More Fun with Ross But This Time with LEGO Bricks!

If I haven’t said this already, after all it is my favorite quote, “If the Lord meant for me to have it, I’d find it at Rolling Hills”, once again, this quote proves fruitful. I found what an engineer might decipher as a two cubic foot bag full of interlocking bricks and mini-figs at Rolling Hills this past Saturday for a mere $7.55.



By the way, a special thanks to ALL the parents who have grown weary of the LEGO wars and have contributed, by their generous donations of LEGO bricks to Ross’s designing of his weapons of mass destruction for his future career as a Weapons Engineer.

Ross demonstrates his latest WMD.

Having just returned from Star Wars Celebration V, where Ross spent the majority of his time at one of the four LEGO booths, he so wanted to add to his collection of LEGO Star Wars Ships building sets and, if you’re aware of the exorbitant prices for LEGO sets you’ll know how we keep those MIT graduates in the lifestyle of which they’ve grown accustomed, (by the way, Ross wants to be a LEGO designer and spent much of his time at SWCV talking to actual LEGO designers just in case that whole Weapons Engineer thing doesn’t work out) you’ve probably guessed our answer was no.

Approximately ½ of the bag (or 1 cubic foot) of the interlocking blocks were LEGOS and several of the much desired and absolutely adorable mini-figs were Star Wars characters.

One, in particular, BOBA FETT, made the sorting through the less desirable Mega Blocks and TYCO bricks worth the effort. We also added Chewbacca, my favorite, two Lukes, two Old Ben’s (verses new Obi-Wans), a C3-PO, I believe two R2-D2s but Ross dashed off with them along with another astromech droid in a ship he “designed”, along with a wonderful assortment of other mini-figs to our collection.

I just LOVE LEGO mini-figs! I may be a LEGO hoarder.

We are LEGO (and Bionicle, don’t get me started!) purist and I have spent hours sorting through flea market, thrift shops and garage sale finds for LEGO bricks then sent the TYCO bricks and Mega Blocks over to my Mother-in-law’s so Ross can have something to build with when he’s visiting with her.

I tried to organize Ross’s LEGO bricks SEVERAL times but he defeats me EVERY time by dumping my efforts on the playroom floor (now you know why it is over the carport in the barn and NOT a part of my house!) and leaving them their until I go up and have a breakdown about it! Anyway, he has enough LEGO bricks to fill a bathtub and STILL has the nerve to ask me for more!

Did you know you can order specific pieces you need at http://www.bricklink.com? And, although expense per individual piece, for me, it sure beats buying a whole LEGO set so that Ross can build the set one time then tear it apart to design his own creations. You can also sell your LEGO pieces on this site…which may be the way we put Ross through college!

Also, and perfect for those parents who do not wish the discomfort of stepping on those sneaky little bricks embedded in the carpet or who dread the distinctive rattle of LEGO bricks and their hard earned money being sucked up a vacuum hose, there is LEGO Digital Designer at http://ldd.lego.com/ one of Ross’s favorite sites. It has FREE software (Windows PC and Mac OSX) to download but be warned parents! There is a way to PURCHASE the creations you child has so BRILLIANLTLY designed and, believe me, they are very desirable and they don’t come cheap!

Fisher Price Fun with Ross!

After staying up til past midnight the other night watching Adam West Behind the Cowl, a show that he recorded earlier but we still stayed up to watch, I felt I needed to spend some one on one time with Ross.

I stopped by Rolling Hills Ministries while Ross was with his drum instructor and found a big bag of Imaginext to add to the many other Imaginext building toys we have accumulated over the years.

On a separate note:  I suffer from fibromyalgia.  I returned home from our wonderful family vacation exhausted and feeling a bit achy.  I thought a good nap on Tuesday may be just the trick.  However, on Thursday I felt much worse and had severe pain and could barely walk or move around.

Poor Ross, I made him drag the two huge, heavy storage boxes down from the playroom (above the carport...at the BARN) and haul them to our living room (in the house, of course).

After four trips to gather some spare parts (and I'm sure there are more pieces) to the playroom, we spent hours constructing three castles, two tree houses, a pirate ship, a police station, fire station, and prehistoric cave...Ross spent the evening before his first day of school in Fisher Price warfare with the help of his Nerf artillery.

Ross, is now twelve, TOO SOON to be thirteen, and I know moments (or hours) like these will are few and becoming fewer every year.


When my two sons grow up, I hope their memories of my fussing (okay, yelling) at them will fade but some of the times I got down on the floor and really played with them will linger just a bit longer.

I truly enjoyed my Creative Daze time with Ross and will leave our battle zone up for the weekend...just in case.

Star Wars Celebration V and other Creative Inspirations

I went to Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, FL (August12-15, 2010) which fueled my creative juices.

I have ALWAYS been a HUGE fan of Star Wars and truly admire George Lucas, one of the creative geniuses of our time.

I passed this love of Star Wars on to my oldest son, Gray, and nourished his interest with a bedroom decorated in all things Star Wars including a loft bed set against a glow in the dark star covered wall paper, posters, and practically EVERY Star Wars action figure, ship, diorama, and micro-machine made by Hasbro.

Ross, my youngest son, got his share with Star Wars LEGO sets.

So, given the opportunity, and with the help of a few days of Phil (my husband and their Dad) working overtime, we pulled together a trip.  Gray is going into this Senior year at high school and will soon lose interest in "family" vacations, so we wanted to make this one extra special.
No Star Wars Celebration would be complete without costumes.  So the week before our trip we started putting together costumes for the boys.

Ross, at first, did not care to dress up, but as the event drew near, he became more inspired.  He is an earlier version of this Galen Marek Sith Apprentice from Star Wars Force Unleashed.
I even let Ross get his hair BUZZED for the occasion.

This was the only image he gave me to go by..

I suppose this guy is like a Pokemon because he morphs throughout the game. (See photo of his stages below)

We asked a friend to fashion the collar out of metal but he never got around to it.  So, at 9PM the night before our early departure out Jackson, MS...I was up sewing a collar out of vinyl and attaching a makeshift restraining bolt made from and aluminum foil jelly sample container that I had saved, God only knows why, because I thought it looked interesting...and after all, I am an artist!  Well, the good Lord must have had a plan to put me through this, still somehow, the collar came out pretty cool and looked almost as nice as some of the other "homemade" costumes the kids were wearing but in NO WAY competed with what the adults had fashioned out of a material called Sintra which is a PVC sheets.that fabricated into just about any shape.

Boy, did I learn A LOT!  I am looking forward to getting my hands on some of this material!  Guess what Ross is going as for Halloween!

Gray took three costumes.  On DAY ONE, he went as Luke Skywalker (Return of the Jedi) which he pretty much assembled himself but it also meant my creating a belt and shoe covers (boots) that were reversible to accommodate his other Jedi costume borrowed from his friend, and independent filmmaker, Matthew Ramsaur.

 

On Friday, we dressed in matching white T-shirts that featured an image of our license plate I created.  

If you see an '98 White Ford Expedition running around north LA with this license plate...it's me!  On the front of our shirts was our Bounty Hunter's Scavenger Hunt's team name "Rogue Squadron".

On the last day, Gray went at Indiana Jones.  Not, as we discovered on DAY ONE, and original idea.  Still, his wardrobe was better than any other Indy we saw.


Anyway,,,
There is still so much to share!  When I eventually get the 300+ photos and dozens of videos organized, I'll add some photos of the amazing costume show we attended, the wonderful characters we met, and my artistic endeavors helping to create the gigantic Hoth diorama.

I'm Working on My New Business...Photography and Art Classes

This is a photo I took of my older son while we were at Seal Beach in California back in the summer of 2008.  Check out the "family portrait" inside the reflective frames.  There you will find my husband, younger son, and me!

The Dixie Swim Club

I

This comedy is about five Southern women whose friendship began on their college swim team.  Every August they get together at the same beach cottage on North Carolina Outer Banks to enjoy a three day weekend of no husbands, kids, work, or bras where they talk, laugh, and support each other, regardless. 

"The Dixie Swim Club" highlights four weekends over a span of thirty-three years and what started as a college swim team has grown to friends who, with teamwork, have stood the tests of time.

Like "Steel Magnolias", and the television series "Designing Women" and "The Golden Girls", "The Dixie Swim Club" is one production ya'll will want to see again and again!

I Haven't Forgotten About You!

I have been CRAZY-BIZZZY with MANY projects and must say that lately, EVERY one of my DAYS have been CREATIVE DAZE.


Since I last posted I decorated for the 4th of July.








I had a wonderful trip to Dallas and surrounding areas with lots of wonder "Cast Off" Masterpieces I need to share with you.  Here are some:

I taught ART at my church's VBS (Trinity United Methodist Church in Ruston, LA) with a SPACE theme.

I am VERY busy working on my role as Jeri Neal in Ruston Community Theatre's upcoming production of "The Dixie Swim Club".  Mark your calendars from July 29-August 1.  You'll want to see this AT LEAST twice!

I am also preparing for my DIRECTORIAL DEBUT for RCT's production of "Dial M for Murder".
Come audition on July 30th and August 2nd!  We need five men and one female for this fantastic psychological thriller.  If you've seen Alfred Hitchcock's version...you know what I'm talking about.

Click Here!

Geri's Gallery of Cast Off Masterpieces "Hot Flowers"

When I bought this oil or acrylic (I have yet to figure out how to tell them apart) on a 5x7 masonite board by Lomong for $2.55 (+tax) at Rolling Hills (AKA New to Me!) I was not crazy about the frame.
It had several dings and needed some touch up work but what I did not like was the way it overwhelmed the small painting.
At first I thought I would simply trim it out in a yellow gold.

I ended up adding a red that matched the red in the pink flowers and a dark green.

Then I flicked some black paint over the entire frame, sprayed it with a matte finish, coated it with an antiquing gel, and then a gloss finished.



Now I feel the frame works well overall.

Geri's Gallery of Cast Off Masterpieces "Cool Waters"

"Cool Waters" is most likely an acrylic painting on a 12x16 canvas by Lillie Bunch.  It had a few damaged spots where the paint was chipping off.  This is probably why it was a cast off piece of art that I salvaged from my favorite place to shop, Rolling Hills, which is a disaster relief ministry thrift shop. I framed it a few years ago in a lovely wood frame that was already painted gold.  The chipping continued to be a problem, so I tackled it by applying a clear matte gesso over the entire piece and a second coat over the troublesome areas.

In these photos...the gesso is still wet.

I touched up the damaged areas with acrylic paint.

I finished by applying a gloss glaze over the entire painting.

Well, I'm Embarrassed!

I so wanted this blog to be something I kept up daily, but I admit, it is difficult to find the time to blog, especially since I'm so busy being creative.
I am in the Ruston Community Theatre's summer production "The Dixie Swim Club" by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten which will be performed July 28-August 1.  I am sharing the role of Jeri Neal with Linda Griffin who will play the 77 year old character.

So...
I have been busy learning my lines and rehearsing three evenings a week and upholding my responsibilities as assistant director one night a week.  I am also the RCT's headshot and program photographer and that has kept me rather busy making sure all the ladies look their best.
Another creative challenge was to create a photograph featuring the team taken in the early '60's.
It takes more than just cutting and pasting.  I have Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 on my Dell laptop.  I have CS3 on my iMac but used APE 4.0 because I wanted to just kick back on the sofa with my feet up and watch Leap Year (adorable movie!) while working on this photo. Besides...I'm still learning how to use my iMac. This is the original.

I took several photos of each cast member and matched the characters/actors up accordingly.
The cast photos were in color so I had to remove the color, adjust the size of the face to that of the original photo, brighten and reduce the contrast, then...and this is why our faces merge with that of the original swim teams' face, I altered the transparency of our faces to morph into theirs.

After a little touching up...I believe it made a convincing photo for the poster I will be creating and putting up at the Dixie Center for the Arts Theater in Ruston, LA next week.

But that's another post!