FROST PARK: GRAPES OF WRATH

Frost Park Chalk Off 5:22 was space themed in honor of the death of astronaut Neil Armstrong, but TWT already had an idea in his head prior to finding out about the theme.  Therefore, "Grapes of Wrath (Rev. 9:7-11)," which is not a reference to the grapes of wrath in the Bible, but to the novel, and then paired with a passage from the biblical book of Revelation, was born.  It felt like something akin to TWT's "Queequeg Fireworks" earlier in the chalking season.


"Grapes of Wrath (Rev. 9:7-11)" by Troy's Work Table.


Locust detail of "Grapes of Wrath (Rev. 9:7-11)" by Troy's Work Table.


Goggle and gas mask detail of "Grapes of Wrath (Rev. 9:7-11)" by Troy's Work Table.

TIPSOO LAKE

Field of wildflowers—paintbrush, lupine, Queen Anne's lace, arnica, and more.

Tipsoo Lake, Chinook Pass, Washington.
Sunday 26 August 2012.

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

The Dread Crew of Oddwood.
Singing some songs and chanties in the ever-popular "Heavy Mahogany" style of music.

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.
Sunday 19 August 2012.
Bonney Lake, Washington.

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

The pickle wench.

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.
Sunday 19 August 2012.
Bonney Lake, Washington.

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Cavallo Equestrian Arts.
Jousting and other games of horsemanship.

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.
Sunday 19 August 2012.
Bonney Lake, Washington.

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Academia della Spada.
Sixteenth-century German sword fighting.

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.
Sunday 19 August 2012.
Bonney Lake, Washington.

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Random (and rabbit) roustabouts.

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.
Sunday 19 August 2012.
Bonney Lake, Washington.

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Trey Cromwell, The Professional Showoff!
The eating of fire. 

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire. 
Sunday 19 August 2012. 
Bonney Lake, Washington.

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

King James: The King's Corndogs of the World. 

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire. 
Sunday 19 August 2012. 
Bonney Lake, Washington.

MEANWHILE...

...The Dog tucked herself in for a nap on the couch.

DUNGEON!

TWT decided that it was time to introduce The Child to the splendor of Dungeon!  That meant pulling out the 1980 vintage game board for some monster-killing and treasure-gathering.  TWT took on the role of Hero, while The Child opted to roam the dungeon as an Elf.  We cleaned up most of the chambers and rooms of levels one, two, and three.

BULGOGI

TWT decided to try his hand in the kitchen with some bulgogi (Korean grilled beef) lettuce wraps.  The recipe is authentic and from the kitchen of the mother of Tacoma poet Maria Gudaitis.

It was a hit with The Wife and The Child.  I wasn't sure the latter would like it, but it was intriguing enough (Asian tacos in lettuce instead of tortillas) to get a try, and it was a spectacular recipe, so the "tacos" just kept being made.

FROST PARK: BADLANDS

Frost Park Chalk Off 5:21 was a hot one, so I chalked the Badlands, with a fossil sea creature superimposed over the layers of sedimentary rock.


"Badlands" by TWT.


Detail of "Badlands" by TWT.

POETRY READING

Last night, TWT headed over to King's Books to read a poem ("Just Another Day in the Life of the Pagan King") from one of his self-published chapbooks (All the Heroes Are Dead and Buried).  None of the other Puget Sound Poetry Connection participants signed up to read first, so TWT did.  They were probably wishing someone else set the tone for the evening!

Photograph by The Child.

FROST PARK: BIKE JUMP THE FOURTH

For Frost Park Chalk Off 5:19, Troy's Work Table paid homage to Bike Jump the Fourth by Gaytron the Imploder.


"Bike Jump the Fourth" by TWT.


"Bike Jump the Fourth" (upper detail) by TWT.


"Bike Jump the Fourth" (middle detail) by TWT.


"Bike Jump the Fourth" (lowerdetail) by TWT.

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It received no votes whatsoever (which was somewhat expected), but it was fun to get it on the sidewalk while trying out a few new techniques.

AFTER HM

TWT and The Child were invited to participate in another chalk event in Tacoma.  This time it was hosted by Hilltop Artists as part of National Night Out.  As much fun as that would have been (and The Child loves their glass hotshop), time was working against us.  In the spirit of National Night Out, it also seemed a good idea to stick close to home and be out and about in our own neighborhood.

So we set out for Puyallup's Pioneer Park and chalked in front of the library.

We used an oil painting by HM Saffer, Woodland Gloaming I (16" x 20" oil on panel), as our inspiration.


"After HM:WG" by Troy's Work Table.  It was an opportunity to try out some techniques that were (but no longer!) foreign to me.  I worked on blending colors.  It doesn't have the pop or brilliance of color of HM Saffer's work, but it was still fun to create.


"After HM" by The Child.  This version features a bird in one of the trees and a jaguar.

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People walking by chatted with us about our pieces and chalk art in general.  One guy walked by with an armload of library books and two children, whose arms were also loaded with library books, and thanked us for making art for everyone and anyone to appreciate.  That felt like what National Night Out was all about to me—conversation, getting to know people in your community, focusing on the good rather than the problems of our society—even if it wasn't an officially sanctioned event.

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I'm thinking that a semi-regular chalk event may need to occur in Puyallup, with its own "free chalk" box and suggested themes.

MAMMATUS

Mammatus clouds, North Hill, Edgewood, Washington.

"breast-clouds / sagging with the weight of snow // wander the sky / like the ample udders of Audumbla"
—from "Ginnungagap," as found in the chapbook All the Heroes Are Dead and Buried by Troy Kehm-Goins.

IRON ARTIST: WHITE KNIGHT

Another day, another chalk-off.  Yesterday (Saturday 04 August 2012) saw TWT competing in the Iron Artist Chalk-Off at Tacoma's Tollefson Plaza (sponsored by The Cartoonists' League of Absurd Washingtonians and Tacoma Art Museum).  Chalking for two hours in 95ºF heat on hot concrete was not what I was anticipating, but it was still a lot of fun.

A couple of bottles of water and a made-in-Washington frozen watermelon fruit bar (from Jeff's Ice Cream) helped keep the heat at bay.

TWT chalked "White Knight," a follow-up of sorts to the prior day's "Four Horses."  I think the horses may be purged from my imagination for a while.

BIKE JUMP THE FOURTH

TWT and The Child needed some to experience some art.  It needed to be a one-time event (even if this was the fourth installation of this event (see below)).  So we headed off to Tacoma for Bike Jump the Fourth by Gaytron the Imploder.  Gaytron is the alter ego of neon glass artist Galen McCarty Turner.  Galen created two hundred feet of custom neon tubing through which Gaytron the Imploder would ride his BMX bike.  Gaytron has done this for the past three years on the first Saturday in August.  This was going to be the fourth such jump on August the fourth, hence Bike Jump the Fourth.


A crowd gathers.  The event officially started at 9:00 p.m., but I knew from word of mouth that it was usually about an hour after the beginning of the event that the actual bike jump took place.  Gaytron connects pieces of the framing and neon tubing while the audience watches.  It also seems that its a good excuse for hipsters, local artists, and spectators to drink cans of Rainier beer and smoke (as especially noted by The Child).


Testing lights/teasing the crowd.  The "Bike Jump" sign lights up for the first time to the hoots and hollers of those gathered.


Fully operational.  Gaytron tests the various connections and works the crowd.  He is quite the showman.


Lighting helmet sparklers.  An assistant fires up a blowtorch and lights Gaytron's helmet.  The assistant also lights "rocket" fireworks on the back of the bike.


The bike shoots past in the dark.


Post-impact.  Gaytron the Imploder has just crashed through the neon and onto the pavement.  But then he is up with arms raised in a "V" for victory to the cheers of the crowd.


"Bike Jump."


Aftermath.

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All in all, it was a spectacular event—part vaudeville/circus act, especially with the accompanying soundtrack and DJ; part stunt; part performance art.  If there is a Bike Jump the Fifth, we will be in attendance.

SWIMMING POOL

The Dog takes a swim in the inflatable pool to "beat the heat."

FROST PARK: FOUR HORSES

Frost Park Chalk Off 5:18 was without a theme, which worked perfectly for TWT, since the "Four Horses" of the Apocalypse were planned.  TWT had been researching the movement of horses in the photography and early film work of Eadweard Muybridge.  That somehow led to early cave paintings, which often feature horses; petroglyphs; depictions of the Battle of Greasy Grass (Custer's Last Stand) by Native American artists, both contemporaries of Custer and modern; and the four horses of the book of Revelation.


"Four Horses" at the base of the Frost Park fountain.


Detail of "Four Horses": "Seven Lampstands" (Revelation 1:12-20).


Detail of "Four Horses": "The First Horse, White, Conquest" (Revelation 6:1-2).


Detail of "Four Horses": "The Second Horse, Red, War" (Revelation 6:3-4).


Detail of "Four Horses": "The Third Horse, Black, Famine" (Revelation 6:5-6).


Detail of "Four Horses": "The Fourth Horse, Pale (Green), Death" (Revelation 6:7-8).


Detail of "Four Horses": "The Heavens Fall (Wormwood and Waters)" (Revelation 8:10-12).

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A passerby commented that the horses reminded him of the horse in Picasso's Guernica, which he had the pleasure of viewing a year ago while on vacation.  Although intrigued by the association, TWT can neither claim such inspiration nor see the visual connective tissue (which is loose if at all).

This was a fun piece to research, to chalk, and to purge from one's soul.