Joan Vorderbruggen's Super Hero Cape Escapades!!

Saturday afternoon's open studio BBQ event was a big hit with all of the artists who came over to make Superhero Capes for the Transparent Spirit Elevation Chamber that will launch on June 10th at Northern Spark!

When Joan heard that we needed a team identity for the night of Northern Spark so visitors can easily see who is on our team, it took all of half a second for her to own it... The Super Hero Cape project was about to begin!!

I could not be more thankful for her vision and generosity in bring us all together for what turned out to be the best event ever on any planet in the known Universe!! Cheers to everyone near and far who came and made Superhero capes, and to those of you who cheered us on from afar. I was hoping for 4 to 6... but of coarse you all brought it home with 11 amazingly beautiful works of art!

Drumroll Please !! Here they are !!!!!

A New Adventure Every Day...

Sometimes I don't even recognize where I am anymore... The space I have to work in is small in comparison to what I have to produce. Yet it is a familiar space to occupy. Creative problem solving. That is the bottom line. No is never the answer. Just a matter of the next move. For sure there is the challenge of finding things when everything moves around so fast. The grace of spilling out onto the sidewalk and backyard have been challenged by relentless rain. Each day begins with a routine of moving stuff out of the way so more stuff can take it's place. Tonight, the challenge is patience while the paint dries on Bluebird wings... Dang, I wish I had a magic wand!

 The trees are undergoing a restoration from cardboard to 1/4" plywood. It has to happen. Anything less falls into the category of fantasy. They simply could not hold up if Rain decided to be a partner for our Northern Spark experience!

Let there be light !!

The Transparent Spirit Elevation Chamber is coming to Broadway!!

When you get to 4th street and Broadway in Lowertown On June 10th... at the end of the Greenline, look up and you will see lights! Colorful, beautiful fun lights! Then you will know you have arrived!!

Here are a couple of in progress production images to give you a clue of what you will see :-) Can't wait to get it all together for a test run in the night!

 These beautiful rain safe lightbulb water protectors will glow in the night perched on the top edge of the nature simulation chamber on this seven foot long light strip designed to enhance your Northern Spark Experience!

*******************    Come One Come All!!    *********************

2:15 am Studio Report.

Totally figuring it all out like MacGyver.

Let it Rain!!

Construction, Seafoam Green base coats, and now the first test of the waterfall feature checked off my list!! This was both a very exciting moment and a time to figure out the mechanics of the water flow. At first I was a little worried because one of the pumps was not performing well. The 5 foot water flow was only reaching 2 feet! I thought I was going to have to invest a lot more money to get what I was looking for, then I tried the second pump and it worked great! The first one can be replaced, and I can add two more rows for the water to fall out of, which will really fill in the raincloud element and intensify the sound of falling water. Here is a preview... The next time you see it, there will be a video complete with sound!

Check out the Fun!!

The Bubble Machine has arrived and it is so much fun!! Way better than I imagined. What a great toy to add to the mix. Check it out here... then come to Lowertown in St. Paul the night of Northern Spark and catch a bubble while you wait in a fun filled line for the Transparent Spirit Elevation Chamber!!

Sun up to Sundown

 All in a days work.

The day started out so sunny and quiet. Just a few birds with the sound of the breeze in the trees and me transferring my plants to new containers so they could be put outside for the summer. Just as I finished, a light rain came through so I moved inside and decided this probably wasn't going to be the best day to paint.

shifting gears, I made a quick construction plan for the Transparent
Spirit Elevation room, set up a pop up
workshop and got busy. My favorite thing about the new studio by far are the days the doors and windows can be open! When it's not raining I can spill out onto the sidewalk, back patio and driveway.

Today was a mix, sometimes sunny, sometimes rain. The break in the rain seemed to come at the perfect moment when I needed a little extra space to layout the largest panel and screw it together. My studio assistant & I worked together to square the panels, hold everything in place and secure the supports right up until it got dark. Not bad for a partly cloudy, sometimes rainy day!

Lights, Cameras, Action!

The thing about creating an outdoor installation is that you are at the mercy of Mother Nature! The fact that it is dark at night is one thing... but what if it rains?? When it comes to Northern Spark, the show will go on! That led me to my latest creation. The Bell Jar light water protector! I have designed a row of 8 lights to run across the top of my installation using canning jars left over from a previous work of art. This is one way I solve the problem of never having enough space to store old work, by taking it apart and repurposing the materials. In fact, I can think of at least 4 components of this project using my in house recycling technique! Keeps the budget down, saves time and lowers the stress of consumer demands on our environment. Plus... it's kind of fun being like MacGyver!

Studio update

Between all of the shopping and planning I managed to start a Bluebird factory! These are the highlight of the Spirit Elevation Chamber. ~ After all, what is more fun than spotting a bluebird passing by... in the middle of the night when you are chillin' in a Nature Simulation Chamber at Northern Spark!