Something I am working on

I haven't updated DeviantArt in the longest time. It's not that I haven't been drawing - I rarely "finish" a picture. That is, I get a picture to the point that I run out of steam on it creatively, yet before I have gotten it to a point that I feel it is worth showing to the world at large. Most of those things go here, like this one.

I actually do want to finish this picture; the final result is in my head, burning a hole in my brain, but I just don't know how to do it. This is mostly because I suck at backgrounds, but also because I originally intended to color this.

If I do ever finish it, though, I'll put it up here as well.

I am now a professional fire spinner!

Yesterday was A Different Spin's gig at Iona College. We packed our stuff, we put on our fancy clothes, we did wandering entertainment for two hours, we went and lazed at Jeremy's house for 5 hours after that playing chess and reading about Celtic Magic, then we went back and put on both of our shows, back to back.

Phew!

Let me say this: a lot of things went wrong. However, a lot of things also went right.

For example, let me set the stage: we were performing in a dark parking lot under fluorescent lights with half of our audience in front of us and half way the hell up a hill behind an iron fence. To make matters worse, the parking lot was slightly slanted downhill back towards the road. Add these factors together and you get me screwing up just about ALL of the juggling acts. 5-ball? Couldn't see them in the dark half-light. Passing? I was off-balance and dropped a ton. Torches? Any time we dropped (and we did) the torch would roll casually backwards down the hill and look like it was attacking our feet. We got a lot of shocked screams near the beginning of our fire show.

The only "real" problem, however, stemmed from the fact that our "daytime" circus show now revolves around one person always having a microphone (Jeremy's pimp wireless headset he got from working with his old circus education company). About two minutes into our show, for whatever reason, it up and died on us. No headset. No more than the people right in the front can hear us, not even if we shout.

Fuck.

We kept on keeping on, however, and for the most part everyone seemed to be having a good time. Our volunteer acts were a huge hit and all the vain attention-seekers who ran for homecoming court also got to be on stage with us, much to the delight of their school.

We cut the daytime show short at the request of the event staff (people were leaving, most likely due to them not being about to hear) and since they really just wanted to see fire anyway we obliged. This set us all a little off-kilter and made the second show a bit frantic. A few cues were missed, a few toys were dropped, but I don't think anyone lit on fire and we finished our show to uproarious applause.

The audience LOVED the fire sword fight, which made Jeremy and I very proud. They also loved the poi acts and the parts where mooch was standing on stacks juggling - so that's a compliment for all of us. After all was said and done they handed us our check (WOOT!), took our picture and one of the students working for the event asked if we'd be back next year. If that is not the true mark of success, I don't know what is!

Muse-ings

As a rule I only really create "art" when I have a random bout of inspiration. I find it very difficult to sit down and create something without prompt, and as such garbage like raver-elf-chicks get born.

How does one get inspired to do something meaningful? How does one pluck their ethereal muse from the air, attach her to one's wrist with an iron manacle, and keep the inspiration flowing day after day?

Perhaps the answer is doing great feats. Perhaps it is meditation and self-reflection. Perhaps it is hard drugs.

At any rate, it would seem that less video games and more sleep would be a step in the right direction. My mind has been flighty at best lately, and I often find myself having problems concentrating and formulating rational and worthwhile comments. I need a shot of Ginko straight to the brain. Or perhaps just a long winter's nap. Yes, in fact, that sounds lovely.

TLAPD

Well as of today, circus arts Ninja Training will officially be over. How fitting it is, then, that it is also "Talk Like a Pirate Day".

G'YARR!

So swab the poopdeck! Raise the sails! Bilge the bilgewater! And for the love of Davy Jones, who took me grog?!

Dino-roar

10-day circus boot camp starts tomorrow (today, the 10th). It is also Jeremy's birthday. Tim is here, back from Burning Man, and now our little enclave of artistic bums is complete. We are drinking rum, juggling, and blogging, like the true heroes that we are.

In the later years, we will look back upon these days and smile, knowing that we may not have had a plan, but we did it right.

More sea monsters!

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