Pop-up Gymnastics Concert

Today I was walking down Magazine into central square; I had just come from from a meeting.. my mind was racing all over the place with anxiety about my day when all of a sudden two tiny voices popped over a garden fence. "Do you want to see a gymnastics concert?" I swiveled to my left, where two girls--probably 9 or 10 years old were jumping excitedly in their yard- bare foot and decked in floral summer shorts and pink tanks. "Yeah!" I said excitedly and surprised. They proceeded to hustle to the end of the yard and stood in ballet-like stances, preparing for their stage entrance. They giggled as they tried not to look at each other then with exaggerated and serious faces they nodded and began their routine. All of a sudden they were doing cartwheels, back turns, swivels, pivots and flips in front of my eyes, bending into synchronized bridges and crawling under each other. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at what I had just run into. My very own private gymnastics concert. It got me thinking of when I was younger and would choreograph dances with friends--we would set up the living room with a curtain and lights and perform similar concerts. We had so much fun!

These two friends had obviously spent all day creating and practicing their routine and they were having such careless and innocent fun. I was reminded of the unabashed energy of being young and how, as adults we can-at heart, enjoy being a child again. In fact, I might even say that as adults with more responsibilities- we MUST abandon our adult minds sometimes to once again love life like a child.

At the end of their stellar performance, the two girls bowed and smiled proudly at each other. I clapped and complimented their work. I gave them a dollar each to pursue their gymnastics careers. I was on my way to continue my days activities--only now my mind feels lighter and I have a delighted smile on my face.

Alien Invasion in Boston!

Did anyone else think we were being invaded by aliens a couple nights ago in Boston? I swear to god, ufo's were descending on our little city. I was walking through the Financial district, back from the waterfront with a friend when all of a sudden, a noise...way too similar to that of the sound effects in a multi-level computer game...encroached upon us from above. At first, I considered some sort of news helicopter. Then it came a second time and I thought it was a really BIG news story. Then it came again. and again. and again. At this point, people were huddled in crowds on street corners looking up at these steel, insect-looking motherships that were verrryyy slowly hovering directly above. What made things more dramatic- was the fact that we were standing ***smack -dab at the ground of Boston's most concentrated center of sky scrapers. So these alien jets appeared to literally be weaving in and out of John Hancock, State Street and the Prudential center.

Eventually by the time we got to Park Street, the aliens had finished their descent. No more noises were heard. The next day, I found out that aliens HAD NOT invaded Boston. It was a boring military test. (loud snore). I was mildly upset, as I was hoping tell my kids at school about my alien adventures. Coincidentally, this week at Build-It-Yourself, Marshall-my co-worker and I are teaching a workshop on how to design animated alien creatures and cartoon characters. Our mission this past week was to "Design digital artifacts that will make aliens want to be friends with our world". I have included a collection of the kids' work. I am really proud of what they came up with. And so after my alien encounter a few nights ago, I am CONVINCED that their artifacts have successfully attracted Aliens from the outside. Good Job kids...A++ for everyone.

***Where the hell did the expression "Smack-Dab" come from??

Thought of You- Ryan Woodward Animated Illustration

This is an absolutely beautiful animation directed and animated by Ryan Woodward. As a workshop leader at Build It Yourself, I teach kids how to create expressive illustrations, cartoons and animations for computer games and other animated projects. Cedrick, my fellow workshop leader found this animation and I think it is an impressive example of a simple 2D illustration coming to life to tell a story. I literally felt like my body melted when I watched this... Im interested in what you think. Read more about his work here...
http://conteanimated.com/

Pirates of Concord Academy

I started a new job this week. I am a workshop leader at "Build It Yourself" , a creative engineering program that hosts a series of workshops for kids ages 9-14. Today we completed a week-long Pirate Ship building workshop, in which a classroom full of 10 year old boys--primed with a mission to take back candy from evil hoarders on an island.. learned to construct pirates, sturdy ships, and other piraty objects for their ships. They even made powerpoint lab books documenting their research and refference photos. Being in that classroom every day reminded me of days I visited my mom when she was an elementary school art teacher...and the hilarious stories she told us about her kids. I must say, being with kids does feel good. The way they interact with each other is so sweet. Plus, I get to hear the most hilarious things come out of their mouths.
For instance, today, one of the hottest days so far this summer, I was hunched over a plank of wood, drilling a hole with a can opener. A small army of little boys hovered around me, watching my every move. They smelled so strongly of Banana Boat sunscreen that I thought I would pass out. Just as my hole broke through the wood, one of the boys told me that i 'sweat like his dad after a good run'.
hahaha. I wanted to take a bottle of sunscreen and squirt it in his face...but intstead I just laughed as a river of sweat slowly trickled down my face.
This group was surely a melting pot of talents---the genius kid who didnt like his partner and wanted to make his own boat, they ended up creating one of the better designed boats and even though they may never meet each other again, it was obvious they were proud and excited about what they had finished together. There was a group that didn't say a peep all week and then surprised everyone with this amazing mast head made from giant pipe cleaners and looked like an authentic chinese dragon puppet. I look around and wonder, who will they turn out to be? How much of their 10 year old personalities will stay with them as they grow into adults in the real world of pirates and treasure. Will the be bad pirates or good ones? And what will be their treasure?

So glad to be spending time in the imaginative and creative world with kids these days.
Enjoy the pictures of our pirate ship excursion in the river!

Holiday animation

Not to burst your warm bubbles of summer fun or anything... but I pulled this holiday animation of my winter treasure chest and finally finished it!

LaTosha Brown- Angels in Heaven done signed my name

Speaking of hott-ass day..while sitting in my studio, legs sticking to my chair, face dripping...I tripped and fell on this steamy little video of LaTosha Brown...and it cooled me right down...

Fun in my room

I was in my room when all of a sudden I see this little spider floating in mid-air. It really looked like it was climbing and falling in space...watch as it climbs to the top of the Empire State Building..

Island Time- Martha's Vineyard

I went to Martha's Vineyard over the weekend, and stayed at Bianca's pond house in Aquinnah. Brian, Bianca and I took the Ferry and then biked a beautiful 15 mile ride up-island to Menemsha, where we hopped on a cute bike ferry- which ended up not being so cute because it cost $5 bucks and we literally rowed 1 minute across the water and he let us off. haha the Ferry Man named his boat "gimme 5". We might have just as well swam across with our bikes on our heads..but nonetheless, "Gimme 5" got us to where we needed to go. We continued on to Bianca's adorable pond house, which sits directly on a lilly pond with lilly pads and white blossoms floating all over it. Bianca has done such a nice job with the house--earlier on in the spring they came to scrub and clean all of the winter shmutz from the walls and ceilings. Now, its all painted freshly white, with blue sheer curtains and golden mirrors everywhere. At night the bullfrogs gulped us to sleep. We showered in the outdoor shower, we peed outdoors, I shared a small space with flying bugs of all sorts...and i couldnt care less. We met a bunch of Bianca's Vineyard friends who are staying at the beachhouse across the road. We spent two days lounging on the beach, watching the nude family frolick a mile down from us. Aquinnah is such a lovely place, not overrun by tourists and very quaint. The "town center" consists of a few trinket shops and The Aquinnah Shop, a restaurant that sits atop the famous cliffs where the legendary Moshup, the Wampanoag Leader once hunted whales from the sea. It is said that the red stain on the cliffs, is the whale blood/ink from when Moshup flung the whales against the cliffs to kill them.
The vacation was a perfect way to spend two gorgeous summer days. Now back in Boston, I find myself still on Island time...not wanting to rush, traces of the vineyard sun still cover my skin. ohhh how I wish I was still sitting on the beach with a beer and soft sand covering my toesies.

Authentic Counterfeit

Stumbled on this band while biking through Central Square. All walks of life were stopping to watch them--homeless men, rushed business women, school kids...and me. Someone stuffed a flier into my hand and turns out they were scheduled to play at Tommy Doyles in Harvard square later that week. Awesome, solid sound- they got jazz, soul, funk and the personalties to match. And I couldnt agree more with the woman next to me as you will hear... "they bring it up together, they put it right back down together." Hahaha. Introducing Authentic Counterfeit.

Old Man erenading the birds on my last day of school

My last day of College. Ever. And I come outside to the courtyard. The old man sits, as usual on the black bench. One leg rests on his black aged guitar case, his hands reaching and spreading to find different chords. The sounds of the city are here too, but only as faded background to this old man's Spanish-sounding strumming. He doesnt sing along, but a low, gutteral sound echoes from his throat. Like a chant, almost. He is completely focused on his guitar, unaware of the birds, or the people. I come outside and I feel like Ive entered into a pocket of a foreign land. It is a beautiful evening. And I am done with School tonight.

Chag Sameach

Happy Passover (late)! This year I was able to go home to New Hampshire and spend the first seder with my family. I took the train from Funkburg and spent a lovely night at home. Jerry and Deborah always lead such a wonderful seder and EVERY YEAR have something new to teach and some new way of understanding the relevance of the holiday and its traditions- as they relate to our current lives. I will now relay a mini history of the Passover holiday so that those who dont know about it...can.

In 1450ish BCE the Jews were enslaved in Egypt. According to the Pharoah Ramses, Egypt was becoming overpopulated with Jewbies (Jew Babies) and so he began to kill them. A little boy named Moses was sent away in a basket down the Nile by his mother in order that he be saved. Moses is snatched up by the Pharoah's daughter who raises him as the Prince of Egypt. Moses watches his own people suffering and dying and decides to go see God. God tells Moses that he has been chosen to free the Jews. "Your kidding.." he says to God. "Damn Straight" says God. "Well shit" , says Moses, "Maybe you can help a brother and send some plagues down on Egypt so that Ramses will be forced to free my people." "Sure" said God. And so a series of 10 plagues were cast upon Egyptian lands. ( at the seder we commemorate the 10 plagues by dipping our pinky into wine and dropping 10 drips onto our plate as we say each plague..by doing this we see the red wine and remember the bloodshed). The big-whopper-icing-on-the- cake- Plague was when God sends the Angel of Death over Egypt to kill the first born boy of each Egyptian family. Finally Ramses had enough and let the Jews go. The Jews then hurry and gather their belongings and flee Egypt. (We didnt even have time to let our bread rise!...Hence the reason we must go bagel-less for 8 days) Just as the get to the Red Sea, Ramses changed his mind and sent soldiers to go get all of the Jews back. The Sea parts and the Jews safely make it accross the ocean and just as the last Jews step onto land, The sea waves crash down and wipe out all of the Egyptian soldiers. The Jews are saved and continue on into the Dessert for 40 years until they reach their homeland. The end.

Not the end. What Passover teaches us is that the Jews Exodus in 1450BCE is our own Exodus; our own freedom from the bondage that we consider ourselves to be slaves of- our minds, our jobs, our worries etc.
This year my dad read an article entitled "Pass-over Hurdles" from a Lubavitch newspaper published in Brooklyn, NY:
"Together we can transform the historic liberation into the celebration of our ultimate redemption", it said.

And throughout the seder, the prayers, the songs, I reflect on the idea of my own Exodus
While not bound by shackles, I must admit to some enslavement of the mind this past year; worry and stress that keeps me from being free. The adjustment from being out of school has been ironically not freeing at all. The lack of structure is hard for me to embrace, let alone- understand. A year has past since graduating and I am looking for the right job that I love. I am just beginning to enjoy my non-hectic, unstructured school life. I am thinking a lot about my career-as a Designer and Artist and just beginning to understand the implications of not having a due date and a professor to "ok" my ideas and work. I realize now that I was afraid of leaving the shackles of school; that I needed them in some way to keep guiding me. But as I involve myself in new and exciting things: a new series of illustrations, singing more music and yes...my part time job at Paper Source that I really love...I can see that this freedom is quite incredible. Scary, yes. But how exhilarating to begin an exciting career and create my life! Like the Haggadah said "We are like the Matzoh, incomplete. There is always something to be found."

I will leave you with a final experpt from my family's seder, one that preceded a ridiculously huge feast of turkey, stuffing, Grandma HIndy's Farfel, potato kugel and a passover-friendly chocolate birthday cake...all cooked and prepared by my lovely mother. A prayer that sums up my feelings about this years Passover and that is especially relevant this year:
I am a jew because the world is not yet completed; we are completing it.

New Work

Ive been keeping myself busy with new Illustrations! Many of the people in them are from photos that I took while in Spain. Happy Spring to all.

The Free Table

So I found this amazing pop-up book on the "free table" the other day. "The Pop Up Circus Book" from Random House. The book is beautifully illustrated and contains pages of different circus characters- there are flame-swallowers! cage masters! cannon-ball shooters! and the best part? You simply pull on paper handles and the illustrations move!

Have I introduced you to the "free table" yet? I dont think so. The Free Table is on Pearl street, a mere skip down from my apartment. I pass it every time I walk up and down to central square. Every day there is something new on the table, whether its the family who owns it who lugs stuff out from their home, or residents of the neighborhood who drop off unwanted dreck*. Recently I have been contributing a lot of goods to the free table, as my spring cleaning has begun and I find myself mercilessly ridding myself and my room of unnecessary shlock*.
I find the coolest stuff on the free table! For example, earlier this winter I found a mini hand-crafted Mexican guitar. When I spotted it from a block down, my heart jumped and I snatched it away before any one of my neighbors could take it. Its sitting in my room and I often I pluck its strings and accompany myself while I sing. (I dont know how to play guitar so I just pluck). A while back I also found jumbo playing cards that I have stashed in my growing library of reference materials. They are big, bold and have cool graphic illustrations and symbols. I can't wait to use them in a future project. My roommate, Brian cant wait to play "Giant Poker".

I love children's books! I keep finding great children's books around town and so my collection is growing. I'm appreciating, I think-more than ever- the purity and simplicity of these books; the language is so easy, yet the message is so very deep and meaningful.heartwarming too. And the artwork and illustrations within the books is so beautiful.
I love that every time I read a children's book, I understand the world a little more clearly.
Happily Ever After,
Eleanor



*Dreck: yiddish for useless shit
*Shlock: Also yiddish for useless shit