We’re wrapping up this week in Deerfield, running from one heated place to the next to avoid exposure to the single digits outside. Yesterday and this morning I helped Melis finish the last project in her latest SMPLFY installation: cutting down 3 wipe-off boards, and then upgrading 3 generic frames with several coats of spray-on high gloss red. Once they were dry and blindingly colorful, I framed the white boards and bolted them securely to the playroom wall.

They turned out nice – and I even left a surprise for the “clients” (4-year old triplets): caricatures of each kid on their new whiteboard.

In other news, I went through some footage from this past fall when I picked up Canon’s new HFS10 camcorder. Just stunning quality, and settings for either PHDs (Push Here, Dummy) or total control freaks (me). It’s topped off with an impressive 8 megapixel CMOS chip – taking stills comparable to my digital SLR.

So here’s the first clip I shot with the camera – a hummingbird at the feeder on my parents’ patio in Laguna Hills. The ambient sound includes little nephew Kogi, and wooden chimes clunking in the wind.

I’ll be uploading a few clips here and there… if for no other reason than to free up some hard drive space.

I received an 8″x10″ color test, or proof, of the Alumaplaooza print the other day. There seems to be a blue cast in this shot, but in full light it’s impressively close to the screen version so I approved it. The first full size print is already on its way. It will be the only unnumbered print – used to market the edition.

As one never knows when obscure French printmaking terminology might come in handy, I’ll add that this print would be classified as an HC, or Hors d’Commerce.

As I may have mentioned, this June – in the tiny hamlet of Jackson Center, Ohio – Melis and I will be attending the first annual Alumapalooza festival. Hosted by Airstream Life, it will take place on the hallowed grounds of the Airstream factory and offer tours of the manufacturing plant, raffles, “open houses” (always fun to peek inside other peoples’ trailers) BBQ dinners, lectures, demos and even music concerts in the nearby town.

When I was asked to create artwork to set the mood for the event, I skipped over the Lollapaloozas and other festivals that defined the music of my teens and 20’s. Instead, I took my inspiration by going straight to the progenitor of the genre.

Woodstock.

Think about it; people from all over the country traveling to a small town, set amidst rolling farm hills, filled with the desire to camp side by side with strangers and celebrate love, peace, music…

…and aluminum trailers.

After designing the t-shirt, web banners and cloth lanyards that will hold the name tags, I decided I’d better take advantage of “Aluma fever” by publishing a limited edition print to sell to the other festival-goers. They’ll be printed on smooth, thick watercolor paper in fade-proof inks. 18×24 inches, so they’ll fit in a standard poster frame.

I’m waiting on a color proof from my printer in upstate New York, and will post a photo when it arrives. Then, in June, I’ll have a booth alongside several other artists and vendors at Alumapalooza. I’ll be selling both the limited edition print, and around 7 other vintage-inspired posters.

In the meantime, here’s the artwork for the limited edition print. Sure, it was based on the piece I posted back in November; but if you closely you’ll notice I rebuilt the entire piece from scratch. It is a slightly altered composition, has a different pattern in the background of the wings, and a more refined border inspired by the art nouveau line work of Alphonse Mucha.