Making a mountain

Each year as we were constructing the sets for Streets of Bethlehem we talked about designing a new mountain but never seemed to get it done. So last year, on my flight back to South Dakota, I decided that I needed to strike while the iron is hot and quickly sketched out an idea for the new set. It was rough but it was down on paper.
Over the year it began to take more shape, through discussions, meetings and plans. Then the time came to start building and painting. It is always exciting to see ideas manifested into something you can see, touch and walk around. It especially exciting when it is something of this magnitude. Also the process of problem sloving to make and sketch into a functional apparatus.
It was fun to see the team building the structure in real life and then to see everyone walk through the event. Knowing that it was part of telling the story of Christ's birth adds an extra bonus.

Here is a timelapse of the mountain being painted. You can see some of the construction still taking place as well.




Streets of Bethlehem 2012: Mountain Painting Timelapse from daniel vangerpen on Vimeo.

 Rori Jensen contacted me a while back to complete a logo for her blossoming business. She has an etsy shop where she sells unique handmade creations constructed from new and repurposed materials. She wanted a design that reflected both her work and her studio.

A Canon 7D short...POTS the musical from gnarly bay productions, Inc. on Vimeo.

Growing up I always had a fascination with stop motion videos. I guess I still do today. My favorite part of Seasame Street was "Tiny little super guy", the guy in the glass. As a lover of process, it was intriguing to think about how these things were made. I guess as a child I liked the idea of the inanimate coming alive, like toys were real and could tell a story.

Christmas time is here again. Spent part of the day today decorating the sanctuary for the Christmas season. With the help of Samantha (and a little from Randy) We got the lights and trees up. Each year I try to have some new element. This year I brought in some paper lanterns and suspended them in the middle of the wreaths which creates a nice effect.