didn't look very hard through the tops because there were too many to get my head around. After prying myself off an amazing leather jacket, I did find two shirts in the kid's section.
* Orange shirt with number 10 and yellow softball shirt from kids rack
total: 1.50 - green tags were half price.
I don't think there is an item of thrifted clothing in the entirety of Washington and Oregon that is originally priced at a dollar. I left a bit speechless.
As it was nine and all the stores were closing, the three of us went out in pursuit of food. We probably spent an hour trying to decide where to eat until I finally threw down the law and drove us to some Mexican. I did find out that Godfather's Pizza still exists out here and I will have to have some before I leave. It is my very favorite pizza, the only place that makes the crust correctly.
After dinner we drove home and I watched some more Buffy before bed.
Right now Brady is building a new wall in the front of the shop to section it off from the studio, it would seem there have been too many prying eyes wandering too close to the presses. Because of all the noise and mess, there really wasn't time to set up another project.
Instead, I helped Wendy put together a very large order as well as assemble a huge pile o' cards so we are not packaging them as they are bought. To get a card together one must fold it around an envelope and slide it into a cellophane bag. From what I am told, all letterpress cards are packaged this way, by hand, although many large producers outsource to assembly workers. Brady is thinking of going that way to save time for more important things.
I came home to find Halliday working in her studio. Originally we'd planned a night of Rockabilly together, but she needed to finish an order and it was a bit too muggy to get dressed up. Instead I plopped down for some Slayage.
An episode or two of Buffy later, Joe stated that he was in need of some new pants, and "did we want to go thrifting?" When one does not bring enough clothes to wear the answer is always "hellz yeah!". The three of us piled in my car and drove twenty or so minutes north to Smithville, where the "good" thrifting is.
The first stop was not a thrift store but some genius place called Quik Stop where the .49 cent, thirty-six ounce soda is alive and kicking. I splurged and bought one for each of us.
The second stop was another DAV and yet again I was pummeled with excellent prices. I found:
* two dresses
- one red wrap with white feathers, it had shoulder pads, but I pulled them out
- the other a 1950's-like sleeveless number with a yellow and green tropical print
* a black looped belt
* bright pink bloomers with lace and hand sewn bumblebees (1.98)
* a blue and white striped shortsleeve cardigan
* a purple v-neck knit top
total: 21 dollars and change
The last place we hit, because it was getting late and stores were closing was the Salvation Army. My memories of the S.A. are of ratty shelves lined with plastic toys, a few sad racks of clothing and lamps that had died in some 70's reality and returned from beyond the grave. In Bremerton S.A. is a place to go for cheap furniture, not clothes.
This one was not the case. It was packed, overflowing, with clothes. Upon initially walking in, I became overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. I eventually navigated myself to the dresses, but they were mostly 80's styles and the nurse's uniform that could have looked nice dyed, draped funny around my hips. I didn't look very hard through the tops because there were too many to get my head around. After prying myself off an amazing leather jacket, I did find two shirts in the kid's section.
* Orange shirt with number 10 and yellow softball shirt from kids rack
total: 1.50 - green tags were half price.
I don't think there is an item of thrifted clothing in the entirety of Washington and Oregon that is originally priced at a dollar. I left a bit speechless.
As it was nine and all the stores were closing, the three of us went out in pursuit of food. We probably spent an hour trying to decide where to eat until I finally threw down the law and drove us to some Mexican. I did find out that Godfather's Pizza still exists out here and I will have to have some before I leave. It is my very favorite pizza, the only place that makes the crust correctly.
After dinner we drove home and I watched some more Buffy before bed.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Turning the fan on full blast
Tuesday
The day started off with wedding invites, 400 of them to be exact. When one goes to Brady for wedding invites, not only do they have it created, but stamped and assembled ready to be addressed and mailed. Thus the morning of Tuesday was spent preparing wedding invites to be picked up later that morning.
Should it have been just one person, the job would have easily taken two days to complete. However with three, Jen, Wendy and I, it was surprisingly easy. We finished just after lunch.
For lunch Brady bought me an amazing taco and side of rice, in return I (stupidly?) volunteered to make lunch on Thursday (that way Wendy could join us as well). I think I'll make my traditional stirfry, that way I know I won't poison anybody.
After the wedding invite assemblage marathon Brady had me set up the press to do a promotional piece for a local design firm, they designed the image, we will print it. There were around 300 (although I only go to 200 or so) white layers to print before I bounced for the evening.
A couple came in just before five and recorded an interview with Brady and then about a minute's worth of me printing. I think I was on the nine o'clock news.
The evening held another show at the Pistol, Prince Rama (http://www.myspace.com/princeramaofayodhya), Witch and Hare, as well as a couple kids who were touring with Prince Rama were set up to play, the Nature Boys backed out an hour or so before the show.
Right after I got home, I took a bike ride over to the American Royal arena and explored the grounds a bit more thoroughly. When I felt like I was going to melt into the pavement, I took it as a sign that I should head home. I arrived just in time to see Prince Rama pile out of their van. I helped them unload their stuff into the freight elevator and then joined Cali to help her make dinner.
Cali had shown up just before my bike ride and was intending on preparing some pasta. However, when Joe and Halliday told her they were making curry for the band, she was worried her food would go to waste. I assured her otherwise and together we ate the pasta with pesto shrimp. Cali spoils us every time she come over. She said she is going to be staying at the Pistol this weekend (there is a giant show on Friday). I plan to turn the tables and make her dinner.
The show was good and the bands friendly. I'd review the music as organized noise, but people got into it and were dancing all over the place. Prince Rama laid out various shakers for the audience to play and everyone did. Audience participation which is what makes a show worth while. Good bands know this and in the end, the sound can sometimes be irrelevant.
oh, did I mention on Monday I saw a car made up to look like a giant fiberglass sub sandwich?
Wednesday
More printing! I worked further on the piece for the design firm, finishing the white layer and laying down the second, a turquoise blue.
Actually, I learned alot about printing yesterday, I would say I even leveled up. Among other things; I learned that if on is going to make a full sized poster that is in need of tight registration, one should hold down the piece of paper tightly to the timpin, as far as one is able, because a light hold will make a large difference in alignment (Chaotic good instead of chaotic evil).
Post blue layer, I finished the red layer on my alphabet poster, making a total of around five hundred prints for the day. Granted, that is nothing compared to Brady, but a personal best for me. I believe I will have a bicep when I return (just one though).
The evening was intended to be full of lunch cooking and poster mock-up preparing, but the minute I stepped out of Hammerpress' air-conditioned goodness, I was knocked over by a heat wave aimed at my existance. Instead, I passed out after a short bike ride and slept until it was cool enough to breathe - at which point I woke up to watch some Buffy.
The day started off with wedding invites, 400 of them to be exact. When one goes to Brady for wedding invites, not only do they have it created, but stamped and assembled ready to be addressed and mailed. Thus the morning of Tuesday was spent preparing wedding invites to be picked up later that morning.
Should it have been just one person, the job would have easily taken two days to complete. However with three, Jen, Wendy and I, it was surprisingly easy. We finished just after lunch.
For lunch Brady bought me an amazing taco and side of rice, in return I (stupidly?) volunteered to make lunch on Thursday (that way Wendy could join us as well). I think I'll make my traditional stirfry, that way I know I won't poison anybody.
After the wedding invite assemblage marathon Brady had me set up the press to do a promotional piece for a local design firm, they designed the image, we will print it. There were around 300 (although I only go to 200 or so) white layers to print before I bounced for the evening.
A couple came in just before five and recorded an interview with Brady and then about a minute's worth of me printing. I think I was on the nine o'clock news.
The evening held another show at the Pistol, Prince Rama (http://www.myspace.com/princeramaofayodhya), Witch and Hare, as well as a couple kids who were touring with Prince Rama were set up to play, the Nature Boys backed out an hour or so before the show.
Right after I got home, I took a bike ride over to the American Royal arena and explored the grounds a bit more thoroughly. When I felt like I was going to melt into the pavement, I took it as a sign that I should head home. I arrived just in time to see Prince Rama pile out of their van. I helped them unload their stuff into the freight elevator and then joined Cali to help her make dinner.
Cali had shown up just before my bike ride and was intending on preparing some pasta. However, when Joe and Halliday told her they were making curry for the band, she was worried her food would go to waste. I assured her otherwise and together we ate the pasta with pesto shrimp. Cali spoils us every time she come over. She said she is going to be staying at the Pistol this weekend (there is a giant show on Friday). I plan to turn the tables and make her dinner.
The show was good and the bands friendly. I'd review the music as organized noise, but people got into it and were dancing all over the place. Prince Rama laid out various shakers for the audience to play and everyone did. Audience participation which is what makes a show worth while. Good bands know this and in the end, the sound can sometimes be irrelevant.
oh, did I mention on Monday I saw a car made up to look like a giant fiberglass sub sandwich?
Wednesday
More printing! I worked further on the piece for the design firm, finishing the white layer and laying down the second, a turquoise blue.
Actually, I learned alot about printing yesterday, I would say I even leveled up. Among other things; I learned that if on is going to make a full sized poster that is in need of tight registration, one should hold down the piece of paper tightly to the timpin, as far as one is able, because a light hold will make a large difference in alignment (Chaotic good instead of chaotic evil).
Post blue layer, I finished the red layer on my alphabet poster, making a total of around five hundred prints for the day. Granted, that is nothing compared to Brady, but a personal best for me. I believe I will have a bicep when I return (just one though).
The evening was intended to be full of lunch cooking and poster mock-up preparing, but the minute I stepped out of Hammerpress' air-conditioned goodness, I was knocked over by a heat wave aimed at my existance. Instead, I passed out after a short bike ride and slept until it was cool enough to breathe - at which point I woke up to watch some Buffy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Just another Monday
and Sunday. Not much happened either Sunday or Monday. Sunday I hung out at the Pistol reading, watching Buffy (finished season 2) and working on some packets for school.
Monday I did the same until I was fed up with being inside and drove to Half Price books. They're not kidding when they say half price. I left with nothing other than the bewilderment of a man not knowing what clip art is and I headed out to the Plaza Barnes and Noble. I discovered it not only has four stories, but a surprisingly good illustration/design section. I left with a clip art book to use with my upcoming poster and came back home.
I arrived to a bunch of people sitting outside and hanging, I joined them for an hour or so before Joe and I ventured out on an exceedingly good bike ride. Rode down to the American Royal arena and did figure eights in the parking lot. I'm slowly falling for that little bmx bike, although my butt protests otherwise.
Monday I did the same until I was fed up with being inside and drove to Half Price books. They're not kidding when they say half price. I left with nothing other than the bewilderment of a man not knowing what clip art is and I headed out to the Plaza Barnes and Noble. I discovered it not only has four stories, but a surprisingly good illustration/design section. I left with a clip art book to use with my upcoming poster and came back home.
I arrived to a bunch of people sitting outside and hanging, I joined them for an hour or so before Joe and I ventured out on an exceedingly good bike ride. Rode down to the American Royal arena and did figure eights in the parking lot. I'm slowly falling for that little bmx bike, although my butt protests otherwise.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Party on the street with ma boiz
Here is a better look at the car show, as you might be able to tell, the guy sitting on the red car, has dressed to match it. At the height of the show, there were probably 25 cars and fifty -seventy five people. Everyone brought their dogs and kids and stared at suspension systems while drinking beers.
The links are to some very worthwhile videos. Joe says sometimes they bring a "you-must-be-this-tall-to-ride" sign and see who can go the highest.
Lowrider goes down the street
Lowrider battle
They also did some donuts at the end of the street, but I don't have any video of that.
Lowrida
Saturday day I woke up to amazingness. Cali, who crashed at the Pistol the night before. had cooked breakfast; biscuits and gravy, possibly my favorite breakfast ever. She complimented it with donuts from Consentinos, a high class grocery downtown. Since I rarely cook breakfast food, it may very well have been the best breakfast I've had in months.Meanwhile, Zack, the guy downstairs was setting up for his lowrider car show. He set up a tent for food and grilling burgers as the first few cars arrived. Foundations set up Joe's speakers and they blared hip hop mixed with a little N'sync, odd I thought, but apparently Justin Timberlake is the sound of the streets.
Except for a few, most guys arrived in groups, their car clubs, with names like "Ghetto Dreams" and "Kool Whips". They would drive to the end of the street, revved up and do a little show turn before driving back and parking in a line.
Not all of the cars were tricked out, but most of them. The cars had a running theme of matching paint jobs with interior and even the air freshener. For example, if the car was red with white details, the inside would be red with white details and a cherry air freshener. Some guys had blatant paint jobs, like the dude with a bright orange and blue car or the guy with "KC" stenciled all over his, and some had subtle paint jobs. One man had a car that looked plain maroon from my window, but up close had an intricate Victorian style design all over the body.
They hung out with their coolers and grills until sundown.
At 8:30 Halliday and I left to go to an Apocalypse themed Burlesque show. If you showed up with out costume it cost eight bucks, with, only five. We both costumed it up and ended up being the most dressed up there, however, that was fine since we got many compliments on our outfits. I wore my black dress and leggings with a leather vest from Halliday's line, and she wore an outfit from her new collection that she'll be showing in July.
The ladies were funny and preformed well with skits about zombies, Tank Girl, and the Army of Darkness. While were were there, the man in charge of Halliday's next show, the one in July, was talking about posters and I offered to create one for him. He accepted and it should be a huge gig. This poster will be seen around town, everywhere. He needs to provide me with some specs and I can get going on it.
Halliday and I dropped by Grinders, a burger place, before heading home. There was show happening at Foundation, but I opted out. All in all it was an interesting day with a bunch of new things seen and ending in myself feeling very much like myself, which is something I haven't felt in awhile.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The first lightning bug
Work on Friday was simple. A lot of press cleaning though.
I arrived to find Brady had started printing my poster for realz. Sometimes I think he must employ those little elves who helped the shoemaker make thousands of shoes over night. I'll arrive and hundreds of things will have been printed and the press beds rearranged. When I came in, he'd already busted out some black paper and printed fifty or so posters. The black paper with white ink looked fantastic. It balanced out the poster, and in my opinion did not need to be rearranged after all.
I printed another hundered on black before cleaning the press and switching to red on chipboard. When cleaning the press, I proofed a couple of white on chipboard to see how it looked. I then printed a layer of red over the white so there was a small shadow of white showing through and Brady liked it a great deal. By great deal I mean I cleaned the press to put white back on and not even getting to red. One cool thing I learned was how to change the timpin, the largest roller on the press, which is actually pretty easy once you learn which way to screw things back together.
I left after finishing my stack of chipboard and cleaning the press, again. Joe and Halliday were meeting me at the Pistol to go to Kansas City, Kansas. The downtown is trying to revitalize itself with community gathering and part of that is the first monthly second Friday streetfair and art walk.
I'll tell you all about it later tonight, but right now there are a group of lowriders parking outside the Pistol and it's a little hard to ignore. The guy who runs the screen printing shop downstairs is holding a car show and I want to go see what happening.
I will leave you with this, there was honest to God break dancing and I fell just a little bit in love.
Later
Downtown Kansas City, Kansas, or KCK, is about five miles from where I live. The downtown is a great deal less vibrant than the Missouri side. It still has remnants of the 1940's and there is an air of abandonment similar to downtown Bremerton.
In an attempt to bring business back to KCK the downtown committee put together an art walk. This art walk was made of mostly what Modou would call "outsider art". People were sporadically set up and down the street, their tables half filled with paintings or ceramics. The classic "row of abstract giant acrylic paintings" leaning against an empty storefront was lent character by the mariachi band wandering through the streets.
Down the street from where the vendors had set up was a group of people called the "Hip Hop Academy". They'd nailed canvases of wood to the wall and were having a spray painting demonstration along side a group of kids (and 20 somethings) break dancing. It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. These guys really knew what they were doing, one of them even did a head spin.
Around 8, the Hearts of Darkness, http://www.myspace.com/theheartsofdarknesskc, an afrobeat band with seventeen members, started playing and rocked the joint. Suddenly, the night turned into a raging block party with people dancing in the streets. For the entirety of their two hour set they continued to keep the groove of the party. Hearts of Darkness is the band that practices downstairs in "The Ship" on Sundays.
During the last song Halliday pointed out a lightning bug, the first ever that I've seen in person.
When the Hearts of Darkness finally finished, Halliday, Joe, and I headed out. We dropped by Sunfresh before coming home again and watching Milk. Milk was an okay movie, but I felt like it jumped around a little. After Milk, I literally passed out the minute I hit my bed and didn't wake again until eleven.
I arrived to find Brady had started printing my poster for realz. Sometimes I think he must employ those little elves who helped the shoemaker make thousands of shoes over night. I'll arrive and hundreds of things will have been printed and the press beds rearranged. When I came in, he'd already busted out some black paper and printed fifty or so posters. The black paper with white ink looked fantastic. It balanced out the poster, and in my opinion did not need to be rearranged after all.
I printed another hundered on black before cleaning the press and switching to red on chipboard. When cleaning the press, I proofed a couple of white on chipboard to see how it looked. I then printed a layer of red over the white so there was a small shadow of white showing through and Brady liked it a great deal. By great deal I mean I cleaned the press to put white back on and not even getting to red. One cool thing I learned was how to change the timpin, the largest roller on the press, which is actually pretty easy once you learn which way to screw things back together.
I left after finishing my stack of chipboard and cleaning the press, again. Joe and Halliday were meeting me at the Pistol to go to Kansas City, Kansas. The downtown is trying to revitalize itself with community gathering and part of that is the first monthly second Friday streetfair and art walk.
I'll tell you all about it later tonight, but right now there are a group of lowriders parking outside the Pistol and it's a little hard to ignore. The guy who runs the screen printing shop downstairs is holding a car show and I want to go see what happening.
I will leave you with this, there was honest to God break dancing and I fell just a little bit in love.
Later
Downtown Kansas City, Kansas, or KCK, is about five miles from where I live. The downtown is a great deal less vibrant than the Missouri side. It still has remnants of the 1940's and there is an air of abandonment similar to downtown Bremerton.
In an attempt to bring business back to KCK the downtown committee put together an art walk. This art walk was made of mostly what Modou would call "outsider art". People were sporadically set up and down the street, their tables half filled with paintings or ceramics. The classic "row of abstract giant acrylic paintings" leaning against an empty storefront was lent character by the mariachi band wandering through the streets.
Down the street from where the vendors had set up was a group of people called the "Hip Hop Academy". They'd nailed canvases of wood to the wall and were having a spray painting demonstration along side a group of kids (and 20 somethings) break dancing. It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. These guys really knew what they were doing, one of them even did a head spin.
Around 8, the Hearts of Darkness, http://www.myspace.com/theheartsofdarknesskc, an afrobeat band with seventeen members, started playing and rocked the joint. Suddenly, the night turned into a raging block party with people dancing in the streets. For the entirety of their two hour set they continued to keep the groove of the party. Hearts of Darkness is the band that practices downstairs in "The Ship" on Sundays.
During the last song Halliday pointed out a lightning bug, the first ever that I've seen in person.
When the Hearts of Darkness finally finished, Halliday, Joe, and I headed out. We dropped by Sunfresh before coming home again and watching Milk. Milk was an okay movie, but I felt like it jumped around a little. After Milk, I literally passed out the minute I hit my bed and didn't wake again until eleven.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Postering
Yesterday printing continued, after I assembled a half dozen mock-ups of the invites I printed the other day, so the bride-to-be could show her family.These are pictures of the poster as it stands now. I played around with the bottom line a bit before settling on the brown version. Looking at them, I might switch up the third and fifth lines, since I feel like it is weighted on the top.
Digging through Brady's type was amazing. Typesetting is incredibly relaxing, so long as I'm not setting anything 18 point or below. (odd fact: Brady doesn't use composing sticks. He typesets in his tray)
Brady likes the poster enough he is going to print around 300 or so and sell them. He said he was even going to put it in the online store. Woot!
I'm excited for the next couple of weeks. We have a few projects that I am going to be creating as well as working on reprinting a variety of cards that are running low.
After work Halliday and I met up to put up posters around town. Joe only puts up twelve or so, which shows that he has not refine the art of poster plastering. Halliday and I drove around to all the usual spots and then some. Any business that looked promising I asked if they would put up a flyer. 99 percent said yes, in fact only one said no. Halliday was surprised how many people had places for posters. By the end of our tour, we deducted there weren't enough and next time would have to print more. For the next show I am going to silkscreen 20 or so and then copy 50 to put up everywhere we can think of.
We came home and I watched some Buffy while Halliday and Joe watched some weird Japanese version of a punkrock movie.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Learning my ABC's
Wednesday at work was a great deal of fun. Lots of printing and even typesetting my own poster.The first task I had was to set four fonts and proof them in black. Their purpose was for Matt to scan and use in computer design work. The fonts were all wood type, some that Brady hadn't even used yet. There was this amazing small and squat tuscan font that I adored, although it was missing a very essential "a" and "d".
Out of the four fonts, three were small enough to fit on one sheet of chipboard. I arranged them in a broadside style, attempting to have both form and function. I surprised Brady with how fast I finished setting the type and printing. He checked out my final result and loved it enough to set me to work on creating an alphabet proof poster using a variety of thick and thin fonts. The poster is very simple and graphic, although completely my choice of fonts and placement. Brady leaned towards a lack of embellishments and focusing on the boldness of the letterforms. He said he'd been meaning to make a type poster and now I've gotten to do it for him.
I almost finished setting the pressbed, but around 5:30 I'd had enough and went home before leaving to put up the Pistol posters.
At home, I ran into Joe. He wanted to join me in my pamphleting rampage, but needed to go to Costco to pick up food for the band playing later in the evening. We decided to compromise and do some poster pining on the way to Costco.
Not many posters ended up being hung, only four out of thirty. I'll have to finish tonight. Costco tricked me into buying two books with their low prices, "Botany of Desire", and "Eat, Pray, Love". "Botany of Desire" promises to be an excellent read.
The second show of my stay started at ten, and this time I did not strike out. There was no waffling in and out of my room or moping in a corner. Instead, I wore my new black dress, put my hair up and attempted to make conversations. Much to my benefit, I was friendly and outgoing. If one acts with confidence, others will assume they have it and react with that in mind.
One fellow who came over cooked a very delicious dinner of tortellinis fried in garlic oil. I am told he is a chef at a local vegan resturant. Occationally Joe enlists him to cook dinner for the touring band. This band, Dead Science, was touring from Seattle and we spent some time talking about Pacific Northwest venues.
The two opening bands were very good, much better than any who played last week. I have a new local favorite, Mannequin Skywalker http://www.myspace.com/mannequinskywalker1. They preformed a stellar live show, and musically fit the venue. There are some bands who's sound lends itself to a loft/warehouse, and there are some that do not. The headliner last night, Deas Science, did not. Their lead singer was among the ranks of front men who sing with a whine that is unappealing and personally, boring. Seems to make sense he's from Seattle.
While they played I went in my room to watch some Colbert Report and an episode of Buffy before falling asleep. It is about time for me to get started on my zine. I have an idea of what I'm doing, now I need to plan it out.
One last thing I did yesterday was the dishes. With that I found that if I am going to live here, there will have to be a cleaning schedule or I will end up doing everything myself. Not because Uriah or Joe don't clean, they do, but because they put it off until one cannot help but need to clean. It isn't everywhere either, mostly the kitchen and the cat hair. The kitchen quickly stacks up with dirty dishes, which can't be a good thing when it get hot, and the cat hair has created small rugs in some places along the walls. I plan to work on a solution more this weekend when I have better time to throughly inspect the apartment and decide what should be done.
Hammerpress photos continued
More pictures from Hammerpress. The first two are of type cabinets from farther back. They next one, which looks like two pictures put together but is actually one, is of the Vandercooks. It is kind of hard to see them as every available surface is covered with something, but I assure you they are there.
This is over by the platen presses. You can see a desk Brady is giving me for my room with the invites I printed Tuesday sitting on top. Then there is a pic of the type cabinets. The large machine in front is the giant paper cutter.
A closer look at the Vandercooks with platen presses and paper storage in the background. The more Vandercooks with the wall of billboard type.
Finally some picture blocks. If you can't see, there is a giant cowhead, cowboy on a bucking bronco, men racing ostriches with chariots, and some mexican folk art.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Print big or go home
Tuesday was a long day, but with few things in it.I went to work and finished the last of the packaging. I labeled the last of the rep boxes and put together the last two orders. After all that was finished, I got to printing. More wedding invites. 500 of them (400 hundered and then Brady always prints a bunch extra in case he should ever need them, which is why his back room is bursting).
The invites were olive paper with metallic gold ink. Pretty much the same tones and personally not very attractive. I had a mishap with the printing of them though and screwed up about fourty or so. ***!* when printing take the paper out vertically as to not smuge or smear it, DO NOT TAKE IT OUT AT AN ANGLE or face the consequences ***!* Brady wasn't angry, but looking at the piece further, he decided to print them on the platen press instead.
Afterword I went to the INKubator and reprinted the Pistol Club poster. Due to the emulsion washing out and not drying very fast, I was there til three am. Joe and Halliday called around 2:50 to make sure that I was okay. It was very nice and made me feel like part of a family.
I came home full of energy (odd as I had none when I left) and so watched an episode of Buffy to wind down before sleep. I love Xander.
p.s. something I have forgotten to mention is the weather. Tuesday it down right poored, raining sideways and everything. Sunday and Monday there was more heat lightning in the evening followed/accompanied by a bit of rain. It has been moderately warm with some humidity, but nothing crushing. Occationally the sun comes out and fries my brain, but mostly it has been tolerable.
p.p.s. Brady threw out a bunch of make readies and I dug through his recycle bin. Goodies!!!
Market day
Images of the River Market produce and my dream table come to life. I'd redo the cushions and give it a fresh coat of paint.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
"Hello, my name is Karen and I'm addicted to Buffy."
So I'm a little behind.Sunday, June 7th
I started out the day writing this blog but then I realized, it takes me an hour or so to get everything how I like it, and the day was lovely, what on earth was I doing inside? I dropped what I was doing, jumped in my car and went exploring. That ended up in me being behind, but was worth it.
My first stop was the River Market, an open air combination of flea market, farmers market, and restaurants. What made me pull over was the flea market and I was lucky enough to have the coincidence of the farmer's market being there as well.
The flea market prices were outstanding - twenty-five cents for bright orange mugs, three dollars for a Carmen Miranda head cookie jar. I know what you're thinking; "Karen, you came home with that cookie jar didn't you?" No, I promise I didn't. The only thing that found it's way back to my place was a little ceramic sugar bowl in the shape of an orange.
Around the flea market was a line of shops and a museum dedicated to a steamboat wreck found in the Missouri river. One of the shops was called "Vintiques" and a seductive row of atomic chairs outside the door lured me in. The chairs were a little misleading since only one room was housed an assortment of furniture, however I was wonderfully lead astray.
The glory that is Vintiques is an assemblage store. Wares inside were paper, found items, a variety of embellishments, ribbon, and about anything I could possibly think of to use for altered art. Some highlights were a button wall, vintage travel guides to Latin America, a basket of skeleton keys and a case full of early century door fitting. Although I would have like to walk out with more, I limited myself to a handful of vintage photos and a 50's pamphlet on cooking. The owners said if I wanted to bring in any art I would be welcome since they sell assemblage art on the wall.
Bobby had mentioned the River Market Antique mall as being worth a visit, and so with the directions from the folks at Vintiques, I headed a few blocks away to check it out. I have found that flea markets in the Northwest are depressing. Most items are obnoxious in price, and sellers typically aren't keen on haggling. This apparently is not a running trend in Kansas City. Three stories of a large labyrinth-like warehouse were packed with finds. Not the junkyard sales items made to look like antiques finds, but honestly cool items, at affordable prices.
The dining room set of my dreams and I bonded almost as close as me and a 1940's bathing suit. I would have bought the suit if the color had been something other than salmon and yellow, I almost bought it anyway. A set of atomic era chipboard cutouts of blue collar workers (that could have looked neat on the Perceivers selling table) also almost found their way home with me, but, for what they were, the price was high. I ended up leaving with nothing but had an enjoyable adventure in antique hunting.
Around three o'clock or so, I found myself finished with the River Market district and went in search of my next destination - the Plaza. Some research showed the Plaza is modeled after Seville. I think this would be the case if Seville were to have a love child with Rodeo drive, and that child were fuse with a strip mall, then imbued with the essence of American supersize, dropped in a boiling vat of consumer idealism, then finally served with a side of terracotta colored paint. In otherwords the Plaza is a mildly Spanish (Southern Californian?) themed open air mall that houses the Armani Exchange and Coach stores among others. All the stores are on the higher end, the lowest price ranges being Gap and Barnes and Noble. A trip into Urban Outfitters revealed a great summer dress that I will wait on. Maybe I could treat myself to it for my birthday.
When I couldn't hold off the hunger any longer I grabbed a salad at a swanky "Tuscan bistro" with a fantastic little balcony. Happy hour appetizers were only $2.50 and that's how I unexpectedly had a shrimp cocktail to go with my salad. A table full of self-admittedly drunken 50-somethings chatted me up a bit (amazingly not about how I reminded them of their children) and then I left to seek out my last stop; KCAI.
The Kansas City Art Institute is situated on a little hill flanked by art museums. Next door to the ceramics building is the Kemper Museum of Modern Art, recognized by the giant spider creature out front, and across from the painting building, the city museum and sculpture park. Trees shade KCAI's lush grounds and an old castle-like main building plus gated entrance make it seem like someone's private estate.
With the evening light being perfect for walking, I meandered over to the sculpture park and made it my business to either touch or climb on all of the statues except for the "Thinker" casting (it was too high). I am an avid believer that public art should be touchable, maybe I'm out of line for thinking so, after all I'm no sculptor, but I had fun.
Three things I saw in the sculpture park I'd never seen live before:
* Four, twenty-five foot fiberglass badminton birdies
* A praying mantis, I even touched it!
* A wild bunny
I came home and spent the rest of the evening starting what is now a horrible habit of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Seasons one-three are on Hulu and I'm hooked.
"Hello, my name is Karen and I'm addicted to Buffy."
Monday, June 8th
Monday morning I finished the poster for the show next week, played around with color and placement. Looking back, I could have been more conservative with color, but I learned something new and will be able to use color minimally and to my benefit next time.
Around two, I met up with Jen from work and we went to the DAV thrift store to look for some sweet threads. Again I was amazed by the deals, six dollars being expensive. Kansas City is an actively thrifiting community, but not over crowded. The selection isn't picked through and one can find put together a perfectly decent outfit. This trip was very successful. I scored a little black dress, t-shirt, sweater, belt and jacket for under twenty dollars.
Yes, you did read sweater and jacket. No, I don't have enough jackets (this one is so sweet I can barely describe it, but picture the most perfect 70's track jacket, white with green stripes, and you're close). The sweater is actual vintage, red with little buttons on the collar and shoulder. While I many not be needing it now, eventually I will be in a time or place where it is cold and I will wear it at that point. It will look smashing with my brown pencil skirt. Jen picked up a shirtdress, jean jacket (she has a jacket fetish too) and Asian inspired robe.
I dropped Jen off at her home so she could go to class, then I booked it to the Arts INKubator for a tour around the studio. As there are only eight INKubator Press members I believe it will be somewhat akin to having an entire studio all to myself. The place is large and when I print I can set up on an entire table. The drying racks have too large a grid for me to use, but there is yet another table I am free to take over when my printing threatens to overwhelm my space.
I went home to print off stencils (and watch an episode of Buffy) then returned to print thirty or so band posters. There are two downsides to the INKubator.
1. The inks. Are speedball acrylic based and runny. The bulk red that has been provided is an orange red and when mixed with blue to create purple, simply turns red-brown.
2. The emulsion. This is a huge downside. They have provided some sort of crummy blue colored junk that barely stand up to the hose used to wash it out. I accidentally washed out my screen twice and after about ten prints the stuff stated flaking. I intend to find out what PNCA uses and see if it can be ordered.
By the end of the night I didn't have much progress. I left around eleven or twelve, tired and knowing I'd have to start over from scratch.
I came home, watched some Buffy and went to bed.
Monday, June 8, 2009
West Bottoms and the Pistol Social Club
Here are some pictures of the West Bottoms and the Pistol Social Club. Below is a train passing through about two blocks away from where I live. You can't see it, but all of those cars are full of coal.
The back alley of the Pistol. The white door leads inside to The Ship and Foundations, the architectual salvage store. The windows above is the back of the Pistol.
A Photographic moment with some signs in the alley.
Warehouses by the Pistol. Come to think of it, I think that's the other side of the alley. The next picture is looking down the street infront of the Pistol towards the train.
The front door of the Pistol Social Club I live on the second floor. My room is the far window above the screen printing shop. The picture below that is the hallway leading up to my place.
The kitchen. The giant table/bar used to be a stage. There is a dishwasher but it doesn't work. The stove is below the funny lamp in the corner. Then there is a picture of fluffy Flora.
The livingroom. I tried to capture the beautiful light that happens at sundown, but I don't think my camera is capable. That's Joe sitting on the couch and my room is on the otherside of the red-orange wall. Joe's shrine is a few pictures down.
My room. Not too much going on there. Just the old air mattress and my computer. It is pretty large and the ceilings are very high. Brady might have a desk I can add, that would be a welcome change as sitting on the floor kind of sucks. You can see my shelves there too. I didn't take a picture of the otherside of my room since there isn't anything to see but the frenchdoors and my clothes hanging up.
The back alley of the Pistol. The white door leads inside to The Ship and Foundations, the architectual salvage store. The windows above is the back of the Pistol.
A Photographic moment with some signs in the alley.
Warehouses by the Pistol. Come to think of it, I think that's the other side of the alley. The next picture is looking down the street infront of the Pistol towards the train.
The front door of the Pistol Social Club I live on the second floor. My room is the far window above the screen printing shop. The picture below that is the hallway leading up to my place.
The kitchen. The giant table/bar used to be a stage. There is a dishwasher but it doesn't work. The stove is below the funny lamp in the corner. Then there is a picture of fluffy Flora.
The livingroom. I tried to capture the beautiful light that happens at sundown, but I don't think my camera is capable. That's Joe sitting on the couch and my room is on the otherside of the red-orange wall. Joe's shrine is a few pictures down.
My room. Not too much going on there. Just the old air mattress and my computer. It is pretty large and the ceilings are very high. Brady might have a desk I can add, that would be a welcome change as sitting on the floor kind of sucks. You can see my shelves there too. I didn't take a picture of the otherside of my room since there isn't anything to see but the frenchdoors and my clothes hanging up.
and that's what there is to see. More West Bottoms pics will come, but yesterday was hot and I didn't want to fry my brain while taking pictures. As you might be able to tell, there isn't alot of shade out here.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Fashion and lightning
Most of Saturday morning was spent working on my zine entries. I finished them and emailed the pages to Madeline, the zine producer. After seeing one of the local zines in a bike shop, I decided I could do whatever I want and that would be sufficient. There wasn't any particular rhyme or reason to the content. My end product was a pair of simple collaged illustrations depicting faux saints, Saint Simeon - the patron saint of broken hearts, and Saint Katherine - the patron saint of contempt. I'm not sure how they'll be presented, but really, the point was to contribute, I'm not too picky how they turn out.I did take a break around 11 at which point Uriah came home and rounded me up to go bike shopping. He'd found a bike yard sale with some affordable finds. As we arrived, my perfect bike was being rode away with a baby in the basket, a Schwinn 3 speed with basket and fenders. Alas. I looked around and found another Schwinn, brick red, with a basket and fenders, but no gears. If I'd been in Portland, I'd probably have gone home with it, but if I'm this far away and am going to buy a bike to take home, I want a ride with gears that would make it possible for me to get myself up a hill.
Out of the twenty or so bikes, there were only two (including the red one) that fit me. It turns out that most bikes are too tall for my short stature. Neither had gears, so I went home empty handed. Uriah scored with two bikes for 20 and 5 dollars respectively. We hit up the bike shop to get him some new tires and then came home.
About five I headed to Sunfresh to get ingredients for lemon squares and promptly got lost. Not too badly, but it was a good thing I gave myself some time to get there. The lemon squares were rushed since time was crunched to be at the fashion show. When I left I thought I'd botched the squares up. In the end, looking back I just didn't cook them for long enough. I also forgot the top poofs up before settling down to be delicious and smooth.
The fashion show was set up in the middle of 18th street, with a long runway running from one end to the other with a sheet of L.E.D. light covered fabric shielding the "backstage" from view. Obviously the road was closed off and people crowded in to stand as close as they could. Crowd run off went into the surrounding buildings and hung out windows or stood on the roof.
The theme of the evening was Summer in Space and each designer was to interpret the theme how they deemed. I missed the first two collections, which were only five pieces each, but I got there in time to see Halliday's creation walk down the runway on a green alien model. After bullying my way to where she and some friends were perched, I watched the rest of the show in somewhat comfort balancing on a director's chair.
The collections that I can remember off hand were
* Super Nova - a bright group of 60's-ish style dresses
* Super Nova - a bright group of 60's-ish style dresses
* Oblivion - also dresses but immaculately made, unified with a corset top theme (also had the best models, many of the models didn't have a clue how to walk down a runway)
* I can't remember the name of the designer but her outfits morphed into other outfits
* Peggy Noland - an 18th street institution whose designs were something out of Playhouse Disney
* Birdies - the 18th street lingire store who used plastic bubble helmets (what I would have done), but not to their best advantage
Joe showed up near the end and helped Halliday take her things to her car. Since she was headed home, I decided to hit up the potluck at Bobby's even though I was running a bit late. When I arrived the potluck was winding down, but folks were still there. I brought some beer as a token and replacement to the botched lemon squares.
The reason for the potluck was Bobby's roommate Dave's birthday. Dave used to work at Hammerpress, but after many months of only working Saturdays he decided to call it quits for a bit. I also met a fellow Illustrator named John. John graduated about a year ago from KCAI and has been making a living as a full time Illustrator ever since. He says his work load goes up and down like a rollercoaster, but is enough to get his bills paid. The keys to working as an illustrator, as John has found, is promoting one's self in every avenue possible and finding a work method that produces work quickly but good enough a person can live with it.
I only stayed for about two hours since by the time midnight rolled around I was one of the last people left. I drove home and intended to go to bed, but an insane lighting storm brought me outside. Joe said it was heat lighting and it probably went on for about half an hour before any rain came.
I know I am in the midwest, but it feels very east to me, the lightning was certainly a midwestern experience.
*and now for a historical side note.
I was snooping around on the internet and found some history on the West Bottoms:
"The West Bottoms was originally referred to as the “French Bottoms”. It was the site of trade between French trappers and Kansas Indians. The area was established by the trappers as an area of commerce. The West Bottoms became the receiving point for goods offloaded from steamships traveling upstream on the Missouri river due in part of the western immigration and trade with Mexico over the Santa Fe Trail. The importance of the area increased with the advent of the railroad. The stockyards (established in 1871) then chose to develop there because of the livestock that came in from the Southwest over the rails. A whole city grew around the stockyards.
The Union Depot was built on Union Street where hotels, bars and restaurants flourished. Over 90 percent of the value in Kansas City lay in the West Bottoms. A devastating flood in 1903 ended the investment in housing, schools and churches. However, the agricultural, meat packing, freight and industrial investments continued to grow. By then the rule of thumb was clearly established namely the economic vitality of the city was determined by the economic progress of the West Bottoms.
The stockyards flourished through the 1940s and at its peak only the Union Stock Yards in Chicago were bigger. During World War II Darby Steel Corporation built most of the Landing Craft Tanks (LCTs) that were used in various amphibious invasions. The plant built one craft a day and floated them more than 1,000 miles down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans, Louisiana prompting their “Prairie Ships” nickname. Darby’s plant at the mouth of the Kansas River could hold eight 135i LCTs and 16 LCMs (Landing Craft Mechanized) in various stages of development.
With economic hard times the West Bottoms took a drastic hit. The first economic blow came with the ending of World War II. There were over 20 thousand jobs lost when the extensive military construction in the city suddenly ceased. The second economic blow came in 1951 with a major flood. Packing companies and supportive industries moved out of the area and many closed their doors forever. The combination of these two events was cataclysmic.
There were 50,000 jobs lost in the span of 5-6 years and the city was half the size it is now. With the job loss people stopped shopping downtown. With the economic downsizing the city slipped and was unable to save itself and collapsed. Because the city’s tax base crumbled it could no longer maintain its streets, bridges or engage in meaningful investments.
In 1974 Kansas City and the American Royal tried to reclaim the stockyards by building Kemper Arena. The stockyards biggest heritage is the annual 6-week American Royal agricultural show held each October and November at Kemper Arena. Kemper Arena was also the site of the 1976 Republican National Convention where Gerald Ford was nominated for President. Along with the building of Kemper Arena there have been many buildings constructed and several multi-million dollar companies have set up shop in the West Bottoms area. This redevelopment has begun to attract upscale and artistic tenants to redevelop buildings and helping reestablish the West Bottoms area." - from westbottoms.com
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