Heat calls for....

 Creativity

Last night the temperature outside was 80 until it cooled off to 77.  The dewpoint was 75. 

Yeah...that makes for a wicked thick air and major discomfort. However, we have that wonderful little minisplit that cools the downstairs and keeps us cool.

The breezes outside are pretty strong and the heat will intensify this weekend. Enough so there are extreme heat warnings out for the next few days. Then? The storms and rain will move in for a few days.

Welcome Summer!

Update on my Respite Day and new decisions and schedule. I made the most of my time on Friday. I filled Shay in on the doings for the day. She offered to make stuff for supper while I was 'gadding' about.

I showed her a huge pail of fresh strawberries I'd picked for Olive. I hadn't had time to hull them and chop them up. I asked if she'd mind hulling them. She said she'd be happy to.

Then I asked her to take half of them home to enjoy with her son. Her eyebrows shot up and she smiled. Ding Ding! It is always pleasant to share isn't it? It cost me nothing but time to pick them and I was so happy to share.

Boring, but I went shopping for the items I needed for cold salads for this weekend and a couple of other things. I brought a cooler with ice packs so put perishables in. 
I met up with my CF girlfriends at the Viroqua Food Co-op for some coffee, conversations, and laughter. We caught up in each others' grand kids, and weekly doings. 

I can't think of a better way to spend some Respite time [in the heat!] We chatted about Julie's cancer trial and how she was feeling. We are there for each other. They updated me about goings on at the gym and the progress they were making. And of course what was going on in their own lives. 
We mostly discuss grandkids which is everyone's favorite topics.

So where does the Creativity fit in? Well, hot days may push me indoors for the afternoon.

So I need to do something.

Remember the Jason Christoble Candle Holder/Sculptures I got? Well, some were chipped and damaged. 

Yesterday afternoon I got the brilliant idea of 'fixing' them and modifying them. The chipped and broken ones wouldn't really be worth any money anyway. They are not in good condition.

I mixed up some acrylic hobby paint and touched up the places where someone had slapped some white clay on the sculpture. It looked nice, but I decided to go a bit further.

I added a micro resin butterfly to his nose and added some moss to his broken bits.

I think I may just give him a mossy 'do' and add a few more butterflies.  

This one had a frog that had broken off. I used some super glue to put it back together. However parts of the frog were missing and it just didn't look nice. 

Solution? Add moss around the froggy!

I also had a tiny bluebird that had come from Aurora in a gift she'd sent. It had fallen off the stick, so I thought this Entish tree would love more company. 

I painted over her chips and nicks and stopped there. I think my grand daughter would love this piece for her bookshelf of fantasy books. I'll have to send her a nice photo of this and see what she thinks.

I've collected some very odd roots and pieces of wood over the years and never knew what I'd like to do with them. 

Until now. This weekend seems like a good time to stay cool and create something interesting with the pieces of wood. Who knows? My Lego folks and dragons may really love them!

At least I have a plan for the hot weather. Suppers are made, house is clean and it feels like a day off in a way....

Let the creativity begin!

The Glaciator Shoot

Go ahead and skip this if
you aren't into toy Photography!

I was determined to really work on getting a MOC [My Own Creation] set up with this challenging Lego Character I found. He is from a set created in 2009-2010. Some of the minifigs that came with this set are now 'worth' around $40 to $50 because they are not made any more. Interesting? Right? For a TOY??? 

Anyway, after all my morning chores were done and along with a walk in the woods with Charlie, I spent the hot afternoon on Saturday trying to finally work on getting the lighting for the set and shooting the minifigure to my satisfaction.

Okay, it may be a stupid and frivolous sort of thing to do for a person of my [ahem] age. But it really engages my mind and imagination.

The layout and lighting were pretty much the same as last time. I added an LED flashlight to position on Glaciator's face and gave him his red dynamite to hold.

I set the face mister on its side and turned it on. It took about 20 shots to find the right 'mist' effect.

I turned him slightly and moved him. I found a nice bright white balloon light and pushed it up to his bum. If I'd had a clear Lego Plate, I would have lit him up from underneath. I wanted the light to shine through his clear bits and yet see his face too.

The face mister was set behind him to mist into glow of the lights from behind the transparent wall.

I had to brighten his eyes in post otherwise they really don't show up at all.

Then I had the bright idea of doing a real close up of him and spray him with the mister and some water. He and the set were wet anyway from previous shots.

He looks rather menacing here with his mouth open. The first shot was taken with a very shallow depth of field and the light did not appear in his mouth.

This shot below was done with a more depth, and no flashlight on his face.

This allowed the glow in his mouth to show up. What a difference DOF and lighting makes!

I can't decide which looks better as I like them both for different reasons.

I would have liked to have 'shot' him with dynamite in both hands, but I only have one bundle of dynamite and I kept everything in the same tone of color except for his eyes.

His body is more a a grey color when seen in regular light and his red eyes are not so obvious.

This was done for my own entertainment. I'm keeping this MOC and am going to change it up slightly. It is an interesting way to play with light and I keep imagining different ways to use it.

How would a mirror reflect the light and mist? Would a different color produce a different atmospheric feeling?

And so forth.

With Saturday's temperatures so hot and humid, it was a pleasure to work inside with tiny lights and toys.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.