It’s 2009, and I am coming out of my East Coast midwinter depression to begin again. Here is my first new skill of the new year.  Or, let’s call it my first baby try at painting.

I kind of look like I have liver disease — my color mixing is not so hot yet. My neice Caralie is very good at this skill and tried to teach me a few things. I’m going to learn!

OK, so one of my films made it into this cool film festival in Indianapolis, and because of that I was invited to their opening gala event. All the supporters of the fest were there as well as the film makers. It was very high-brow in a way I’m not used to. I was seriously under dressed.

A great thing about this party was that they had an awesome cover band and a huge dance floor. That’s wonderful, except that NO ONE WAS DANCING.

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..and this was before I had any free booze. I love my friend Ray (on camera phone) giggling.

Heartland Film Festival was great — I got free tickets to all the films I wanted to see, met a bunch of filmmakers with actual budgets and great films, and I got to see my film on a big screen and talk about it with the audience. One awesome thing was meeting the film makers who were on my Shorts program. They made documentaries about children in Uganda and Thailand.  They were very gripping and well made films. You can check them out here:

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It was kind of embarrassing to be in between these two very serious films. It was sorta like “Hey, I know childhood prostitution sucks, but let’s talk about cupcakes!” At the Q and A I felt a bit like I was wearing a clown costume standing while standing between Mother Theresa and Ghandi.  But people were interested and asked questions very nicely. The project is going to be in Indianapolis (at Harrison Center for the Arts) on May 1st, so it was a nice way to let everyone know.

OK. So, I’m going to a film festival in an unnamed Midwestern town. I was invited without even submitting! That makes me feel so very…um…for reals! I’m fixing to add to that feeling by making the most out of my Film Festival experience. Perhaps I will carry a red carpet with me around the unnamed Midwestern town  as I go shopping or to McDonald’s. I’m a film maker, dammit! But seriously, I am going to make myself a gown. I am going to make it out of FedEx envelopes, much like this pigeon. I will have to begin engineering this pretty soon. The festival’s coming right up. I’ll keep you posted on the progress of the Tyvek dress. I’ve really just been waiting for an excuse to make one.

Here is a detail of the Horn Tree. This mother is pretty hard to photograph.

The idea here is that the mouthpieces of the horns grow out of the copper tubing at approximately mouth level. When the horns are blown (and the proper sound is made), the light bulbs (which are suspended from copper tubing overhead) light up. The tree was engineered so that some bulbs light up at some frequencies, and others light up at other frequencies, see? So that if you blow a high note a certain bank of lights go on, and if you blow a low note another bank of lights goes on. Make sense? No? Well here’s a video to explain:

And here’s another picture–a little blurry, but you can get the idea:

My dad helped me to engineer the base (so that it wouldn’t fall over) and then he had to leave, So my friend Mark took over to help with the engineering of the light bulbs–that is, making the light bulbs turn on when the horns are blown. Turns out he knew of this fun thing called a Color Organ. It’s the device that makes those awesome light banks from the seventies function. Don’t know what I’m talking about? I think you do:

Nowadays you can buy a printed circuit board kit that controls the lights. Thank God that Mark knew how to 1) order it and, 2) solder the damn thing together.

The PCB is almost as interesting as the horn tree, really. It looks like three little robot guys with three little robot drums getting ready for a drum circle:

Here’s a wee video of Ken and Mark testing the color organ:

One more thing I’d like to note: Caralie and I felt very proud of ourselves because we learned how to attach plugs and sockets to electrical wire. Here’s a picture of us doing a victory dance:

Did you know that electrical wire is made of latex? I didn’t. One bad side effect of working with this stuff all day (I learned to use a wire stripper!) is that my latex allergy has been upgraded from mild to relatively severe. Now I’m allergic to all sorts of things. I’m even allergic to my iPod headphones. Sheesh.

Right now I’m reporting (slowly) on how everything worked out at the opening in Mesa last Friday. Overall things went swimmingly well. Everyone participated and a huge amount of people came out. The thing I was most worried about, the live grass, was the biggest hit, and people spread out on it just as I had hoped. But I’m getting off track–right now I’m just going to report about the Yarn Tree and the Tavern on the Green that’s attached to it.

Here’s a wee video of Johnnie Warfield on top of the yarn tree looking at the menu for Tavern on the Green. In order to see the Tavern menu, you must climb the tree and look through the binoculars at the menu posted on the roof of the green kiosk. It’s in tiny letters, so you can’t read it any other way. Then you write your order on a card and send it by bird to the kiosk. I somehow didn’t get Johnnie actually sending the bird down…

Here’s a picture of the Kiosk (Tavern on the Green) before any customers came:

I am very pleased to say that around 100 people came and they all ordered food by bird. There was a line for the yarn tree (which you have to climb to order food). Before the opening I was afraid that people would be too cool to actually climb the tree and put their order in the bird’s claws. Caralie (who was the Tavern Wench) was perfect, telling everyone, that she was sorry, they had to order by bird. That did the trick.

Here’s the bird in question. One comment was that the alligator clip feet were a little hard to use. I’ll have to replace them with something else.

Here’s a cute blond ordering:

Here’s Caralie waiting for an order. She said that people were also sending her notes by bird. I wish I had some of them to show you, but they got cleaned up and put in the trash somehow.

Photo by Mark Converti

Here you can see some of the food we served–bruschetta, black bean salsa with chips, and a cheese plate. Austin was the Kiosk Dude and also the chef.

Photo by Mark Converti

Here are the delicious cupcakes that my friend Chanelle made to put into the tree. I love that I never saw anyone take a cupcake, but they were all eaten by the end of the evening. I hope that people thought they were stealing them. There is nothing so delicious as a forbidden cupcake.

Photo by Chanelle

New traveling band members here in the studio for rehearsal this week. We’re on our way to North Carolina (Wilmington) for the WE Fest later this week.

Please say hello to Austin Owen:
Notice the flower attached to his headstock. Nice touch, Austin.

The very photogenic Jake Geesling:
We had a fine day woodshedding all the parts. These are kind and talented folks. I’m glad to have them along.

I just got a wonderful package full of these needle books. I’m going to use the needles to make nests for my yarn tree. I didn’t realize I was getting these beautiful little old-fashioned folders complete with antique-y threader and bright foil backings.

Here’s the front:

I just had this kooky idea that the first person to subscribe to my band-new RSS feed (I’m putting that in today) will be able to receive one in the mail from yours truly. If you are someone who is a non-sewer or a masculine type who won’t admit to being a sewer, I’ll send you something else that you’ll like.

Leave me a message if you’ve subscribed and I’ll send it on over.

I’m going to have a hard time disemboweling these. I love them too much.

Hi I’m Annie Quick, and this is my blog, in case you hadn’t guessed.

I started this blog to chronicle the making of a kooky installation about Central Park, which I’m set to take around the country with my band this fall. The installation is really interactive and fun and will hopefully remind you of Dr. Seuss. It is also educational—it teaches where cupcakes come from. I also shot a movie in Central Park last summer, which I’m editing, in a behind-schedule sort of a way. The blog’s about that too.

It’s also a blog about Central Park in general, as I live two blocks north of it and am inside of it almost every day. I love Central Park. I like the idea that nature exists so close to my ghetto home. I’m originally from the Redwood Forest, and never would have considered myself a city girl, but twelve years later, I’m a convert. That being said, my nature girl heart is excited by the giant salad bowl that is CP. I guess it’s time to mention that the idea of parks in general makes me overjoyed. That you can make up nature is just so darn appealing. That raccoons live on 81st street is even more so. In this blog I’m prone to telling you everything I see in CP, what’s blooming, what’s falling, what’s flying, what’s crawling around in there.

When (as is scheduled) I’m gone for prolonged periods, I’ll likely tell you what’s going on in the natural world and in the parks wherever I am.

Here are a few tidbits about me personally, in case you’re interested:

1. I’m a musician by training and sometimes by trade. Right now I have a semi steady gig making Spanish language instructional videos for Yabla.com. I’m a filmmaker and a maker of objects d’art and illustrations sometimes I also do these things for money. When people ask me what I do for a living I pick the thing I’ve been doing that day. At the moment I don’t have a life sucking uncreative day job, like I’ve endured in the past, but at any moment I may. I’ve had a billion jobs including but not limited to:

Ambulance Driver
Gardener
Writer of Articles about New Drugs
Rachael Ray Worker Bee
Someone who Dresses Like Laura Ingalls for TV Land
Deli Meat Specialist
Assistant to Two Men Named Greg
Hair Model (kept me fed one summer—I ain’t proud)
TV Promo Music Writer
Horse Mascot Costume Wearer
Interviewer of Mimes
Security Guard (complete with polyester CHiPs costume!)

2. I got married when I was a kid, and am still married to Jad who likes cats and does Flash Animation for a living. Jad’s shy and kind and funny. He used to play bass in many of my bands, but one day decided to give up the life in favor of growing up. He’s an excellent example of a productive adult and I hope to be like him one day.

2. I like flowers, trees, shrubberies, hills, mountains, lakes, oceans and most animals. I like reading children’s books where animals wear clothes or otherwise engage in human behavior like having tea or ice-skating. I secretly believe that animals can talk, but only wish to do so when there are no humans present. One day I hope to catch an animal red handed.

4. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I thought I wanted to be a musician, but I really like doing all kinds of other stuff, including (at times) nothing. Drawing is my new passion. I’d be happy doing everything.

3. I have a band—doesn’t everyone? The only reason I mention this is because I’ve actually spent a good part of my adulthood in a van with said band, so it must be part of any biographical details. And because right now I’m getting ready to get back in the van with the band, my giant, collapsible Central Park Installation, my Movie and a toothbrush. You see how it all comes around? When that happens, the blog will be about the band and where we go and what we see.

I’m sure there are other things to mention here, but at the moment I’m all out of autobiographical steam. You’ll have to read the blog.

XO
AQ

P.S. Please feel free to email me at annie at teamsuperteam dot com. I’d love to hear from you.

Last night I was walking home and saw this guy. He was trying to leave the yard at the Museum of Natural History and cross the road to get to CP. He almost got hit by a car on Central Park West in one attempt.

He was a cute little guy, and stood up on his hind legs a couple times, obligingly, so I could take his picture:

I love how it looks like he’s wearing pants. And his little hands are nice too. All he needs is a backpack to look like he’s nonchalantly walking to subway. Maybe he keeps his Metrocard in a hidden pocket in those pants.

Here’s one more dark photo of Mr. Raccoon Pants’ epic journey:

I hope he made it across the street.

This is a perfect Spring. By that I mean perfect conditions for growing. Everything is large and full of color. All our city plants look positively corn-fed. I’m not sure what combination of conditions have brought this about, but I’m using my crappy point and shoot to get it all down. One day I’ll get an SLR and my selective focus will be better selected, if you know what I mean.

Here’s a short list of what’s currently blooming:
Forget me nots (above).

Lilacs:
These are in Central Park’s Conservatory garden which is ringed by very old lilac bushes of all different colors. It smells good in there.

Tulips:
Tulips are just over their prime. They had a gorgeous season this year.

Whatever this is:
This white flowering shrub is in CP’s Conservatory Garden.

Other blooming things:
Asian Dogwood
White Azaleas
Bluebells
Wisteria (just starting)
So many other things, I can’t count.

Things past their prime:
apple blossoms
cherry blossoms
regular dogwood
daffodils and other early spring bulbs

Blooming in my house: The yarn tree. Getting bigger but still miles to go: