Orlando Arrival and Universal Studios

Well, we arrived late last night for our big Orlando adventure. Our bargain $99 suite has a separate bedroom, a full kitchen, and two flat-screen TV's. I think Expedia and I did pretty well! This morning's complimentary breakfast featured a nice variety of hot and cold foods. A nice start to our day.

Today, we started our Great Theme Park Tour with Universal Studios.

 

It's divided into sections named for US cities. En route to our first ride, we walked through the streets of Hollywood and saw Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball!

  

Our first stop was in the World Expo. All of a sudden, we were in the middle of Springfield, home of the Simpsons. The day was already warm, so we hit the Kwik-E-Mart for bottled water - and Duff Beer for Larry!

 

Our first ride was the Simpsons virtual "ride". Interestingly, we sat in a roller coaster-style car, which followed a video, and "moved" along a virtual course. It felt like we were really moving - pretty cool concept.

 

Our next ride was one of my favorites: Men in Black Alien Attack. We got to shoot at aliens as part of our MIB agent training! Sadly, our score was not good enough to make the cut...

Because of our late arrival last night, we didn't get started as early as we'd like. It was lunchtime already, and where better to have lunch but in San Francisco?

  

We chose Lombard's (indoors and air-conditioned!), a waterfront restaurant with an authentic San Francisco feel.

 

Emily wanted to try her hand at an arcade game, and proved to be expert at popping balloons with darts. Thus, Wilburta the prize pig joined us for the rest of the day.

 

Even she thought the Jaws ride was corny, though the special effects were pretty cool. The fire was definitely real! They did a good job creating the ambiance of a real fishing village.

 

Our next stop was New York, where no lines allowed us to ride the Revenge of the Mummy twice. Pretty spooky, and, again, real fire! (It was so dark in that tomb, I thought I the curse of the mummy was causing me to lose my sight...)

Walking through the streets of NYC, we stopped to admire, among other things, a yellow cab, and the DeLorean from Back to the Future fame.

     

We finished our tour of New York with a front row view of the Twister "ride". On the way in, a little 6-ish-year-old boy warned us that it was "pwetty thcawy". Aww! Yes, all the videos and talk of the destruction that tornadoes can impart was pretty graphic. I can see where a young child would be frightened. Again, very impressive special effects: rain, lightning, and the expected tornadic destruction - right before our very eyes!

Back in Hollywood, heat was getting the most of us again, so we stopped for a frozen drink - and a water fight - at a lovely fountain. Very cooling, inside and out!

Emily was majorly bummed out that none of us wanted to risk riding on the Rip, Ride, Rockit. OMG, that roller coaster scared me just to look at it! It started out climbing a TALL vertical tower, then plunged nearly straight down before doing several loops and going completely upside down. No thank you! After much cajoling, I finally convinced her not to let the wimpiness of the rest of her family members destroy her chance to be a real risk-taker. Larry and Sarah attended the Horror Make-up show, and Emily and I headed to the Rip Ride Rockit. She rode and I gave her very distant moral support!

      

I know she was really disappointed that no one was brave enough to go with her, but I am very proud of her for going it alone and being able to say she did it. Guess we'll have to see what happens tomorrow... There are some biggies yet to come!

We ended our day at Terminator 2, a 3-D visit to the world of advanced technology. Fun, light, and excellent 3-D effects. Much to the amusement of my teenage daughters, I found myself actually flinching as objects "flew" toward me! 

Back at the motel, the girls took a well-deserved swim while Larry and I hit the liquor store. An apropos way to end the day for all of us! 

Wow! Look at all that awesome art!

Well, we brought Sarah home from her latest JumpstART experience, and we couldn't be prouder. I am amazed at the sheer amount of art she produced in a three-week period! But, I'm getting ahead of myself...

Sarah's been in Corvallis, OR for the past three weeks at the JumpstART pre-college art program, where she spent her time immersed in art, living in dorms, building her portfolio, and preparing for college. Like last year, it was a great experience, and I see so much growth in her as an artist and a person. Confidence and enthusiasm filled the car all the way home.

Sarah chose as her classes in two areas in which she felt she wanted to challenge herself. Painting, and Drawing and Modeling the Human Figure fit the bill. As luck would have it, she had the same teacher for both classes, an artist and instructor by the name of Kim Smith. Ian, the TA, was her TA from last year's sculpture class, so his was a familiar face. After spending 6+ hours a day in the same room, they all got to know each other quite well!



Just what does a college art classroom look like? It's filled not with desks and chairs, but with drawing horses, easels, and  carts of art supplies. The floors are spattered with paint from past projects, and it exudes an air of creativity. Sarah gave us a tour, showed us her art, and explained the process of creating  - in a very animated fashion!

   

Sarah's painting class gave the students an opportunity to paint mainly with oils. They learned the ins and outs of using solvents to thin the paint to the desired consistency for the effect they wanted to achieve.  Sarah likes that, because it takes a while to dry, you can go back and "work" the paint the next day.

Sarah's first piece was a monochromatic self-portrait - a good likeness, I think, and nicely indicates lights and shadows. She says she used "turp" to take away some of the paint in order to get the lighter effects she wanted. Who knew?



This is a painting on wood that features complementary colors. Again, I love the reflection of light on the lemon, as well as its shadow.



The assignment here was to paint a diptych on canvases - one portraying an organic object, the other a man-made item.  Note the similarity in that they are both long, rather straight items, yet the differences in texture are apparent. Also opposite are the background colors, yet the background textures mimic each other. I think she captured the lichen very well.

 

I placed these side by side to point out their similarities and differences, as well. The painting of the left is an abstract acrylic. While she allowed the paint to drip in its own fashion, it's still rather "tight" and formal in its structure. The landscape on the right, however, really shows that she loosened up and played with the paint more. I can really feel the movement of the piece, accomplished in part by using her fingers to move the paint around.

 

This last piece was her final project, in which each student was to paint a self-portrait, using the style of an artist whose name was drawn from a hat. Sarah's artist was Alice Neel. Check out the images here and see if you think she captured the artist's style.



Sarah's second class was a new experience for her in that the students worked with live models every day. Two models came in through the duration of the course, one male and one female. The first week was spent making lots of quick sketches and drawings. Various media were available from pencil to charcoal to ink.

     

The middle week, they switched to 3-D and  modeled the figures from clay. I see a big improvement from her first piece (left) to her two later pieces.

   

Week three brought a final project, which was to use their knowledge of the human body and produce  a self-portrait, sculpted in the medium of their choice. Sarah chose the trace her body, and used the tracing to form a wire outline of her body.



Besides going to class, the students' time was filled with lectures, workshops, and field trips. Here's a newspaper article from the Corvallis paper with an item about a sculpture workshop.

There was time for fun, too. They watched movies, went to the beach, played games, and just hung out together. Her first week there, Sarah won a student poker tournament. I didn't even know she could play! (I wonder what else I don't know... Hmmm...)

The final evening, JumpstART hosted a reception, the students' art was exhibited in the campus art gallery,  and awards were presented. Sarah was one of the Outstanding Portfolio Award recipients. Congratulations, Sarah!

 

Her roommate, Brooklyn, won for her portfolio, too. There was a lot of talent in that dorm room!



Maya, a classmate from ACMA, won a scholarship to attend JumpstART again next year. A good showing for the ACMA girls! Mr Brandau should be proud of his proteges!

So much growth, so many wonderful portfolio additions, so many new friends. Good memories, all. Keep creating, Sarah!

Sewing Class Projects - Completed!

Emily started her summer by spending three days in a sewing class, and came home with some very nice finished projects.

Students were assigned a required project to sew on the first day, I assume to help them get accustomed to the machines, and to show the teacher what they could do. Emily made an reusable lunch bag, stuffed with batting, and featuring a Velcro closure and coordinating fabrics inside and out. It even has a pocket inside that will hold a blue ice pack. Pretty cool! (Pun totally intended!!)

  

The second day featured a project chosen to help Emily master tight curves - a precursor to such things as sleeves, facings, collars, necklines, etc. To achieve that end, she made a floppy-eared, stuffed bunny. She chose a soft white flannel with polka dots and a coordinating ribbon to go around the neck. Stuffed with batting, it's very cuddly!

 

Day three brought a wearable item into play, as Emily decided to make another skirt to add to her wardrobe. This one is a little dressier than her previous skirts, and required a zipper and darts - both firsts for her. It's been a while since I've put in a zipper, so I'm thrilled she had an expert seamstress teaching her that skill. I love the fabric she chose, and her finished product is very nicely done. Looks professional, doesn't it?

  

We're still deciding whether to sign her up for another class later in the summer. In the meantime, she has some items here to be proud of, and some new skills to apply on her own when she's ready. Keep it up, Emily! You're doing great!