Remember the Soup Nazi? Today's Landmark Painting Challenge: Wilson's Restaurant in Findlay, OH

Wilson's Sandwich Shop in Findlay, Ohio
Photo reference credit: Andrew Thomas Lee


  Well, today's painting challenge was to paint a local landmark, and I chose to paint Wilson's Hamburger Shop in my hometown of Findlay, Ohio.  My family came here a lot when I was a kid.  It was here before McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's, and popping in for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie is still a daily routine for many people here in Findlay.
What does this have to do with the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld?  Read on....

As a kid, we used to go sit down with Mom to 'hold the table' while my Dad went up to order.  I always got a 'special', which is a burger with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and a malt or a 'frosted'.  It seemed like forever passed by while we waited for our food, and we would impatiently jump out of our seats at the table and go for a spin on one of these stools until we were dizzy.  Wilson's was always loaded with old people, and there weren't many kids around.

It wasn't until I was older that I realized that Dad didn't want us at the counter for a good reason.  The staff wasn't so patient with kids, especially the 'stool spinning' sort, and you had to order correctly to make them smile.  There is a certain way to do it, and you don't dare 'stray from the way'.  Ha!  So here is entertainment at it's best, a blog post with video!  You can check out the true scoop on Wilson's in Findlay by clicking this short video  link (starring my sister-in-law Angela), and then take a look at some of the Soup Nazi scenes, have a laugh and decide for yourself!

What about Wilson's? 
Seinfeld's Soup Nazi Scenes

 By the way, if you'd like to buy my painting of Wilson's Hamburger Shop, you can bid on it this week on Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks, bidding starts at $15!  

Experimental Class... Want to Peek?

Wow!  The experimental fused glass powder drawing class was a success! 


VIEW THE SLIDESHOW OF THE CLASS HERE


As you may already know, the class was a tester to find out if I could offer this as a workshop in the future. There were four 'guinea pigs', each with different levels of art experience.  Three of the students had no experience in glass, one claimed not to be able to draw, one is a successful painter, another- a computer guy who likes metalsmithing and lapidary work, and finally, a girl who attends my church that wanted to learn the process.


Day one was spent on demos and fun little games of experimentation with different 'tools', and set up some right-brain thinking.  We discussed layout and composition, practiced cutting glass, and chose photos to work from. At first, everyone seemed a bit unsure of their ability to do this and they were pretty sure they would be 'bad' at doing the drawings.  However, by the end of the day everyone had started on their drawings and we were well on our way...but...


Something was bothering me.  My 'non-drawing guinea' seemed frustrated. The piece I started as a demo was a river scene of Venice, and it involved a lot of architectural details.  I think it was too deep too fast. SO...


Day two I cleaned off the work table and took away all of the pieces from day one, and everyone was a bit surprised and unsettled when came back and saw their things missing.  HA!


We started Day Two in a way that I should have started Day One.  I took away all of the tools and we spent about half an hour working to music using only our fingers in the glass powder on a large piece of glass.  We ditched our chairs and got into 'performance mode'.  Everyone seemed to loosen up, and we rotated pieces so we all worked without worrying about things being perfect.  To be quite honest, some of the quick pieces we did during these exercises really would have been great to fire and keep!  I do think that working in a non-committed way helps to take away the fear of making mistakes, and opens up a new version of creativity in each of us.  


We worked on some smaller tester pieces, which we put in the small kiln and watched during the firing to see what results different tools gave.  I was curious to know which tools my guineas liked the best... a small feather, a piece of aluminum grate, silicone tipped painting tools, and card stock.  Cardstock is my favorite too.  


As of today, the kiln is loaded and waiting for the passing thunderstorm to go away so I can start the big firing!  I will post pics of the finished works and student comments in the next blog later this week, but for now, enjoy the slideshow of the class :)

Standing Naked

I did my first real art show in 1998, in my hometown of Findlay, Ohio.  Terrified, I sat in the back of my booth waiting impatiently for someone to walk in and look through the things I had made.  I remember the feeling was like being on the verge of having a heart attack.  What if they look and say nothing? What if they don't like my work?  I don't know what to say....I can't even look them in the eye.


The things I make really matter to me.  The stress of putting these things I made with my hands and my heart before the eyes of the public was hard.  Even harder was to stand there and worry about how they would be received. I truly felt as if I were standing naked before the world, waiting for them to pick out my fears, my faults, my imperfections....  


That show ended well, in spite of the fact that an unexpected storm picked up my tent and blew it a good block and a half down the street.  Wet assembly directions in hand, I left the show with pieces of a tent I took apart upside down, but with a smile in my heart.  


I have been successful at 'being an artist', but now I am once again 'standing naked'.  Never did I think I would write a blog or have a website to sell from, I love meeting the people who buy my art in person.  I am hoping that I can connect now in a different way, one that would allow me to spend more time MAKING art and less time in a hot tent.... Also, I think it's time to share what I have learned a bit.  :)