The Dragon's Blog

Devious Journal Entry

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:58:19 GMT

A simple little owl I made for my mum's birthday. Seems like owls are popular, well I knew that, but I rarely had so many comments as on this piece.
*making a mental note: make more owls and also more leaves*

Barn Owl brooch by *dragonladych on deviantART

Happy Solstice!

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:19:59 GMT

Traditionally the last illustration of the year serves me as a greeting card. And since the year, in my world, ends today... I simply find it astronomically logical and I prefer to celebrate today.

Happy Holidays, whatever it is you celebrate!

The Theater of Death conquered London

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:28:06 GMT

The now traditional photo, after show again (and after getting a bit dry it was so hot in this hall)

Listening to the show while I type since you could get it on a USB key. Turns out it was the wrong show initially but I should have the right one now after downloading it all again. If you want to you can also buy the concerts at concert-online.com (no I am not payed to say this) Started to write this in the hotel and the rest of this review was done in airports and trains. Some editing later and here you are, as always my review of the week end's adventures ..

Not the best trip ever but it was ok. My initial flight was cancelled but I was early enough to change for a flight 30 min later than my first one. Only trouble is that this one was flying to Luton instead of Gatwick, so that put me back a good hour. Then the trains were delayed, and I had no time left to go to my hotel first as I had planned. Nevertheless going there directly I wasn't too late for my meeting with my local friends. And I even got some work done since I managed to get my drawing of Robert Plant in the right hands for the next "episode" in my charity endeavours. More on this when it is all ready.

One last thing went a bit wrong but nothing too bad. The heating at my hotel was going on full blast, So much so that I actually burned my finger on it. But once I got staff to block the defective valve it got much better.

All I can say is that is was really worth the long waiting. Couting the hours of travelling, I've spent about 20 hours either sitting in trains, planes or waiting, thank goodness for laptops, I could at least work a little bit. As for the actual queueing, well, I only stood in line for 4+ hours (5 minus a pub break), not so much compared to my friends, I owe you big time everyone! It's so different from what I am used to, I always just show up about 2 hours in advance and more or less am assured of a good place. But it's lonely and boring. This time I met old friends and saw many new ones, it was great fun, and the hours went by real fast.

It was chaos once the doors opened. The Apollo people are not very well organised to say the least and they don't seem to be aware of what this sort of crowd implies security wise. Basically there were no fences to canalise people and all the queueing nearly was for nothing. Eventually we more or less got there together. I am so glad I got to the front, especially since the people who had skipped the queue and "stole" some of our spots were right behind me. They did attempt to push us off the barrier at the front, maybe they hoped we would give up, but no way was that going to happen, after some shouting at them to stop they eventually did. I didn't like the nasty remark I heard behind me "enjoy the show then" and I snapped back "well we kind of deserve it we actually queued out there, unlike some". Sure this is all a lottery, but it wouldn't hurt to use some fair play, well there will always be some people who have no respect for others but I have no patience for them.

After a concert my mind feels so blank. I don't even know if the memories will flow back later on. But there is one moment of that show that I will never forget, it is etched in my mind with all my other great concert memories. I adore the song "Dirty Diamonds" and the moment when Alice gives away necklaces. I love nothing more than to play along and plead and beg. Alice (the character) loves to tease the ones who most want the treat but he relishes in never giving them what they want. It was the usual cat and mouse game. He was looking at me and teasing me. I could see the question in his eyes: "You want it? Come and get it", holding the necklace so close to my outstretched hands, then drawing back with a snarl and an expression of disdain and throwing the thing far away into the crowd behind me. Then giving me this look of "Aw too bad ... I changed my mind". I answered back with a look saying "Oh! Not fair!" pouting and pleading more, hands joined and mouthing "Pretty please?" And he did the whole routine all over again! I can't even remember anything else, I don't know if there was a camera nearby that might have caught this on film. Wait and see I suppose.

OK that was the fangirl part, on to the rest of the show. The Apollo is really a cool little theater, a bit decrepit but that's perfect. So charged with history it kind of seeps through every pore of the wooden decorations. I never take my camera to such important shows, I know I will never even think about getting it out. But I wish I had some pictures of the ceiling there. They have these weird grids decorating the ceiling high above but really falling to pieces. A perfect setting for my usual companions, the creatures with glowing eyes, the rats, the snakes and the dragons, and of course the fairies.

The rats helped me through the opening act, sorry but I simply cannot appreciate any opening act, I am too busy keeping my energy and feeling nervous and impatient. But the rats doing their dance were too funny, they help me into the mindset that I need to be in when I see Alice. Kindling my imagination from glowing coals to bright fire. I also have my character that I need to slip in before a show.

The show is really brilliant. Too bad that the crowd was so rowdy, which was to be expected here I suppose. It was hard to move at times, not exactly what you want when you are trying to be enthusiastic and the crew filming the dvd probably wants people to be active too, not look like a can of sardines? We managed I suppose. I can't detail all the show you can find quite a lot of it on YouTube by now. There are so many props and little scenes that it's hard to follow all.

Alice's costumes are so fabulous, I always love them, but this is so decadent and crazy. Made me wish I could have raided the reserves at work and dismantled a few of the stuffed animals. Not sure it would come good with my boss though. That "crocodile" outfit is hilarious and so elegant still, some voodoo elements, red velvet with bones sewn on and the "flattened" crocodile in the back is a great idea (a full croc skin constitutes the back of this coat). The red straight jacket is a humorous touch as is the idea of having Alice steal the nurses outfit, complete with wig, just before singing "I Never Cry" while standing on the gallows with his neck through the noose. I was wondering how I'd like that as this is one of my favourite songs and I wondered if this fun stuff would "ruin" the emotional side of the song. I don't think it did, I really loved the idea and the imagery is very striking. It all rather confusing when the "nurse" suddenly kicks the bucket Alice is standing on hanging him in mid song. Effective!

The cracked mirror suit for "School's Out" is wonderfull. And I kind of see a reference to another Alice (in Wonderland) there, especially since the song is actually used as "bookends". The show starts with a short version of "School's Out" and ends with the full version as if rewinding and going back to either the real world or maybe to start over again? I wish!

And what about the band? Same as always, I barely find time to watch them, my eyes are glued onto to Alice all the time, except when he is really on the other end of the stage or when he goes to change. I love how Chuck is alway smiling his predatory smile, he looks like he's having great fun every single night, Damon is as handsome as ever, it took me a while (as in several years) to notice he has really beautiful eyes, sorry about that! Keri is ever so good, I would love to see him do a showcase like the one I just attended last week, I would like to listen to him more closely. Jimmy is half hidden behind the decorum, but man does he sound great! Stunning drummer really.

I like this idea of recording the shows and selling them. When you are in the front row you are way too taken by the show and not in the best possible place to hear the sound properly, everyone is singing along and/or screaming the lyrics from the top of their lungs (I often only sing them in my head and mouth them so I can still hear the real thing). So it's great to be able to go back to the recording and listen more closely. One thing that's really striking is how good the whole show is without any editing or overdubs, it's raw but it's amazingly good.

A few highlights, my favourite songs from this setlist:

I love the album "From The Inside", and especially the song "Nurse Rosetta". I had never heard it live before it's really impressive, and very funny.

"Dwight Fry" one of my all time favourite Coop songs. Some lyrics are different, some on purpose, others I am not sure: like "I think I need some rest here (?)" instead of "I think I lost some weight there". And "in a straight red vest" instead of white of course.

The setlist is fabulous! So many of my favourite songs are on it. "Nurse Rosetta, Dwight Fry, Be My Lover, Vengeance is Mine, Dirty Diamonds,

I was so impatient to see the routine for "Vengeance", there's this big tower with a staircase being pushed on stage and Alice is standing on top of it in a "spider" coat, when he moves his arms all legs of the spider move along, simple but clever. I love this song and the setting gave it even more power, the character of "Spider" is really at the top of his insanity and dreams up some of the weirdest ideas.

Collection wise I can't complain, I have a piece of lime green balloon and one dollar bill from the sword, caught in mid-air again. And of course the wonderful, wonderfull memory of Alice teasing me for all these long seconds :) I'll be cherishing that until my dying day!

Faun

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:51:06 GMT

On the day that magic died
Did the fairies all explode in a puff of golden dust?
Did the fauns dream a dream of wood and leaves and bark?
Did the goblins think thoughts of stone?
On the day that magic died

Original size 70 x 50 cm

Started as one my my "dreamscapes", just scribbling until something started to appear, then refined that. And the whole time I had this little "poem" going through my mind.

A nightmare to photograph, especially since it's a cloudy day. I hope to take a better photo one day. This is actually a "patchwork" of several photos.

More ideas for gifts!

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:27:53 GMT

I have now added gift certificates to my Esty shop. You can of course ask me for any other amount.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/dragonladych

With all the fuss I made recently about seeing Tom Jones in concert and how I felt sorry that I will never see his "old" band? I still had the time of my life as you could read here, but I am still sorry about this "last minute" change, it had all been part of my daydreaming for so many years.
Anyway what is done is done. I hope I will see these guys one day in whatever band.
What I can also do is plug them when I can. So if you live in the States and like great homemade candy, you might want to check out Herman Matthew's page : http://www.hermanmatthews.com/journal.php. Herman was the drummer in Tom's band for many years.
If you do buy some of his peanut brittle do let me know how it was. I can't have any since he only ship is the US (for now) and I can't eat peanuts anyway.

Shop updated!

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:56:49 GMT

I spent the afternoon updating my Etsy shop. You can now find most of the pieces I showed you in the past weeks.

I will also be offering gift certificates. You can either buy them at the shop, or email me for one. (dr4gonlady at hotmail dot com)

I am also trying to get my book projects to move, these things can easily take years so I am taking one step after the other. And I have various illustrations in the works.

Some jewelery

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:38:58 GMT

Edited to change the photo.

This was an experiment too, I made a mould using a pebble and Fimo for the model. Then you "paint" the interior with silver clay paste, in as many layers as you need to have a certain thickness, kind of like an empty egg shell but thicker? Then fire it. I found it needed some colour too so I added some cold enamel.

Mulling

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:19:56 GMT

I got an answer from the Facebook team. Telling me to give them my real name or forget about my page altogether. Silly me I should have given a fake name just to see what happens ;) yes I can be that "bad" when I am upset about something.

I am upset because one of my friends wrote the team about something a lot more serious than just loosing a page, and he still hasn't got any news.

That's exactly what I feared, they are so busy tracking down innocent people for the horrible crime of having an unusal nickname, that they are leaving some really criminal people do what they like.

My pride is hurt too (ouch)! They specify that anything that isn't a variation of your given name is a fake name!! So, I have been called Dragonlady by friends for 20 years, have published articles in mythology and lore magazines, am to be found all over the web under that name, given talks and generally am considered as a Dragon expert, just to be called fake? I resent that! :)

But the real point is what I said above. And don't we all teach our children no to talk to strangers? When you are in the train and chat with someone will you immediately give them your name and address? Didn't think so.

So I am afraid that once this is solved one way or the other, I will delete my old page, and use my new page only to lurk. I will have to refrain from commenting on people's pages since that makes you "visible". Or maybe I will just leave FB. But I enjoyed following musicians I like and seeing their everday side aside from all the crap you find in newpapers. And chatting with interesting people, journalists and writers etc. I am really sad about all this but what can I do?

Tiger

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:23:54 GMT

Tiger
Originally uploaded by Mats&Muffi.

Another of these moments where I am in love with this cat! He's soooo cute!
Love you Tiger.

A bit of fun

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:25:05 GMT

OK ursulav has us used to the cuteness in her drawings but this is beyond cute! So adorable!
I wish I could buy the original of this.

Quail and Quagga by `ursulav on deviantART

Number 4

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:50:01 GMT

Back to our regular schedule then

Apparently LJ isn't happy about inserting blank spaces today, so I'll have to fill this in to avoid the clutter of images ;)

I could tell you about the weird dreams I had last night, but most of them are unrecountable for various reasons, they just don't make much sense. They were pretty cool nonetheless.

Click to zoom in

Size: total length 5cm; width: 3,5 cm. Brass and silver.

Still in the blue

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:41:07 GMT

I AM EDITING THIS ENTRY after doing some research on the web:

Been browsing a little. It looks like there is no way I will ever get my page back. I really don't know what to do now. I refuse to give my real name and location anywhere on the web, I know it is probably still easy to track me but I try not to leave too much information permanently. And anyway most people have no idea who I am if I am under my real name.
This is stupid if you know people through forums you rarely know their real names and you can't rememebr who is who...

I really want to keep in touch with people but I have no idea how. Even if I recreate a page under my name it will take me weeks if not months to "friends" everyone back since you are also not allowed to do that!

This is beyond ridiculous.

Among other things I found, good to know if you are on Facebook :

"If you follow their friendly suggestions, such as poke a friend, invite them to join your Mafia Mob, or respond to a “Friend Suggestion” that FACEBOOK sent you (based on your private activity and associations)…. They will terminate you with no recourse and/or explanation. Facebook shuts down accounts of users who are exhibiting ANY behavior it finds remotely suspicious. As paradoxical as it sounds, "suspicious" often means just using the site too much! Sometimes they warn people and give them the chance to change their behavior, and sometimes the account termination is sudden and permanent.. "

"I recently had my facebook account disabled and while I admit i was sending friend requests it was to people I have actually met over a number of years working in the entertainment industry."

"13 Reasons Your FaceBook Account Will Be Disabled By Thor Muller http://getsatisfaction.com/facebook/topics/13_reasons_your_facebook_account_will_be_disabled **Editors Note** (Make sure you visit the link above to read the full explanations and visitor commentary)"

1. You didn't use your real name
2. You joined too many groups
3. You posted too many messages on a wall or in a group
4. You posted in too many groups, too many user's walls
5. You friended too many people
6. Your school/organization affiliation is doubtful
7. You're poking too many people
8. For advertising your app on wall posts
9. Using duplicate text in multiple messages
10. You are a cow, dog, or library
11. You are under eighteen years old
12. You wrote offensive content
13. You scraped information off Facebook

http://www.blackwebportal.com/wire/DA.cfm?ArticleID=4223

Back to work now

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:41:10 GMT

If you have a minute, please take the time to answer the question I pose at the end of this post. Many thanks in advance.

I am still pissed about Facebook. While I usually accept a site's rules, I don't want to abide stupid rules, I have my reasons why I don't use my real name online and it shouldn't be a condition for joining a site. But I really need the networking.
Sure it is fun, and makes it easy to keep in touch with everyone. But I also need it for work. I've met many people there who could one day be interested in my services, I've met lots of fellow illustrators who gave me good feedback on my work. Etc...

And most of all I am pretty sure that this was the best place to promote my jewelery. I mean I have no idea how many people read this blog since LJ has no stat function. I look at my own behaviour and notice that while I browse all my friends post I don't have the time to read them all in detail.
On Facebook, I always read everyone's status updates daily and every other day I looked at their photos and links. It doesn't take long and I like to know who's doing what.

So the question is: I have this feeling that while people do read this blog, my facebook page was a better way to show my pieces? Also I have this feeling that those of you who bought something from me rather saw the pieces on facebook, more than here?

I mean I won't stop blogging, I love it and I also do it for myself, but no one can always read all of the journal entries. If the issue that led FB to disable my page was really that I didn't give my real name (that's just a wild guess since they never gave me a reason) I may have to create a private page and a "fan page" or commercial page as they call it too. Everyone who knows me from forums or deviantArt knows me under the nickname of Dragonlady (CH, stands for Switzerland) it would be silly to use my real name also for this reason.

But it could also have been a hacker. Now that would be annoying since I should then change my password on a lot of other accounts, I was using a pass that I use elsewhere too. :(

Anyway I'd be curious to have your feedback on this, if you can spare a minute. Cheers!

Tom Jones again, and again! ^^

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:19:02 GMT

OK, this one is really the last TJ review this year. No more reviews until er... next month when I see Alice Cooper again ;)

Funny how I had the same room as last year when I went to see Jools Holland, must be my lucky room (number 18). It's really just your basic room : a bed and no windows, but the point is not to stay in, so I headed to the venue at the time when doors were opening. I'd rather wait inside the venue anyway. This is a strange little festival, very exclusive and "posh". It is sponsored by a guy who makes cigars... can you imagine who must have been really happy about that? (Tom loves cigars) Not me in any case, cigar smoke can make me very sick, and I was a bit worried when half of the audience strode in sporting all kinds of cigars :(

Opening band was Tower of Power, but as the director of the festival said, this isn't really an opening act, this is a legendary band, they are just as big as Tom. They even worked together on occasions. I think they were a bit disspointed at first, for half of their set the audience was sitting. The singer asked us to get up and dance, but it took two attempts to get people to stand! I was motioning that I'd love to but certainly not if I was the only one! Thankfully by the end of the set there was a line of us dancing in the front. You know me I love to dance, I wasn't going to be told twice.

That was a nice "warm up", more like fiery hot, and apparently Tom liked that. The festival president introduced Tom by saying that he (Tom) had been watching us and couldn't wait to perform for such a motivated audience. According to the president, Tom even commented that it reminded him of Vegas! See? That's just what I thought too last year. It is similar in the set up. There are tables everywhere and it's a small venue (about 1'500- 2'000 at the most), at the front there is a zone of perhaps 5 meters where people can (and usually do) mass up at the begining of the concert, to dance.

And indeed, Tom had just done the first two songs and the photographers had gone and you had people getting up and walking to the stage already. I don't know how I could be that lucky but I walked right up to Tom and stood myself literally at his feet. I'm not always that cheeky, but this was such a big dream of mine! What an incredible feeling to be so close and watching him sing "Thunderball"! You are literally blown away by the sheer power!

My seat was a bit far away, but that rapidly changed ;) even this photo is already zoomed in

I was standing about where that speaker is, in front of Tom. There are no barriers there so I was sometimes resting my hands on the stage a mere meter from his feet at times!

Then it was time for the slower numbers. Believe me, to be there, so close, and watch Tom sing "Never" and "24 Hours" is something I will never forget! It shows from a distance too of course, how concentrated he is and how he puts all his feelings into every song, but that was just amazing! I always fight back tears during that song but there I just couldn't hold them back. Mesmerising isn't even close to what it felt like.

At some point the concert was interrupted by the president and a lady, they gave Tom a lifetime achievement award on behalf of the festival jury. Neat. I was watching the expression on the lady's face I have no idea how she managed to remember what she had to say while looking into Tom's eyes, she's a real pro, but you could see that she was clearly enjoying the view! Well, if you look at the photo of that moment (http://www.avo.ch/en/index.php), you can see that Tom seemed to enjoy it too LOL!

The "country" songs got a great response, even if it wasn't like in Cardiff where everyone sang along. But "Save The Last Dance For Me" felt even more like a party in a small pub. With the public gathered closely around the band. Of course the band also appreciated the fantastic crowd response, it was a pleasure to see them enjoying themselves!

Janet and Abbie, the fab backups singers! And Alexander on bass, you can also see half of Toby ;)
That new band makes me feel old, half of them are younger than me!

I don't know how I can even remember all of that, I was a bit in a trance! But at the same time it is sitll etched in my mind. I can't even be objective about the sound or other, but also I was too close to really know what the sound was like in the hall, I was almost leaning on the amplifier near the edge of the stage, but even with Tom's voice blasting out from that I could still hear all the other instruments well.

Well, what else to say. This is already really long, hope I didn't bore you ;) I can say that I am very happy with my (belated) "birthday gift". I had a blast! I got everything I could dream of : the Cardiff concerts with all my friends and all the excitement there, the amazing atmosphere and seeing Tom in his "hometown". The concert in Zurich that I shared with my mum, that was very special too.
And then this last concert with all the luck I had and the lasting image in my mind of Tom's smile.

Sketch!

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:32:20 GMT

Maybe I should post some art in between reviews or you'll think I am not working at all ;) I am but on projects I cannot yet show.

So here's a doodle:

Usually I post doodles and sketches on my facebook page so I don't clutter the blog too much. But someone thought it might be fun to "disable" my page out of the blue :( I doubt that is very legal but what can I do. Until they deign to answer my emails I am stuck with more "antique" means of networking :(

Tomorrow I am going to.... er I know it's getting boring. But I am going to see Tom Jones again! Hey it had been 14 years since I last saw him live! I don't even know how I could wait that long (well yes I do he never comes to Switzerland and I can't always follow everyone). It's going to be bitter sweet knowing it is the last time in a long time again. But I will have so many great memories to add to all the others!

Tom Jones again!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:33:32 GMT

Here is my review of last Tuesday in Zurich. I had to come down the cloud a little and edit this properly, before posting it on the web.

On Tuesday my mum and I, set off for Zurich in the afternoon, it's approximatively 2 hours by train. Nice ride especially at this season when all the trees are on fire with golden and red colours. On my way there I already had "Sugar Daddy" – the opening song of the current set list – playing in my head. Apparently my mind was already there!

We were maybe among the 15 first people to arrive in the hall, after all why not wait inside and already get a feeling of the place? We had a nice chat, and Nathalie and I gave my mum a few hints of what was to come. I am happy to say that my mum seems to have enjoyed herself, she is not a regular concert goer and the sounds are often too loud for her, but I lent her a pair of the special earplugs I always wear and she discovered a new world. We told her to look out for Tom in the back as the band played the intro to "Sugar Daddy".

The first songs were, as it does, warming the crowd up and getting the moods up, and then a first climax with "Delilah". Certainly not the same kind of response this got in Cardiff, but I doubt that such a thing would happen anywhere else. When the whole hall stood up and danced! Even so, some people were standing, some just waving. I tried not to fly away already. Not only do I love the song, but it was my grandmother's big, big favourite, I remember the immense joy she had when she got to see this live with me, and I think of her very much while the song plays, I have to make up for her absence then. She's been gone for three years now.

After "Delilah", Tom started the usual chat but then ad-libbed into something that had me howling with laughter. He mentioned how this song was a big hit and how it had also been done by Peter Alexander, "in German!" (if you are a fan, you can just hear Tom's voice saying this, can't you?). I am a HUGE Peter Alexander fan. All of my childhood I drove my parents nuts wanting to watch his movies (they are very cheesy musicals, but I adore that!). It was too funny to heat Tom reminisce of the "competition". Then he concluded saying that while Peter is now retired, Tom is far from doing that! Mind you Peter is quite a bit older.

After "I'm Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" Tom sometimes mentions he first sang this at 26, then goes on to say it's quite different to sing it at 46, etc? He went up to 66.... and concluded "Well I am 69 now that's an easy number for me to remember..." and after a pause "...that was a joke in case you didn't get it".
Oh boy, my ribs are still hurting from that one. It's really the way he delivers these, priceless. Naughty Tom!

I must say that Tom was in super vocal shape last night! He floored us more than once with perfect notes. Had to pick my jaw up on the floor a few times. We had good seats, near the middle on the 8th row, and the sound was crystal clear there. At times Tom's voice just lifted you up and made magic.

There were a few cock ups here and there. Like Tom "arriving" too soon on the vocals on "Burning Down The House". They have changed things around and it's now Janet who sings this song with Tom, it works even better like that, there is a nice chemistry between them.

There were other occasions where Tom was laughing so hard he could not sing some words, I wonder what the inside joke was there? Also when dancing back and forth during "Pussycat" Pete kind of pretends to be in the way – "you shall not pass"* – and there is a funny little "collision" Tom seemed to find this very funny too.

During "She's a Lady", as it often happens, some people started to stand up and dance in the aisles and move up to the stage. I looked at Natou on my right and my mum on my left, but none was too keen. You know me, I simply couldn't resist and ran up to the barrier. I had about the same spot as in Cardiff, on the left hand side of the stage. And lots of space to dance. The last part of the set list is irresistible, and many joined the party, once again all generations mingled, what a wonderful thing this is!

The joint reverence at the end didn't seem to end, everyone seemed keen to stay on more, but they had to go. Then Gary looked around to throw his drumsticks in the crowd and flung one my way, that was neat! I usually only get "goodies" at Alice Cooper concerts, ha, ha!

Wow, I wonder if this feeling of happiness will last until Sunday, I am more than over the moon, I am all the way up on Jupiter! All ready for the last concert, then I am in for a major withdrawal time.

* sorry, a little "Lord of the Rings" reference

Belated Halloween wishes

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:07:32 GMT

Hope you all had fun celebrating. I meant to post yesterday, then got a bit busy. And on the afternoon I went, to celebrate with crazylouiiiise and supertantine was fun.

We had pumpkin soup with ham, and a bright green vanilla custard, yummmy! I brought some cookies and truffles:

Today, I tried to catch up on work, been sawing and filing brass again, and skteching stuff for a book project.

Silly computer!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:59:41 GMT

I've been making some more of the Steampunk pieces. And also working on the flyers and the website to present these: http://dragonladych.designbinder.com/

It's really cool that deviantArt now offers a tool to make these little websites. It's so easy to use and looks really good.

But I had some troubles. My computer crashed midway through my designing work. And I seem to have mislaid (probably thrown away by mistake?) the original handwritten pieces for Myron's journal :(
Never mind, I've improvised with what I had and I think it looks ok.

I love how the reflection of "Nb 2" in the sun look like it has some kind of magical purpose, this is perfect for my little concept.

Too bad I am too late for Halloween this year. But I was thinking about new things to add to my outfit when I go see Alice Cooper. His new stage clothes are sporting all sorts of taxidermy pieces, I love that. I could raid the "Compactus" at work, but I don't think my boss would like that, so I resorted to other ideas:

I made a model of a rat paw in Fimo, and cast it in silicone. Then I made a mold of it in PMC, and there you go, a little silver rat paw charm...

Next week (in exactly a week in fact) I will go to Zurich to see Tom Jones again! But you know it's all about work in the end... yeah right... I discovered there is a big supplies shop in Zurich that sells PMC and lots of material I need. I have a big shopping list for the day after the concert!

New avatar!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:23:26 GMT

Look I finally made a new avatar! I would like to catch all of Hadès' expressions, that would make a great mood theme. But this will have to do for now.

I also made this for Hadès' owner, my friend crazylouiiiise

Hope you like it! Of course you can also use the one that I used for this post!

Didn't do much today. That is I couldn't stay inside with the nice sunny day we had. 13°C just perfect for a long walk. I saw all sorts of birds. And took this (blurry) photo of a wren:

Weird dream

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:55:00 GMT

I've been trying to recall a dream I had last night.

Some sort of God's war, with one lesser God wanting to discredit another higher one by imposing a test on him. And it was obvious from the beginning that the first God would do all he could to sabotage the contest.
The higher God (the one who had to do the contest) had to do a kind of marathon, by travelling through the 4th dimension, reaching various destinations in a given time. If that wouldn't be my usual state of mind I'd have worried if I was running a fever, it was very odd even for me. A feeling of flying through matter and in space (literally, there was some bouncing off planets too). Seing the world as a mesh, like you get in 3D drawing programs, while travelling. It all looked very technical
A sort of pirate tribe had been hired by the lesser God to help the "sabotage", but of course once offered a better reward by the higher God they turned coat.

Later I also dreamt I was visiting crazylouiiiise but she was living in a cabin in the forest (I bet she'd love that?)

No wonder I overslept, I think my brain needed that. But it was hard to concentrate on anything trivial today, like shopping. I still managed to buy two new pairs of trousers, which was urgent since I lost all that weight. And I bought some supplies to pack my jewelery when I have to ship it throught the post.

Finished image

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:47:53 GMT

There you go. Finished it yesterday evening.

Funny how when I draw cute little mousies, everyone goes awww. ... And I get tons of feedback. But when I do something more personal, even not as dark as that... not one comment so far. Not really that surprising.

Maybe it's too scary? I wanted to do something for this month's theme on john-howe.com. But the "classical" take on "Angels and Demons" didn't inspire me much. So I went for something more unorthodox. Thinking about it I should have taken a reference for the face, just another "cooperish" thing will bore people maybe. But when I do that sort of illustration I don't stop much to think so I went with whatever my mind had... well in mind ;)

Edited to add my logo. Sorry but stuff tends to navigate on it's own accord sometimes ;)

Oh and if you right click and choose "show image" you'll see a bigger version of it!

Dragon attack

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:30:05 GMT

Not really. But I was a "bit" angry yesterday evening. Just angry at myself for not going ahead as I wanted and accepting to help out at work for the week end when I have tons of work to catch up with.

So I took my pen to paper in the most litteral way, the paper barely survived, and I emptied about two Bics. I have to re work a part of the drawing but I think I like it. I still have ink spots on my hands despite a thorough scrubbing, that was really a battle!

Here's a small detail to show the deep grooves, that paper is very good. It felt a bit like etching or something.

Off to work then. And tonight I might be able to finish that drawing.

Tom Jones!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:22:47 GMT

Finally! I have no idea why I never did this before! I saw Tom Jones in Cardiff! My voice is all hoarse now from all the cheering and the hours of chatting with friends, I am not used to talking that much!

To me, Wales is a special place for many reasons. I often say that Switzerland is the land of my roots, and they are deeply set. But England is my second home, Scotland is the land of my dreams (as in, I wouldn't live there but I love to dream about it) and Wales is where my heart lies.

So when Tom said “It's good to be home!", and the crowd roared in answer I teared up because I feel the same when I go back to Wales. And when he talked about his Dragon ring I cheered too. Paraphrasing he said “I am wearing my Dragon Ring tonight. I wear it most of the time but I sometimes change the rings I wear. But I had to make sure I was wearing the Dragon tonight"

Can you see the ring there?

And I had to do the same, I took my silver Dragon brooch, that I made a couple of years ago. I would love to give it to Tom one day but meanwhile I got very attached to the little bugger, I am not sure I would give him away now. Anyway it's not for nothing people call me Dragonlady. Dragons are my life, and Wales has got more Dragon legends to the kilometer than most countries. Their flag is based on the myth of Merlin, it doesn't get any better.

Seeing Tom Jones at home was something I meant to do for years. And it was well worth the long trip. I am sure that “Y Ddraig Goch" the Red Dragon was curled up there under the hall, to listen to our Tiger Tom belt out his powerful notes as he only can, and the Dragon was beaming with pride

Enough about Dragons. I will post the rest behind a cut as it is very long, so click on the “read more" link if you want to know all the details! And see more photos. As usual there are more photos on my Flickr gallery.

No matter how I do it, going to Wales is a long trip. Instead of flying through London for once I went through Paris, so I could join my friend Nathalie and fly to Cardiff with her. We had booked our seats together too. So on Thursday I took a train to Paris, and met Jessica and Berenice for a drink. It's so cool to have friends wherever you travel to, no time to get idle or bored.

After a nice chat and a restful night, Nathalie and I headed to the airport. The expectation starting to mount. And sure enough as we landed in Cardiff, I felt the usual mix of excitement and impatience. As I walked from my hotel to Nathalie's, I recognised familiar places from last year, and the the big Red Dragon that adorns the CIA venue, I waved hello to him.

Nathalie and myself were both a bit nervous about our tickets as we had to collect them at the box office and that's always a bit hard of the nerves "hope they didn't forget us?" but we managed, and we even got to sneak in for a while as security didn't realise immediately we weren't VIP's. We heard the sound check and saw a bit of the light show through a small window pane (pretending not to be interested at all) but at one point it became hard not to jump up and down in excitement as we hear a very familiar voice testing the microphone! We didn't get a glimpse of the familiar silhouette but that was unmistakably Tom doing his own sound check! Not something he usually does.

Nathalie and I have another thing in common, we can't skip the opening act. In my case it's because I would go mad waiting anywhere else. And anyway I am used to standing venues where you have to go early if you want a place at the front. Sometimes opening acts are pure torture but Florence Rawlings was nothing like that. She's got a very nice voice and a repertoire that fits the taste of Tom's audience. Her band is also very good. I didn't notice time going by which is a good sign really. She's only 20 so I am sure we'll be hearing a lot more from her.

In between acts we chatted with a lot of the fans around us, it was great to see so many generations together. A lady from Geneva who seemed as excited as we were. And our direct neighbour an 87 year old Welsh woman, who emigrated to Canada when she was 18 and had come home too to see Tom. I felt very emotional chatting with her, she looked a bit like my mother's mum, but was the same age as my dad's mum would be now, and she was the Tom Jones fan in the family before I was! I felt as if both my grandmothers had arranged this so I could remember them. This lady also came to both Friday's and Saturday's shows, and the next day complained a bit about sore feet for all the dancing but still danced some more that second night!

What about the concerts then? There has been a lot of talk about the new band. It is always a thrill I find, to hear new arrangements and styles. So I put aside my gripe (with management only I hasten to add) and opened my ears. I must say I loved what I heard.
The two bands are so different, I am of course very sad I never got to see the "old" band, I had grown to love them and finally knew most of their names. I had been daydreaming of seeing them behind Tom for years.

The first thing that came to mind when I heard the new band was, wow what a tight band! They have only been playing a few concerts and they interact very tighly, "compact" was also a word that sprang to mind. The best proof is that I felt as if it was a much smaller band when there is only one musician less, number wise!
I loved the looser approach before too, and the extreme versatility of the "old" band. This is more concentrated on modern sounds. I am not an expert in electronic music, and I am not really a fan of dance music unless it is very high quality. But I adored the song Tom did with Chicane "Stoned in Love" and I was very curious to hear it live.

The first night that song sounded good, but a bit "confused". In the original Tom's voice is sampled on several tracks, and if you want to do that live, well you need to play the samples back and sing over them. The second night was much better but I must agree with people who think the samples are not adding anything, the song would probably sound better with just Tom's natural voice.

The songs come in groups, there is the "countryish" theme (as Tom put it) very acoustic, to give the feel of a small group in a pub. And around the end there is a whole dance section. "Stoned In Love" segues into a dance version of “Sex Bomb" which is very refreshing. And "Kiss" sounds a lot more like the original Art of Noise version, very, very cool! Like Nathalie I also think this one song could do with one more trumpet, but it sounds great.

"Take me Back To The Party" finished off the dance section and is also the last song of the set. I love it when they finish with a high energy song it makes parting easier. Only trouble is I couldn't sleep because it kept playing in my head!

But I am starting with the end here, sorry that's a psychological tactic to avoid the "post concert blues". Tom's entrance is now very different, more like other artists do it. The band launches into the beginning of “Sugar Daddy″ and Tom arrives on cue, getting to business without further ado. And boy is that song good! The bass is amazing, full and vibrant but not shattering as it can be when it grabs you around the chest and makes you feel ill. No, that is the kind of sexy bass that I adore, it works wonders on "Sugar Daddy" the booming sound underlining Tom's tongue in cheek routine.

“Give A Little Love" is all it promises to be live, I couldn't wait to hear that one. And the third song was "Thunderball" one of my all time favourites since I am a big James Bond fan. When I was a kid I used to have that tape with all the Bond themes on it and my favourites were always Tom and Shirley Bassey. The first night, I took some photos of Tom during this song, he's very concentrated during this, and he blew everyone away when he reached the end of the song and belted out the same powerful long note as he always did. Had we not already been sitting I'm sure most of the hall would have been floored literally! The man is 69 but he has lungs of steel!

I am not going to detail every song as this would turn into a small essay, but needless to say that when Tom started "Delilah" the crowd went nuts! It's already cool to hear anywhere but in Wales this is the unofficial National Anthem! Every single person in the hall was singing along and dancing! Of course there was yet another standing ovation too. All the other classics earned the same reaction.
But what was more surprising is that during the "country" songs (more like acoustic versions of well known songs) the entire hall was singing along as well! Notably during "Save The Last Dance For Me" and "He'll Have To Go". I must say I like that way of grouping similar songs.

“Mama Told Me Not To Come” is another favourite of mine (it's a collaboration with Welsh band the Stereophonics) along with “Burning Down The House”, both songs from the “Reload” album. The latter being the occasion of a great duet with one of the new backing vocalists.

I will conclude this with the two slower songs that I adore (there are many other great moments in my mind but I have to stop somewhere) “Never” and right afterwards “24 Hours”, both from the new album. I just sat there so mesmerised that I nearly forgot to clap at the end. Two overwhelming songs really. "Never" is about Tom's voice as he explains before singing it, but it can also describe what we fans feel for our favourite music and musicians.

Especially that part:
“When you're not around its your melody that I miss
Like an old friend you come back to me so quick
And after all this time I've still got you in my life
You and me we're going strong
You and me we still belong “

Music is really the center of my life, it's what makes me happy or soothes me if I am sad. I could never live without music. Going home after such a concert is always like walking in a dream, I am not really touching ground for a while.

...

On the last day my train was only leaving Paris at 16h58. So once again I took the opportunity to meet a friend. Isabelle and I had a nice meal and a chat about music and stuff, what else after this week end? At one point I am sure she could notice my attention fade a bit, as I thought I was really going mad and heard voices (one voice in particular). But sure enough despite the noise of conversations, my ears had noticed Tom's voice on the radio. Sure enough they were playing ″ What's New Pussycat″! Again, what else?

And as if all that wasn't enough, I saw the cutest fox sitting next to the railway tracks as my train entered Lyon. He was patiently waiting for the train to pass. If you know me, any trip under the sign of the Dragon and the Fox is the most perfect memory I can think of.

Should be packing but...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:06:13 GMT

Well I am off to Paris tomorrow morning and on Friday I will fly to Cardiff with a friend to see Tom Jones! Wheee!
It's kind of a fan gathering at the same time I will be meeting lots of people I've been chatting with for years but never actually met!

So expect a long review next Tuesday or so...

I totally forgot to post this, spotted near the big artshop I go to once or twice year.

Hm.....

Silver!

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:27:50 GMT

A similar design but with PMC. Used a different font as I am not sure if I will make more.

Brass wire and silver