Happy Anniversary Pistol!

Saturday was the Pistol Social Club's Fourth Anniversary.

I spent the morning (after Adam left) going between the farmer's market and Sunfresh purchasing ingredients for dinner. Eric was planning on coming as well as Joe's friend Maria. I'd decided to try my hand at bacon wrapped stuffed peppers and tamales. I just want to say I can make both just fine, but I'll get into that later...

At the farmer's market, I picked up some spices for the tamales as well as the jalapenos for the stuffed peppers. I also found a 14" mum plants for five dollars that made its way back with me.

At Sunfresh, I surprisingly found everything needed for tamales and the special cheese - queso fresco - for the peppers. I wonder if Fred Meyers has these ingredients. I know they have corn husks so I can only imagine they have everything else, well maybe not the queso fresco, there seem to be more Mexicans here in Kansas City.

I was tempted to buy a pumpkin, but I can annoy my roommates with my absurd love of squash at a later time.

Post grocery shopping I drove to the arts INKubator and screenprinted forty-two anniversary show posters. I was impressed with how well they turned out. I need to scan one or figure out this photo situation because they've gone over smashingly. To my astonishment, I finished three layers in four hours, screen drying time included. Either I'm getting better at printing or my design was very simple - maybe both.

On the way home, I grabbed some cases of soda to sell at the show - trying to make all that I can. I advertised the posters for ten dollars, although I probably should have done five, turns out hipsters are broke.

When the posters were set up and the soda in a cooler, I began the tamales and gutting the peppers.

The show started at ten (by which time the tamales were steaming in my ingenious little aluminum tent contraption) and featured Ill Ease as the opening act.

In between her act and the next, I found out that I can make a mildly mean tamale. Honestly, I was impressed. I didn't think my tamale dough would set up, but it did and the chicken meat inside was rather tasty. Granted, they were no Manny's tamales, but for my first time, they were alright. It must be the spirits of the hundreds I've eaten in my life that helped. It was bound to happen that I start making them myself sooner or later.

The second (and last) main act was Hearts of Darkness. I had to miss a few of their songs to pick up Eric, but we made it back in time to hear the last few of their two and a half hour set.

When the show wound up, we ajourned to the Ship for a night of carousing and partying until the wee hours of the morn. Overall, it was an excellent way for the Pistol to celebrate its day.

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!!!

"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.