FROST PARK: AMMONITE

"Ammonite" by Troy's Work Table and The Child. Frost Park Chalk Off Challenge 7:22. Friday 29 August 2014.

---

Yesterday, TWT had enough time to finish another piece of chalk art, this one in collaboration with The Child. It initially started as somewhat of an abstract scribble, but its form came forth and then it was about two minutes of framing the shell and another five minutes for sketching of the mantle and tentacles and coloring everything in.

---

View more pictures of Frost Park 7:22 HERE.

FROST PARK: JACOB'S DREAM

"Jacob's Dream" by Troy's Work Table. Frost Park Chalk Off Challenge 7:22. Friday 29 August 2014.

---

I don't know why the scene of Jacob dreaming has been haunting me for the past few days, but I decided to "chalk it out." And, of course, I couldn't help but add octopuses as the angels ascending and descending the ladder to heaven.

---

I even sketched the scene out on paper before hitting the sidewalk.

---

View more pictures of Frost Park 7:22 HERE.

RIVERWALK CHALK: SALMON SPIRIT

"Salmon Spirit" by Troy's Work Table. Riverwalk Chalk. Wednesday 27 August 2014.

---

Swimmin' at ya!

---

Troy's Work Table needed to unwind after work, so he headed down the Riverwalk Trail and left a little bit of chalk art for the fisherfolk who are frequenting the trail right now, seeking out the best fishing spot along the Puyallup River.

---

View more pictures of "Salmon Spirit" HERE.

LIBRARY II

Today's poetry book finds at the library.

From the Beauty of My Belly (1999) by Esther G. Belin.

Book of Hours (2014) by Kevin Young.

Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals (2014) by Patricia Lockwood.

LIBRARY I

Today's music album finds at the library.

3-Way Tie (For Last) (1985) by Minutemen.

Obliterati (2006) by Mission of Burma.

Indie Cindy (2014) by Pixies.

FROST PARK: MIDDEN

"Midden" by Troy's Work Table . Frost Park Chalk Off 7:20. Friday 15 August 2014.

---

Octopus flees her midden.

---

The past few pieces of TWT chalk art influenced this piece. As did the sidewalk environment.

---

Square bricks provided a wonderful foundation. Real vegetation to the left became chalk seaweed and kelp. A dark gray concrete panel helped to make the colors of the seaweed and midden "pop." An adjacent light gray concrete panel likewise highlighted the black of the octopus.

---

This was a fairly fun, quickly drawn piece that plays with a few creation myths and stories that include Octopus as a primary deity. The sexual imagery of the piece wasn't initially intended, although, as it progressed, I certainly didn't shy away from it.

---

And my favorite piece is the midden/landscape "crown" that adorns the mantle of Octopus.

---

You can view more pictures of "Midden" and Frost Park Chalk Off 7:20 HERE.

DAHLIA

This summer, my dahlias are spectacular. Record rain in late winter and early spring, combined with record high temperatures in the early summer, produced flowers blooming earlier than ever and with beautiful flowers.

FROST PARK: HOURGLASS

"Hourglass" by Troy's Work Table . Frost Park Chalk Off 7:19 at Tollefson Plaza. Friday 08 August 2014.

---

Frost Park chalked "in exile" for season 7, episode 19. Actually, the Frost Park Chalkies were invited by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce to chalk at their annual picnic. The Chamber provided prizes for first, second, and third place, as voted on by their members.

---

Troy's Work Table and The Child chalked as a team, providing individual pieces, but presenting them together.

We took first place, squeaking out a victory by two votes. Our prize was a beer and craft root beer basket.

---

"Hourglass" was inspired by its two predecessors, "Clocktopus" and "Aquariums (Color Study)," as well as the diamond-shaped concrete panels of downtown Tacoma's Tollefson Plaza. And, as with "Clocktopus," it was a meditation upon time and death.

---

 You can view more pictures of "Hourglass" HERE.

ARTS NIGHT OUT

"Aquariums (Color Study)" by Troy's Work Table . Hilltop Artists Arts Night Out. Tuesday 05 August 2014.

---

TWT and The Child were invited by Hilltop Artists to join them for their Arts Night Out event. So we showed up with chalk in hand and ready to draw. There were very few people chalking when we arrived halfway through the evening, other than mostly toddlers scribbling here and there. Once we started chalking, others readily joined in (we "broke the ice") and soon the sidewalk outside of Hilltop Artist's glassblowing hot shop was filled with the chalk drawings of children and adults.

---

"Aquariums" grew out of "Clocktopus" from Frost Park, but TWT wanted to explore color combinations and see how the same charcoal-outline octopuses would look. In that sense, it was truly a color study. What TWT really discovered, though, was an interesting effect of blending the colors together. It was most effective with the black and white panels, giving the blended edges a blur.

---

Arts Night Out was an interesting evening of art and community meeting one another at Jason Lee Middle School, which is the home of one of Hilltop Artist's hot shops. The event captured the flavor of the arts in Tacoma and Pierce County quite well, including the "grittiness" with which Tacoma prides itself.

A dinner of street tacos was provided by local restaurant Masa, and they didn't hold back. There were many options available for those gathered to make the tacos as they saw fit.

Glassblowing demonstrations were provided by the youth artists of Hilltop Artists.

T-shirts were available for $5, which also included access to various plastic templates and fabric paints and inks, in order that one could create their own art shirt.

Grit City Grindhouse was present with skateboards, helmets, and homemade ramps for kids (and brave adults) to try their hand at skating.

Members of the Stryker brigade from nearby Joint Base Lewis McChord were on hand to show off their military hardware and let people explore the Stryker armored personnel carrier that gives the brigade its name.

And, for those who needed a break from it all, there were hula hoops and soccer balls and Frisbees for people to play with on the Jason Lee football field and track.

---

You can view more pictures of "Aquariums (Color Study)" and Arts Night Out HERE.

FROST PARK: CLOCKTOPUS

"Clocktopus" by Troy's Work Table . Frost Park Chalk Off 7:18. Friday 01 August 2014.

---

A meditation upon mortality. The female octopus lays her eggs and then keeps them alive by protecting them and blowing seawater over and past them. Once they start to hatch she dies. By the point of her death she is usually emaciated, having not eaten since laying her eggs; senescent and senile; and pale in color. In other words, she has become a ghost of the sea, vulnerable and ready to be eaten by other sea creatures.

---

This piece came to me in a dream.

---

 You can view more pictures of "Clocktopus" HERE.