Dam Shots

I spent way too much time at the dam on the Wapsipinicon this summer. Different days brought different conditions. I tweaked some of the settings on some of these as they are a bit more on the artsy side. For more, see the post Abstract Nature from 30 July.

The water coming over the edge (when captured right -- and I'm not saying I have, it's just my observation, you are free to yours) takes on a such a silky fabric-y flow. I love the contrasts.

When positioned above the drop point the contrast is even more evident. The last one above looks like it could be two images cobbled together, but it's not.

This one reminds me so much of a Hiroshige work. There's just a lot going on in this one.

This one not so much, but it almost looks like an eerie landscape rather than water.

Yes, it's odd for an Iowa farm kid to be so fascinated with water, but I am. Sailing is awesome, I wish I could do more of it. There's a calming effect by being on the open water. Granted, a river probably isn't considered the open water like an ocean or even a lake, but the white noise of the Wapsi flowing over the dam was soothing, and I miss it.

(What was that? Yes, I moved from the Midwest to the Rockies, so technically, that puts me closer to the West Coast.)

Summer in Wapsi State Park

There's snow on the ground and the temps are chilly, so how about some nice summer photos from Wapsipinicon State Park in Anamosa, Iowa to help distract you?

Zoinks! Is is just me or can you see a skull-like image?

It was really interesting trying to get shots of the geese. I'm sure I looked quite foolish scurrying about. Did I mention part of the river borders a cemetery? For the record, I wasn't leaping over headstones or anything like that. It was more of a park area the closer one got to the river bank.

(Above and below) It was interesting to see the weathering the stone has received over the years. In the center, between the two dots of sunlight, you can just see a series of steps curving towards the left. Looking back, it was too sunny of a day, or the wrong time of day (noonish). Winter shots would be a little better to capture the stone. You can't really tell from these photos, and one couldn't really tell at all, but the park was caught up in the Flood of 2008 which devastated much of Eastern Iowa.

Ok, this isn't in the Wapsi Park. This would be Butler Park in Springville, Iowa (and another set of stairs). There is an Upper Butler Park, and a Lower Butler Park. The high school is adjacent to the upper park. Back when kids could be trusted not to wander off, these stairs led to a foot bridge across the creek. I noticed a lot of trees and brush (and trash) that could be cleared. Some landscaping and improved grading would make for a better looking park.

A Christmas Memory

Usually, the most simplistic looking pieces are the hardest to do. For this fundraiser for KAA, I didn't want the same gimmicky Christmas schtick.

I searched some old postcards, nothing. I looked through my clip art software, not much. I took another look at the script: an adaptation of Truman Capote's semi-autobiographical story about a young boy and his older cousin.

It had a rural setting, so I experimented with small houses, etc. until settling on a pair of trees. The larger one representing the older character, the smaller for the younger. It was stark which I think expressed how little they had, except each other.


Now during the holidays, my natural tendency is to be as low key as possible. Well, I ended up involved in just about every aspect of this show. I was already helping behind the scenes with promotion, set, and seating. But they needed someone to do three other characters, very small, a few lines a piece.

The cast and director of A Christmas Memory.

I had the pleasure of directing Gina and Alan (the main characters) in The Lion in Winter, and working with them on anything is a hoot, so I finally relented. My biggest fear: learning lines. Admittedly, it was quite stupid and selfish of me, because these were very small roles, and I'm ashamed to have been so stubborn.

The characters I portrayed were two (different) elderly women and a Native American named Ha-Ha. Fortunately no costumes, I just had to be dressed in black, and use different voices. Not a problem. For one, I channeled Agnes Moorehead, the other Edna May Oliver. (If you don't know know them, go to www.imdb.com.) Ha-Ha just had to be big and scary with a booming voice and when you're known for playing soft-spoken Brits, this was quite a turnabout, and a challenge.

The director, an emeritus of the theatre department really got a kick out of what I did with the parts, so to have his praise is quite an honor. So much ado about nothing.

Happy Holidays!

Another Nifty Trio

More from the Kirksville Arts Association ...
For economy's sake, we put two programs on one sheet before making copies. I tried three, but the text was too small. The ticket sheet is below. As many times as I've made tickets, I'm not sure if I've ever gotten it perfect. I like ten to a page and arranged such that you could put the sheets in a three-ring binder. And if you have a trimmer with a perforating wheel, the ticket can be removed easily while the rest of the sheet is intact.Pentimento was an exhibit of fabrics created by two professors from Truman State University. The main graphic is a photo I took of one of the fabrics. I think I chose this one because it was tropical and what better way to combat a frigid Missouri winter than the tropics?

The Kirksville High School Class of 1964 celebrated 35 years in 2009, and two of the classmates displayed their works in the Kirksville Art Center. This one was difficult. I looked up yearbooks from the mid-60s, anything really from that era for inspiration. I'm not sure if I came through with the blocky "mod" theme I was hoping to achieve.

Third Floor of the Kirksville Arts Center

One of my pet projects while on the Board of Directors of the Kirksville Arts Association was wondering what to do with the third floor.

First a little background. There are six groups of two windows on the south side of the building, seven groups of two on the north. (The seventh grouping was taken out when the glass elevator was installed in the mid-1970s.)

One of the first things done to get rid of the green covers was a mural contest with area high school students. Twelve were selected, and they were placed on the south side.

On the west side, you will see two rows of three which cover three windows, one, then three more, and one long expanse of green.

One day, a couple of us were adventuresome enough to peek under the green in the bottom row. We found stucco. In order to help further dress up the Center, it was decided to remove that row of green, repair any cracks, and paint it black to help match the other windows that were open.

It came off quite easily. In this area were transom windows. While it was a long shot that they were covered up under the stucco, crazier things have happened. There was a noticeable hole in which we stuck very long crowbar through. It hit nothing. No windows. But the hole that was there needed to be squared up in order to patch it.

I'm not sure how, but we reached a point where it was decided to remove all the stucco, which turned out to be concrete, and replace it with plywood and trim to simulate the windows that were there. We found another board member who we knew would be most agreeable to this plan and give the go ahead.

(I stress that this is not the best way to move things forward in an organization. However, we had a traveling Smithsonian exhibit coming, and the majority of us were willing to do almost anything to spruce up the place, and more importantly, draw attention to the Center.)

We completed one half of the work that weekend, and spent the rest of the following week on the other half, plus exposing the brick surrounding our efforts. Signage across the front and down the corner were added a few months later.

Now then, let's take a tour upstairs.

This is looking down the center hallway. The layout today is closest to the original configuration of the building after it was completed in 1909. Over the years the roof leaked, and there's plaster everywhere. The owners fixed it a few years before selling, and I never noticed any new signs of leakage.

I'm not sure if this numbering is original. The style looks like it might be, but I'm not holding my breath. You know, the more I think about it, glass should be up there.

This is a really skinny door; it's barely two feet wide.

A close up of the glass in one of the original doors leading to the hallway. I know it wouldn't be up to code, but it would be nice to see it in use after the remodeling.

The original flooring would have to come out to do the structural work. I would love to see it refinished and used as part of the new flooring, or as a wall treatment.

Several layers of patterned linoleum? If it's not linoleum, it's a forerunner. Interesting designs nonetheless.
One of the seven window groupings on the north side. The building has settled, hence the exposed brick below the windows. And you can see where the ceiling patch became waterlogged.

Same room, looking towards the hall. Each room has some rewiring with fluorescent tubes or standard bulbs for lighting. But that is definitely the original lath. Why it is exposed I have no clue; it is in some rooms, it isn't in others.

One of the connecting doors on the south side.

The water damage was at its worst on the east side (the back) of the building.

This could be where one of the original walls was torn out. It's too clean of a cut to be anything else.

One of the biggest surprises was the discovery of tin ceilings. This section was painted brown just outside the elevator. I'm a little amazed it was left there because of all the work done to that part of the building.

Remember when I said the back end suffered the most water damage? You know where this room is? The back end. Aside from a few rusted points, this ceiling is in great shape. Hopefully it can be preserved.Apparently at one point, there was something requiring this exhaust pipe. That something is no longer there, and this pipe does not stick out of the roof. Am I surprised? Not really.

Tucked away in a small room is the only radiator remaining. How it escaped being sold for scrap is a mystery. You can see a heating vent on the floor just to the right.

Here's another view. It would make an interesting conversation piece in the lobby. I wonder how many people would stand next to it during the cold months hoping to get warm?

The success of the main floor as a multi-purpose space is leading the Building Committee to seriously consider reconfiguring the second and third floors in a similar fashion. A lobby at the front of the building, open area in the middle, and service areas in the back.

The second floor would be dedicated to classes but also able to handle private events. The third floor (in my ultimate dream) would see use as a performance space. Blackout curtains on the windows, portable seating for up to 100, and a light and sound booth would make for a very nice black box theatre.

Support columns will be needed towards the center of the upper floors as well as steelwork. On the other end of the scale, it would be wonderful to completely re-engineer the building to have those wide open -- and unencumbered -- spaces, column free. Also, since the roof is the highest point for several blocks, solar panels to offset increased energy needs is a practical idea to explore further.

There are a lot of progressive minds on the Board at the Kirksville Arts Association; the Center is in very good hands.

Carlos

This post is just for fun. Carlos, as my friends have named him, is one of the frequent visitors in the courtyard. He pretty much has free reign. We've caught him on the deck several times. (The dog -- a dachshund --totally freaks out; shivering to the point of vibrating into another dimension.) I did do an auto level adjustment on these as I shot the photos through a glass door.

Theatre (updated)

During my involvement with Curtain Call Theatre Company, I pushed myself to learn more and more about the process of putting a show together. This included set design and construction. For my first show, Murder by the Book, I researched period British architecture, and sketched out what I wanted and gave it to our resident designer for polishing.

With The Lion in Winter, I wanted the focus to be on the characters, so I arranged a series of flats and painted them black. There were a few pieces of furniture which were moved here and there over the course of several scenes. And there was fabric to help signify different rooms.

For my last production, The Rocky Horror Show (above), I got the idea of performing it like a runway show. Seating on two sides, a simple backdrop at one end, and the band at the other. It was tight, but it worked wonderfully.

But after Lion, I designed my first real set: Dial "M" for Murder. I researched color schemes from the early 1950s, and since this was still post-war Britain, a bit of shabbiness was required among the nicer things. I used three shades of grey and darker woods and wood colors. I think it turned out alright.

However, my personal tastes started to trend toward minimalism at that point. I felt the focus should be on the story, the acting. (And with royalties going up every year, any cost savings were welcome.) So whenever I read a new script, I wonder what the absolute least I could get away with in terms of a set. You can do a lot with curtains and a few key set pieces and still get the point across.

Some folks have complained about the lack of a traditional stage in the Arts Center, but with the open plan of the main floor, the possible configurations are almost unlimited. There are four posts which have caused some difficulty, but if you've a million or two to spare, then the building can be re-engineered to fix that problem. In the meantime, one learns to incorporate the negatives into positives.


*Update (24 Dec 09)*

Added graphic of Rocky Horror Show set design.

Pickler's Famous, Kirksville, MO

A friend of mine is renovating one of the major downtown Kirksville storefronts. It's taking awhile, as he's jumping through the hoops of bureaucracy; tax credits for historic preservation, etc. When orignally built by one of the town leaders, it was called Pickler's Famous, and back in the day it was one of the major general merchandise stores in the area. When the renovation is complete, it will house a soda fountain, artisan bakery, and a few other things which I've been sworn to secrecy over, or death will be swift and from above ... or below ... or ... I should read the fine print again.

Despite the critics , and there are a few (of this project and of doing anything to improve the downtown), it's a clear example of how progressive a community can be when it embraces its past. I consider architecture an art form. The old adage "They don't make 'em like they used to" certainly rings true when it comes to these old buildings. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Daniel Libeskind, and the structures built for the China Olympics are mind blowing. But when you realize what's been torn down in order to build a giant piece of mediocrity, it's shameful.

I know not everything can be preserved. Some structures are beyond care and it wouldn't make sense financially. Yet if the bones are good, then a second look must be taken. As society increasingly recycles, what better way to do so than to take an older structure and renovate?

Allow me to detour for a moment -- similar topic, on a smaller scale. One of the cooler things I saw earlier this month was an iVictrola; an iPod dock with one of those Victrola horns sticking out. Now, I like my CDs. I like reading the liner notes and looking at the photos in order to get some inspiration for my design work. But when I looked at this blend of old and new, I really, really wanted an iPod.

Now this old/new combination, a light fixture in Union Station, is how not to mix styles. Yeah, those are fluorescent bulbs. I think I read somewhere where the Station will be renovated. I hope I'm accurate, and I hope those bulbs will disappear.

Let's get back on track and on to the photos of Pickler's Famous ...

Early in the process, a ton of blue stucco had to be removed. They just slapped it over some chicken wire which was nailed into the brick. "Lehr Furniture Co." can be seen below the top board. It was one of many the incarnations of this building.
All the stucco is off, the windows reopened, and the restorative brickwork along the top has been completed. There's a small banner reading "picklersfamous.com" to keep people apprised of the progress. This was taken during the Red Barn Arts & Crafts Fesitval, hence the white and blue tents in the foreground. When I was walking around taking pics, I did notice people pointing and wondering.

Research indicated this was the original color scheme of the building. You'll notice the big steel beam running the width of the facade. Originally, there were transom windows above that, and bay windows below which helped support the upper floors. In the 1960s, all that disappeared.

If you've noticed the white metal to the left of Pickler's Famous, well, this postcard shows what it covers. It's the building on the left with the really cool arched windows. Yeah (plus a few other choice words I shouldn't put into print). I don't know whether they still exist. Current ownership does not call for any restoration. Grumble.

I've scanned several photos from the 1960s and tried to replicate the angles before leaving Missouri. I'm working on melding the images together to form a past/present snapshot. So far, it's been mixed results and nothing I'm proud of displaying. Something to revisit over the holidays.