There Snow Place Like Nome
(Yule Laugh, Yule Cry, Yule Kiss Ten Minutes Goodbye...)
I was born in August, and that is my season; kayaks and snorkeling and high noon sun pouring down on a white beach. I hibernate in the winter. I grinch. I grumble. I growl.
I love snow, Siberian huskies, kayaks; all products of the Frozen North. So here's a taste of winter, of the Dark Time at the End of the Year before the sun returns to warm the earth and start the cycle of life anew, and of our celebrations of that time.
Plenty of crafty stuff here too, to inspire you, scroll to bottom of page.
The "Hawaiian Christmas" was shot on the tiny beach at Bogle's Wharf on Eastern Neck Island National Wildlife Refuge, MD on a chilly December day. Mele kalikimaka is a classic Christmas song (and now firmly stuck in my head). It's literally "merry christmas" run through the linguistics of the Hawaiian language (which has a very different structure from English). The Sindarin language was one of JRR Tolkien's elements in Lord of the Rings; the language spoken by one tribe of Elves in Middle Earth. The sand snowman was easy to make out of wet sand and drift"wood" (small stalks of saltmarsh plants). Beach chair and props found at AC Moore. Lilo, Stitch, (Disney's Lilo and Stitch) Toothless (Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon) and Legolas (Lord of the Rings) are basic action figures found at toy stores. Black horses by Breyer Molding company; Traditional scale 1:9, Black Beauty, 1980s model (sculpted by Chris Hess) and the Black Foundation Stallion (1977-1987) also by Chris Hess. Play with your toys, and use a fill flash (or portable light to fill in the shadows), a low camera angle (eye level of your characters) and make sure your buddy's butt isn't in the shot.
I love snow, Siberian huskies, kayaks; all products of the Frozen North. So here's a taste of winter, of the Dark Time at the End of the Year before the sun returns to warm the earth and start the cycle of life anew, and of our celebrations of that time.
Plenty of crafty stuff here too, to inspire you, scroll to bottom of page.
The "Hawaiian Christmas" was shot on the tiny beach at Bogle's Wharf on Eastern Neck Island National Wildlife Refuge, MD on a chilly December day. Mele kalikimaka is a classic Christmas song (and now firmly stuck in my head). It's literally "merry christmas" run through the linguistics of the Hawaiian language (which has a very different structure from English). The Sindarin language was one of JRR Tolkien's elements in Lord of the Rings; the language spoken by one tribe of Elves in Middle Earth. The sand snowman was easy to make out of wet sand and drift"wood" (small stalks of saltmarsh plants). Beach chair and props found at AC Moore. Lilo, Stitch, (Disney's Lilo and Stitch) Toothless (Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon) and Legolas (Lord of the Rings) are basic action figures found at toy stores. Black horses by Breyer Molding company; Traditional scale 1:9, Black Beauty, 1980s model (sculpted by Chris Hess) and the Black Foundation Stallion (1977-1987) also by Chris Hess. Play with your toys, and use a fill flash (or portable light to fill in the shadows), a low camera angle (eye level of your characters) and make sure your buddy's butt isn't in the shot.
Thor lights the lights.... the rest of the Avengers made it to the beach party too...
Julbok
A Norse tradition; the goat is made of "corn" (wheat in Europe), here, actual American corn. The goat abounds with symbolism, St. Nick rides one, the goat is the spirit of the harvest (symbolizing the plenitude of the harvest), and goes back to Thor's chariot, pulled by goats (with much the same imagery: plenty, food, survival, thriving in the midst of cold northern winters).
Objects made out of straw or roughly-hewn wood could also be called the Yule goat, and in older Scandinavian society a popular Christmas prank was to place this Yule goat in a neighbour's house without them noticing; the family successfully pranked had to get rid of it in the same way (wiki).
Objects made out of straw or roughly-hewn wood could also be called the Yule goat, and in older Scandinavian society a popular Christmas prank was to place this Yule goat in a neighbour's house without them noticing; the family successfully pranked had to get rid of it in the same way (wiki).
crafty bits
Or you could use fabric paint in those little squirty bottles you can write with... or Sharpie markers on lighter colors. Or paint markers on any color.
fancy handblown glass, stupid cheap
Get some glass ornaments. Plastic might do in a pinch. Acrylic paint. Craft paint works, so does the more translucent (less opaque) artist's acrylics. Or ModPodge mixed with anything from food color (stained glass effects) to watercolor or acrylics.
Dribble inside glass ornaments. Rotate and revolve (refer to your 4th grade science knowledge) ball so paint covers inside.
You probably should have washed the darn things inside first, because now you're getting "windows" where the paint won't stick. Converse like a mariner and add more paint.
You can dry them upside down so the excess runs out (preferably into a cup of some sort). If windows appear, add more paint. Acrylic dries fast, but these took daaaaaays to really dry.
Try it with ModPodge mixed with glitter...
Or hang it up and make some Minions... http://zibbet-production.s3.amazonaws.com/images/883/4417272-original.jpg
Dribble inside glass ornaments. Rotate and revolve (refer to your 4th grade science knowledge) ball so paint covers inside.
You probably should have washed the darn things inside first, because now you're getting "windows" where the paint won't stick. Converse like a mariner and add more paint.
You can dry them upside down so the excess runs out (preferably into a cup of some sort). If windows appear, add more paint. Acrylic dries fast, but these took daaaaaays to really dry.
Try it with ModPodge mixed with glitter...
Or hang it up and make some Minions... http://zibbet-production.s3.amazonaws.com/images/883/4417272-original.jpg
