Almond Kisses

This is the finished version of my Hershey almond kisses.  I'm not sure it has much of a "Wow" factor, but I had fun with trying to capture the reflections on the foil wrapper, and the little paper strip was interesting to do as well.  I'm thinking now that the chocolate looks like dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, but it's going to stay as it is.

Tonight we watch the Oscars.  Both of us are compulsive movie watchers, and have been since we started dating in the early 1970s.  Over the years we have almost never missed the Oscars, and have an ongoing contest to see who is a better picker of award winners.  He wins more than I do, though with all the internet analysis we've been much closer in our choices, which takes some of the fun out.  Still, I'm looking forward to setting in with snacks and beverages, and my check sheet in hand.

Hibernation Sketching

Dang, it has been cold here.  Car door frozen shut, crunchy underfoot, nose-hair freezing cold.  So yesterday I stayed in all day working on the Roy Chapman Andrews piece, reading and doing sketches of Jeff Bridges from a recent American Masters program on PBS that we videotaped. 

I have a new sketch book that I use for doodling, practicing zentangles, and messing around.  I liked the close-up shots of Bridges, directors and other actors, all dramatically lit.  This was the first in the series of quick-draws, and probably my least favorite.  Its a modified contour drawing, completed in the time that the pause button holds on the VCR (yes, old technology).  It forces me to work FAST.  I'm not sure how long the picture holds before the screen reverts to whatever is on the TV, but it can't be more than three or four minutes.  I added the textured background later. 

 

I realized as I watched the program that I have seen most of Jeff Bridges' movies, and many of them are favorites.  The top sketch here is from The Fisher King, not really a favorite, but I couldn't resist the expression.  I knew Bridges was a musician, but I didn't know he paints and does pottery.  In the bottom pose he was quickly drawing something with white paint (or maybe soap) on a clear screen.  He was clearly enjoying himself.

These two are from my husband's favorite, The Big Lebowski.  I remember being put off the first time I saw it, but a second viewing of the Dude had me gasping with laughter.  You have to admire that scene in the cosmic bowling alley, with Lebowski headed down the starry lane between the shapely legs of dancers, headed for the ultimate strike.

  

The Big Lebowki has its points, but I vote for Bridges as Rooster Cogburn in the recent Coen brothers version of True Grit.  In this scene the girl Mattie is assuring Cogburn that she is eager and ready to join him when he heads out into Indian Territory after the man who shot her father, and Bridges stares at her in drunken disbelief, legs akimbo, belly poking out of his undershirt.  I loved the movie, and maybe that shows in this quick sketch.

My last sketch from the television screen was of Bridges in his Oscar winning role of the washed up country singer in Crazy Heart.  I don't seem capable of economy of line, but I sort of like the combination of sketchy scribbly lines and the textured background that I added after the figure was done. 

I enjoyed the fast and furious sketching that working from a paused video recorder afforded, enjoyed watching the show again, and liked the spontaneous results  achieved from working this way.  It sure beat freezing out there in wonderful Wisconsin winter.

Madison Weekend: WI Film Festival

Tulips and the state capitol building in Madison, WI

It was a glorious Spring weekend, and we got to spend it in Madison at the Wisconsin Film Festival.  The place was jumping because it was also the first weekend of Dane County Farmers Market on the Square, the Wisconsin High School Forensics Association state competition, and I'm not sure what else.  It was wall-to-wall people, on the street, in restaurants, at the movies, everywhere.

Ramp to parking at the Monona Terrace Convention Center, Lake Monona

In several past years we saw four or five movies a day, hiked up and down State Street, caught food in stray moments in between, but this time we only saw three movies on Saturday and two on Sunday, and left ourselves lots of time in between to wander and snack.  As you can see in this photo, skies were blue and on Sunday the winds were calm, so that from the top of the Monona Terrace Convention Center we could see all the trees around the lake leafing out, boats and birds on the lake, bikers and runners on the paved paths around Lake Mendota.

Runners on the path around the lake

Plaque at the Monona Terrace dedicated to Otis Redding, 

whose plane crashed into Lake Mendota in 1967

We loved attending the film festival, and haven't missed one for ten years.  We have seen dozens of documentaries, animated features and shorts, foreign and domestic films over the years.  Some we enjoyed, some not so much, but we have never been bored.  There is something really wonderful about overdosing on movies in crowds where everyone is there for the same reason: they want to watch films. There's excitement in the air at a festival like this, anticipation, discussion.  We have heard actors, producers, directors, and the subjects of documentaries speak here.  We sat in the middle of a crowd of excited extras one year.  We watch the vast majority of our movies at home on DVD (often with the cat on one of our laps), and that's affordable, comfortable, and convenient.  But it just isn't as exciting as sitting in a filled up movie theater and reacting along with hundreds of other fans to what is happening on the screen.

Here what we saw this year in my order of enjoyment:

Waking Sleeping Beauty documentary

I was fascinated by an insider look at Disney animation from 1984-1994.  The director, whose parents live in Madison, answered audience questions thoughtfully.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo feature film from Sweden

I may have been the only person in the packed Orpheum Theater who had not read the book, but I still was sucked into the story, violent as it was.

Eggshelland documentary

How did I not know about the folks near Cleveland who have been decorating their front lawn for 50 years with thousands of brightly painted eggshells?  The audience started out snickering, but fell in love by the end of the movie.  Both the director and producer (who had a minor role in, and helped cast A Christmas Story) spoke at length.  It was great, but I couldn't help wondering if they had a thing for bunny suits.

A Town Called Panic stop motion animation

My husband loved it, and apparently so did most of the audience.  I fell asleep for the middle of it, and I'm OK with that.

Scrap  documentary

I wanted to love this movie that documents some of the eccentric artistic accomplishments of Jim Bishop and Tom Every, especially since I have visited the Forevertron park of recycled scrap metal, and the man himself was in the audience. But I thought the film rambled and failed to reveal anything much about what motivated either Bishop or Every.  The director spoke afterwards and said nothing to change my mind. This was a missed opportunity.

Another Wisconsin Film Festival Weekend

Ah, springtime in Wisconsin. Palm Sunday, and the bikes parked around the capital square are dusted with snow. Must be time for the Wisconsin Film Festival! Here's the television ad, complete with hand-sketched Mad Town chickens 2009.wifilmfest.org/docs/WFF_TV_WEB.mov

We've been attending the Madison festival for a number of years, and we always have fun, even when the weather doesn't cooperate. This year the festival sponsored two hundred films in ten locations within walking distance of the University of Wisconsin. The festival lasts four days, which must be exhausting for the volunteers who run it, but we just saw six films in two days and were plenty satisfied. I suppose a person could see, say, five films a day for a total of twenty, but we have learned our limits when it comes to sitting and watching. My eyeballs and backside can just tolerate so much.

My husband and I have always watched movies, lots of movies. When we were students at UW Whitewater (http://www.uww.edu) we went for movie dates downtown, and on campus. When he was doing his grad work at Madison we went to movies all over campus that the film societies sponsored (all before home videos or DVDs). The thing about this film festival is the packed theaters, the enthusiastic and mostly considerate audience, and the fact that we can usually get tickets for films where the director is there to answer audience questions. What more can avid movie-goers want?

This year we emphasized documentaries. There was a fun collection of award-winning British television ads, many of which were visually creative and funny. This great clip is an example:

http://meatacafe.com/watch/1804881/british_television_advertising_awards_2008_the_best_roller_of_y

I liked the combination of science and art in the documentary Between the Folds, which looks at several artists and scientists pushing the art of origami to amazing new levels. THere are wonderful examples of origami work here:

http://greenfusefilms.com

Another film with an artistic emphasis was about the photographer Julius Shulman, famous for his elegant photography of modern architecture. This one, Visual Acoustics, narrated in part by Dustin Hoffman, gave me a new appreciation for design.

http://www.juliusshulmanfilm.com

Finally, the most entertaining one of all for me, was called Paper or Plastic? This documentary told the story of eight participants in a national grocery bagging competition. It is nothing short of an ode to the working person, and a celebration of people who will accept nothing but their best.

http://www.paperorplasticmovie.com

So that's it for 2009. Back to watching DVDs at home and the occasional matinee screen at the multiplex. We'll be waiting to see what goodies the WFF will bring next spring.

Getting Out

This weekend it began to look like spring might arrive in Wisconsin. All but the biggest snow piles have melted; robins are hopping the lawns; tulips and daffodils are up about two inches, and the Wisconsin Film Festival was back in Madison for the tenth year. We have been taking in the festival for six or seven years, and this year did not disappoint. There were 220 offerings scattered around eight venues, and the hardest part was choosing what we wanted to see and figuring out a schedule that would allow us to hike from screen to screen and still allow enough travel (and eating) time. So many movies, so little time!

Every year it gets easier. I've been taking a painting class in Madison once a week, so a month ago I was assigned the job of getting the printed schedule from the Isthmus newspaper. We haggled over the films we thought would be good, then ordered tickets online, a big improvement over driving 40 miles to the box office, standing in line, and hoping to get the films we wanted. When we both were working Thursday night was out, but now that we're retired the entire schedule was there to choose from.

We ended up seeing two films after on Thursday, and four on Saturday. We decided, based on the films we enjoyed most previous years, to choose all documentaries, though due to circumstances beyond our control we ended up seeing a foreign bio-pic on Genghis Khan. It may be that I am getting too old to see four films in one day. It isn't the miles of pounding pavement that is wearing me down (I've learned to wear hiking shoes), it's the sitting. By 10:00 PM Saturday night my back and posterior were feeling their age.

Here's what we saw:

British Television Advertising Awards: This was an hour of award winning television commericals from the UK, and it was my husband's favorite. Whether they were pitching Guinness, Marmite, or were a public service spot about drunk driving or child abuse, all were entertaining, provocative, or both. I laughed out loud at a live action version of the introduction to The Simpsons.

Garbage Warrior: This is part of a series, Tales from Planet Earth, and tells the story of Mike Reynolds, a New Mexico architect who builds homes from things like plastic and glass bottles and old tires. His goal is to build self-sustaining homes that are off the grid, needing no power lines, or water or sewer hook-ups. The documentary showed his "earthship" homes, and showed the difficulty he had in getting official approval for these nontraditional dwellings.

Mongol: We didn't buy tickets for this one, but we used vouchers the festival gave us when one film ran so late that we missed the one for which we had tickets. Still, we enjoyed this historical action epic about young Genghis Khan.

Naked on the Inside: This was my most memorable film. The documentary introduced men and women with body image issues. There was an artist who had breast cancer, a gang member with tattoos, a fat woman who is also an artist's model, a man with no legs, a former model with an eating disorder, and a transgender person. Each one reveals him or herself to the camera, clothes on, and clothes off. It was very moving.

The Pixar Story: Nothing less than the history of digital animation as it grew from hand-drawn cartoons. My husband and I both really enjoyed this, and try to see animation festivals whenever we can. We were pleased to have seen all the Pixar films, including the very early shorts.

The Unforeseen: Another documentary about the relationship between development and preserving the natural environment. This one was about a west Texas developer named Gary Bradley who was cashing in on the building boom of the 1970's and who ran into all sorts of problems when he tried to develop a subdivision near a park in Austin. As the story unfolds it becomes clear that Bradley isn't the ultimate bad guy, and we become gradually aware of the power of money to sink both private entrepreneurs and public interest groups. Fascinating and depressing.

The other interesting thing we did this weekend was to attend a charity dinner. A local peace group sponsored the event as part of the "Night of a Thousand Dinners," which raises funds to clear landmines for the UN. This group was supporting Bosnia. A local restaurant served chicken soup, a spinach cheese pie, homemade sausage, yogurt, and dessert. Each table had a map of Bosnia, and each place mat had information about the Adopt-A-Minefield program, which raises funds to clear minefields so that the land can once again be used for farming, and for building. Monies also go to assist survivors, which these days are mostly civilians and children, with medical and emotional issues. It was a fun and easy was to raise money for a worthy cause.

Mad Town Movies

There are all sorts of reasons to love Madison: the University of Wisconsin, wonderful places to eat, independent bookstores, art, the farmers' market, State Street, and the Wisconsin Film Festival. This past weekend my husband and I checked ourselves into a local hotel, donned our walking shoes, and saw seven movies in two days. The annual festival runs four days and shows feature, documentary, and experimental films from independent filmmakers on screens in ten locations. So many movies, so little time!

Unlike the experience of seeing movies at the local multiplex, where chitchat and cellphone conversations are common among the few audience members who have left the comfortable glow of their home TV screens, the audiences here are passionate about movies. Lines for unsold tickets often stretch far down the block, and volunteers remind viewers to move to the center of the rows to help seat everyone. Audience members are friendly, often asking total strangers what they have already seen ("Did you actually get into King Corn? It was sold out...") and what other films they are planning to see. Last year when we saw The Godfather of Green Bay we happened to sit in the center of a group of extras. They'd tap each others shoulders and point when they were on the screen; it was a a riot. Quite often the writers, actors, directors or cinematographers are there to comment on the movies, and to answer questions.

The charm of an enthusiastic audience and the interest of having filmmakers present was illustrated in my favorite movie: It's Happiness: A Polka Documentary. This film, shown in the auditorium of the State Historical Society, was packed. People chuckled, chortled, elbowed each other and hooted out loud. These folks were into polka! At the end the three young filmmakers stood up, as did two of the polka enthusiasts featured in the film. My favorite moment was when one audience member shouted out, "Can you polka?" and the young men danced while the audience sang "Roll out the barrel." You had to be there.