Dear World,

Dear World Wide Web,

It’s been far too long since I’ve paid any attention to my website.

It’s been a long time of settling in to new work, new direction, and a new city.  I’m still feeling a bit of a creative lull since all of the upheaval of the last chapter, but I’m counting on it being the creative equivalent of a long, REM nap — the kind you wake up from, feeling like Jello and thinking, “Wow, I must have reeeeally needed that.”  (And a creative lull for me means that I’m only working on one project at a time, not 7.)

I’ve rented out my cozy Hamilton home and moved to the capital of this great country, Ottawa Ontario, Canada.  For the last six months I’ve been an Animation Supervisor for one of the very best kids’ shows on television today (Sure, I’m a little biased, but ratings don’t lie either!)
Wild Kratts is the animated series by Chris and Martin Kratt -”The Kratt Brothers”- who are more widely known for their success in creating, “Zoboomafoo”, “Kratt’s Creatures” and “Be The Creature”.  Their in-house presence in the studio really brings a great life to the work place, along with an amazing and wise-beyond-his-years director, Simon Paquette, and so many other open and caring crew members.  It’s a creative environment you don’t often come across in the work place — the the sort of personality that SHOULD be present in every art studio.  I’ve always said that the personality of leadership trickles down through any organization, and this place happens to be caring, wise, quick to laugh, and slow to anger.  That says a lot to me about the individuals.

On another note, we have studio pets:
Meet two of the three lobby Turtles, Tortuga and Tortilla:

I’m still working on getting together my new street performance project, Faunus, which, while becoming more and more realistic looking and coming together as a character, still has a long way to go in functional reverse-stilt construction.  I’ve had to pass that job on to a real stilt-maker.  While that gets dreamed up better, a fellow Animation Supervisor in the cubical next to mine, artist, Jason Hall, is working on real Warrior Princess armour for Faunus.  She is going to be a strong matriarch of wherever it is she comes from.

On the Franken Toy front, I’ve temporarily pulled the plug on them.  I have some serious carpal tunnel syndrom and complex tendinitis (also the reason I’ve switched gears in street performance, from chalk art to Faunus).  And although the toys have been my best viral works of art to date, I can’t justify the strain they put on me and on my chances of healing.
I may get back into them when I’m not already doing so much with my arms, but until then they’ll just be a lovely bunch of photographs for people to blog about.  And maybe the occasional personal gift.

That said, it is official that the Kratt Brothers love Franken Toys:

So much so that Chris (seen above with a gifted Wild Kratts Franken Creature) bought Robo Reggie for one of his sons.

So… I suppose that’s all I’ve got to post for today.  I’ve finally gotten another great job, I’ve managed to keep my house and my two cats, and in one month I’ll be moving into a cute, little apartment right in the heart of down town Ottawa where I look forward to being able to paint again.  I`ve still got goals and plans, but I refuse to have expectations.  Six months ago I did not see myself here.  But being here now - it`s a good thing.

PS: I`ve also started taking roller derby lessons with the Capital City Derby Dolls.  So don`t mess with me.  I`ll crap you up good!

Rachel and a Bus Adventure Blog 35~Yoyo and Gravity

Yoyo and Rachel discuss gravity over donuts before Rachel leaves for Kansas City.  Yoyo and gravity go together like… well, like yo yos and gravity!

FULL SERIES

Rachel and a Bus Adventure Blog 09~Stop Sawing the Table

Rachel meets one of her animation inspirations, Richard Condie.

2D in 2Days, NFLD. Art Rocks on The Rock!

I’ve just returned from Newfoundland once again and I’m excited to show off the latest masterpiece of the 2009 “2D in 2Days” kids’ workshop!
This year we had 8 participants, ages 12 and 13.
2 Days of animation began with flipbooks and learning the basic concepts of animation.  After lunch we split up into two groups and brainstormed short story ideas for our stop-motion films!  We built characters and sets by the end of day 1, and day 2 was full of animating and problem solving!
During all of that there were many bouncing super balls, balloons, bubbles and cartoons to watch.

These guys did a really great job.

To see more workshop masterpieces, click here:

FRAMED youth workshop, 2009

2D in 2Days, 2008

Bravo!FACT Presents “Nagasaki Circus”

Nagasaki Circus can now be seen (minus the beautiful, dancing credits) on Bravo!Fact’s website:

http://watch.bravo.ca/bravofact-presents/season-5/bravofact-presents-ep-505-the-words-the-thing/#clip221015

It was great to see it aired!

St. John’s Film Festival Celebrates 20 Years

I’ll soon be off to Newfoundland for the 20th St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival.

This year I’ll be moderating another kids’ workshop and I’ve created another opening “signature film” for the 2009 festival screenings.

Watch it:

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Framed!

In the merry month of July I had the privilege of running another animation workshop with the St. John’s Int. Women’s Film Festival’s FRAMED Workshops and “For The Love of Learning”.  Over four days, this group of young adults practiced flip books, took turns at experiencing animating and flipping pages on light tables, watched some classic films, and then created a group film in stop-motion animation.

Our animation directors included:

Ryan Flynn
Erin Power Granter (best name EVER)
Lindsay Kennedy
Jason King
Chris Mullett
Holly Nelson

Workshop assistants: Stephen Dunn, Karyn Dwyer

Enjoy…

Monkey On My Back

I think I enjoyed this weekend’s Dundas Busker Festival on a new level than others I’ve been involved with.  This is the first time I’ve festivalled at home.  It felt pretty great.  It’s very surreal to be working a festival and see people you know.  I even met old childhood friends I hadn’t seen for nearly a decade.

I liked it.

It was a really great festival for meeting more performer friends, comparing some of them to their online forum personalities, and thoroughly enjoying the Fast Horse Family.  Judy Boswell, Paul Maskell and all others involved were really great to festival with and it’s apparent that they love doing it (one should never run a festival if they don’t love doing it.  It’s a festival!)

I met some great people this year.

My chalk drawing ~  I chose a strange piece of pavement.  I chose it for location, but as soon as I had committed myself with my fat, black outlines I realized the texture was going to be a challenge.  What I lacked in detail due to bumpiness, I think I made up for in size and sheer audacity.  I hope to do this piece again soon so that I can get in all the shiny spots, gleams and colours I wasn’t able to accomplish this weekend.

But here we are:

I seem to have mastered the pre-teen boy demographic.  Chalk time is the only time I’m ever cool with tweens.  For young teens to actually give me real money is a huge compliment and success.  …they don’t usually think to give that stuff away.

One young girl came along, looked at the piece and said, “Oooooooh, I get it.”
I took a beautiful double take and said, “You DO?? …Oh.  I see.  Well, I guess I’m glad someone does.”

Another woman insisted for some time that it was a 3D chalk piece, like the kind she’s seen on the internet.
I told her it wasn’t that sort of drawing, but she told me that, yes, it absolutely was.  I’d like to know what medication she’s taking, but I’m glad she appreciated it on a level that didn’t even exist.

“Monkey On My Back”

Visit the pavement art page

Into The Great Beyond

Out of the blue (and hopefully not into oblivion) comes my next film, “The Great Beyond”.
The film is in development and will be animated to the song of the same name, by one of my favourite musicians, the very talented and poignant Jacob Moon.

I’ve spent my most of my life staring off into space with glazed-over eyes, imagining all the things that feel<em> </em>as if they should be   feeling as if I <em>should</em> be able to fly, or wondering at how the rules of time seem more foreign to me than those of eternity   feeling as though my pasty, German skin just doesn’t fit quite right.
I’ve always longed for the past, present and future to compose themselves as “Just Is” (and, I suppose as “Justice”).  I want that long and sluggish, straight timeline of events to coil itself up into a tight, little ball, showing me how #5 and #796 could together make sense of #40, and all work for the greater good, if I could just see it from the outside (as if my teeny brain could possibly comprehend “the big picture”).
…Jeez, I sure am getting awfully melodramatic in my old age.

To counter this recent existential meltdown, please take a break and refer to lighter posts, such as “Donkin Donuts”

or take a nice, long stare at a this cartoon.
So, how does one go about representing concepts of eternity in a four-and-a-half minute film?  You’ll have to wait and see.
Note: my understanding of eternity is not that it’s a long event (a concept which is still working under the rules of time, but rather it might be all things, instantaneously.  …I’m just sayin’.
In the mean time, here are some snapshots of development, to get you as pumped up about it as I am.  Here’s just a little taste of what’s to come.
And now I’m off to take more photos of Hamilton’s pigeons and apply for funding.

Honey, Honey ~ Feist

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