Glassblowing @ Luke Adams

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Holiday Stocking Stuffers: Medal Earth Models

During the holidays I was given one of Facinations Metal Earth models as a stocking stuffer. The Himeji Castle came in three 4" sheets of laser cut steel.  I was excited to begin building this incredible castle while having the time off on vacation. 
The original castle located in Japan was built in 1333and is the regarded as the finest surviving example of the prototypical Japanese castle architecture. It is also known as the White Heron Castle because of its brilliant white exterior and is supposed to resemble a bird taking flight. It has had many alterations over the years and today it remains in its completed form for over 400 years.

 

The model is made from 77 individual pieces with 50 unique pieces that fit together perfectly using tabs and a pair of needle nose pliers. It took me about 3 hours to complete although I will admit that I was watching the Back to the Future Trilogy at the same time. It was so much fun that I purchased a few more of these models and have been busy creating them

The other models I have since built include : The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, One World Trade Center, White House, Kennedy Center, Tarantula, Scorpion, Windmill and Star Wars AT-AT.

Starry Night @ Palettes

After a fun day with the niece and nephew at the Lego Americana build your own North Church event I was still full of energy. In a last minute what to do on a Saturday night decision Grace and I decided we would get our paint on at Palettes Natick. This particular class was their Starry Night Painting Class where we would do our best to try to replicate Vincent van Gogh's famous painting.

We arrived at 7:00 and found they weren't prepared for our late registration but they said it wasn't a problem and to give them a few moments to set up a spot for us. They sent us to the back of the store to grab an apron and visit the paint station.  The paint station is where we and everyone else was busy building out paint palette. Every shade of paint we would need and the amount was carefully listed for us to make painting a breeze.  When we returned to our station we found two blank canvases, three paint brushes each and all the other tools we would need.


We settled into position and chatted with our new painting neighbors while everyone else finished getting ready at the paint station. Next our instructor Anna got our attention and began explaining the process for those like us who had never been.  It started with us sketching out our canvas and all the major components of it from the landscape the stars and the tree.

Once we finished the sketch we began work on the stars and the sky getting the movement figured out and the swirls positioned. Then we began layering paint slowly but surely until the whole sky was covered in shades of blue with white. next we worked on the bright starts and the bursts of color that make them show so well.

Once the sky was well covered we shifted our attention to the streak of color along the horizon I wanted mine to be brighter and more hazy then the rest of the sky. I wanted it to glow like the setting sun. Next we worked on the dark tree in the foreground. On my first pass it was leaning badly but I managed to correct that lean and add what I thought was a pretty good amount of depth on a largely dark object.

The final part of our painting was the village and rolling hills. My hills definitely need more attention but my village some of the ladies were joking looks like a Thomas Kinkade with the lights on. I don't think I captured that look but I could see their humor.

I could have used another hour to finish it up but they do allow you to return on Sunday's for their open paint free of charge to finish it up. I might just have to do that. All in all it was a great time and everyone was friendly and fun. I will definitely have to return again sometime soon.

 

 

Above is a step by step of my work and below is the finished product on the left and Vincent van Gogh's original Starry Night on the right for comparison. I am certainly not a master artist and we were told to take a little creative freedom.  I am pleased with how it came out. I am not so sure I will hang it up since it doesn't really go with my decor but it was a fun night with a great friend.

 

Below are just a few other pictures we took along the way. There were other more goofy ones too but I don't need to share everything.