It's About Time

So I finally got RockBand II and I have to admit I'm hooked. Well, actually my son got it for Christmas but I keep playing it. This game is a blast (and not just the drums). Speaking of the drums, my RockBand kit has a Rock 'n Sock throne. I was surprised to find so much Prog on the song list... Rush, Kansas, Dream Theater. I'm thinking for my next project I'll bust out some frisk and my airbrush to trick out the guitar.

Back to Prog Drumming

Wow, I just had one of the best times playing
music I've ever had. I had the chance to jam with Mauricio Sotelo of the group Cabezas de Cera, one of the premier Chapman Stick players and most avant garde musicians in prog music today (also, one of the nicest and most gracious musicians I've ever met). Mauricio and CDC were recent headliners at NEAR Fest and Baja Prog and he happens to be friends with my band partner Frank D'Angelo. Mauricio is without a doubt one of the most interesting and innovative Stick players around. We hung out, had a little wine, and played weird music for a few hours. What could be better than that?

Whiteboard Mural

15' X 4' dry erase marker on whiteboard. This started when I told my students to graffiti my whiteboard. 32 markers and a couple of weeks and this is the result. They did require some direction but it's amazing how every student said they can't draw! This has actually become legendary with everyone involved claiming bragging rights. The following are closeups, left to right.

Graffiti My Whiteboard

For Bell Work I had the students in three classes graffiti a section of my white board, then I added imagery on top of theirs. Their work work did not vary the line in any way and all of it was essentially on the same scale. I brought my additons in to demonstrate how to manipulate scale, line weight, superimpose themes, add such elements as visual contradiction, pun, repetition, contrast, symbolism, and color contratst, etc...

Whiteboard Drawing

I've been told by one of my fellow teachers (Ms. Sheridan - teaches journalism and English across the hall from me) that I have to keep a record of all the stuff I draw on my whiteboard. These are just some border design ideas I put up to get them thinking about ways to dress up the illuminated manuscript project they've been working on.

Whiteboard Drawing

I drew this on my whiteboard at school. It is NOT a reference to 9/11. It is mere coincidence that I drew this yesterday, however, it happens that a fellow teacher was in New York at the time of the attack. When she saw my silly drawing she laughed but also said it made her uncomfortable. This gave me an excellent opportunity to talk to my class about the power and purpose of art. We talked about the many uses of art beyond entertainment, such as being a means of expressing thoughts, beliefs, emotions, etc... We talked about advertising and propaganda. We talked about art's power to tap into the mind of the viewer and illicit responses we may or may not have intended. All in all an interesting classroom discussion.

Whiteboard Drawing

Unbelievable... No way..... It can't be done.... two posts in the same night on the same topic.... GET OUT! Okay, whatever. Anyway, as I said in the last post I'm covering medieval illuminated manuscripts and woodcut printing in the same lesson (wow, aint I innovative?). So, to get the woodcut idea across, I keep demonstrating by drawing on the whiteboard using a subtractive method. That is, I fill in a space with black dry erase marker, then "draw" by erasing, using a paper towel to remove the ink. In this case I drew the ribbon border, then filled the interior space with black and created the capital B and the pattern around it by erasing. I love the kind of unexpected shapes that you get by working that way. And, yes, that drawing is on a whiteboard. Can't tell you why it looks yellow, must be the light.