Fan Art Then and Now

I wasn't lying... when I got up the nerve to tell Mr. Neeley I had been a fan since 1973, I could prove it. Other than my original long-play record (complete with inserts), the only other JCS item I had I made myself. I may not have the original anymore, but I kept a photo of an oil painting I did shortly after seeing Jesus Christ Superstar when I was just 13. When I met Ted Neeley for the first time in 1994, I actually screwed up the courage to show him the photo... he was impressed with the "sculptured" neck I gave him! ;) I have such mixed feelings about this painting; it really looks NOTHING like Mr. Neeley, but I think it was my first attempt at portrait painting... ah well.

1973 oil (when I was 13 I had this hanging in my bedroom!)

I haven't painted a portrait in years; and today I was so in the mood to draw. So I have begun my second Neeley painting - 33 years later... so far I've just done the underpainting on a small 8 X 6 canvas board. Next I'll do the color overlay. Obviously, this JC is much more "scruffy" than the simple style I had in my early teens!

2007 painting begun (right side)

Excited doesn't even come close to describing it...

In September, 1994, a dream of mine came true. Jesus Christ Superstar had come to town and I had tickets to see, in person, the two stars of the movie I adored since I was a teenager. Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson gave hubby and I goosebumps as we sat in that darkened concert hall, mesmerized by all the talent before us. After the show I couldn't believe my luck in being able to meet the two stars and getting their autographs and a couple of hugs. Ted was a real sweetheart and spoke to me for a long time, even missing his ride back to his hotel room (it was after 1 am) to talk about the show with me. I was literally in heaven that night.

Fast forward to today. I couldn't believe my luck to get two FREE tickets to the "Farewell Tour" of Jesus Christ Superstar next week. This time, I am taking daughter, who was only two when they last came to town. Unfortunately, dear Carl passed on a few years ago, but it will be amazing, I know, to see Ted Neeley once more. I fell in love with this man years ago on the big screen, and even though he is over sixty now, and I am nearing 50, I feel like a teenager again.

Thank you D. You don't know how thrilled you have made us.

Scrabook pages from the 1994 show I re-did tonight ... tickets (that hinge up to reveal journalling on the other side) and newspaper clippings on a white and gold page.

Ted and Carl's autographs on my program in 1994. I couldn't believe my luck in finding the stamp below that perfectly matches the JCS logo! I used it to stamp (in gold) the background sheets of gold-bordered paper.

Trying a brand new hobby

At Halloween, I made a Pirates of the Caribbean pumpkin and entered it in an online contest at KeepToTheCode.com... and was thrilled to learn I had won first prize! Well, just before Christmas, my prize arrived in the mail; a Jolly Roger model ship kit. I have never in my life put a model together before, so while I'm on vacation, I've been trying my hand at it.After a few days and 115 parts assembled so far, here's the two decks. The next step is the actual painting and assembly of the hull, attaching to the decks....step 4 of 16!!! Yikes! I can't imagine how the heck I'm going to rig this thing; but it sure is a lot of fun. I'm distressing / painting the parts as I go, and I think I'll give it a spray of dullcoat at the end to take the paint / glue shine off. Yeah, note the glass of wine; I have been getting so obsessed into this project, I even worked on it on New Year's Eve (while watching Dead Man's Chest, no less).

Christmas Crafts

Even with the chaos of the season, I try to do SOMETHING "crafty" each year, especially if I am hosting either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner. In the past I have cross-stitched placecards and created a tiny "forest" of Christmas trees for the table.This year, since I am having dinner on the 24th, I made reindeer placecard holders - inspired by some metal reindeer from Chapter's catalog - unfortunately they were sold out :( so I made our own:
As well, I am making gift tags this year. Each one will have a tiny wooden reindeer (can you see that reindeers are my favorite theme?) attached that can be used next year to decorate the recipient's tree. I bought the "raw" wooden reindeer at our scrapbooking store. Hubby drilled holes in them for their hangers, and I stained, sanded and varnished each one (each step shown below).

Lots of fun to do, especially while watching some seasonal movie favorites!

Cards for 2006

This year, I made two styles of Christmas cards. One version is for friends and family, the second, a specific design especially for my Star Wars buddies.

Here's the family version (which were made in October, but I can finally unveil here as they are now in the mail). I tried a brand new technique with this one, using markers to "paint" the rubber stamp thereby getting multi-colored images. I also used non-Christmas paper which was double-sided:



Here's the inside (click for a larger view):


Here's a card I just thought up and made yesterday. I did a Star Wars "snowglobe" using two sheets of plastic page protectors sandwiching some fake snow inside...they can be really shaken up!





I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I did making them!