 |
|
|
|
April
2004 |
Saturday,
April 24, 2004
*Psst*
All the action is over here
as I start my 24 Hour Comic momentarily...
posted on 4/24/2004 03:59:43 PM
Sunday,
April 18, 2004
Guerilla Flotilla
Erik
sent me an intriguing invitation a couple months ago about a
flotilla scheduled on the Chicago River. I knew I didn't have
the prowess to make an actual boat, and I had never been to
flotilla before to know what to expect. For the longest time
I was stumped about what my contribution should be.
I had questioned Erik a little about it, but thought I should
come up with something snazzy without grilling him.
On April 7th, the day I couldn't stop thinking, I sat with a
blank index card and a pen on the bus. I thought, "Ship hat"
and drew a ship hat.
There you go. So, I built a ship hat out of paper mache. The
base is gatorboard (a plastic version of corrugated cardboard),
covered in good old newspaper and flour paste. I painted it
with acrylic and a coat of outdoor modge podge. I put black
and white pics of me making faces in the portholes. The smoke
is gatorboard covered with two pieces of quilt batting. Much
hot glue and packing tape was used in the construction.
And for anyone interested, the paper mache paste was white flour,
white glue and water. I threw in about a 1 1/2 of flour, a 7.625
oz bottle of Elmers and enough water to make a paste heavier
than cream in consistency. I had enough for 2.5 layers and plenty
left over. Worked great. Only lesson was that when I painted
it, the paper mache separated in biggish bubbles away from the
plastic base. Not a huge deal in this case. I just used the
gatorboard since I had it on hand, and I thought it'd be stronger
than cardboard. If you're looking for a smoother surface, use
cardboard, so the layers will bond better to the structure.
Since the finished ship was so vertical, it was a bit wobbly
- I had finishing school posture when I wore it and couldn't
nod so well. But folks enjoyed it and I'm glad I made something
boat-y to get involved.
Word is, there hasn't been a flotilla in 5 years, 7? So, this
was the first in awhile and the turnout was relatively small.
There were two boats, one remote control beaver and a floating
dragon sculpture. Hopefully, these will become annual again
and regain momentum.
Here's Erik's boat. Erik is the gondalier, Pirate Rob is riding.
It's made from old Neo-Futurarium
theater seats. Brilliant. It sailed well, but I was especially
impressed that it was modular and came apart so smartly. Those
three rings of theater seats bolt onto the two hulls. [I think
that's the word. The shiny, floaty parts. How's that? For growing
up on boats in Minnesota, I know jack about 'em. Ergo, I made
a hat.] So it's basically 5 chunks.
Seeing how swift the disassembly and smart the design, fully
impressed, I asked Erik, "How'd you get so smart?
He answered, "Trial and error."
posted on 4/18/2004 03:30:00 PM
Wednesday,
April 07, 2004
Can't.Stop.Thinking.
Thankfully, I have never suffered from insomnia. I imagine it's
one of the worst maladies out there. Only once or twice a year
do I keep myself up all night thinking. Can't complain, they
are always productive all-nighters. I'm experiencing one right
now. The sky is ball point pen blue and I have been scheming
since 2 am on a fantastic new idea.
posted on 4/7/2004 05:59:41 AM
|
|
| |
|
|
