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Estrella planning
Jan. 24th, 2009 03:02 pmI overslept this morning and realized that the market would be swarming and parking would be impossible, so I did not buy sake today. The sensible thing would be to do my marketing the weekend immediately before war and go early, so I might as well wait.
I did tool down to Daiso Japan, where I picked up another basket colander (I love these things - light weight and they don't conduct heat when you're straining pasta!) and some S-hooks, but decided I really did not absolutely need more $5 steel knives and managed to restrain the urge to buy a cheesy ceramic haniwa I found in the garden department. No tanuki this time. Did get some red New Year's envelopes. Seeing as I've already extended a verbal invite to Their Highnesses Mists to Rising Sun's Lunar New Year party, I ought to pop off invitations to Their Majesties and Their Highnesses Cynagua and Oertha while I'm at it.
I also swung by the fabric outlet in Berkeley on a whim, which paid off. I found 2 yards of cream upholstery jacquard in the remnant bin with distinctly Japanese-looking plum blossoms in the weave. $6.00. Burn tested it outside (to the consternation of pedestrians watching me dig a lighter out of the camp box in the back of the truck and light threads while sitting on the tailgate). A cotton blend of some sort and heavy enough for a dobuku. Which, yes, my Readers, is a male garment, but an extra "coat" layer for a cold night at Estrella is not to be sneezed at. I already have some flannel ikat in the house to line it with, and I just pulled it out of a dye bath - a little yellow, a little teal, some hot water and vinegar and the result is a green which came out paler than expected, probably due to the polyester content of the jacquard. (Fabric shown drying on a hanger in the shower. The pattern may be a touch modern, but hey, it was $6 bucks!!!!)
The blue batik hakama are pleated and in a moment, I will go downstairs and continue putting the waist ties on. (Yes, by hand. Of course, by hand. That's how The Curmudgeon rolls.)
Plastic sheeting has been acquired and cut for drum-heads. I found a perfectly good 5 gallon plastic bucket in the dumpster at work yesterday. If I actually get as many as six students for the taiko classes at Estrella, we will have enough objects to beat upon: my sewer-pipe taiko, two 22" high okedodaiko, three shimedaiko and the bucket. My IKEA plant stands, upside down and folded, make adequate shime stands as long as the players are seated - and allow me to get away with not having to build more stuff to cram into my truck.
The collegium coordinator has me on the official schedule from 4 PM to 6 PM on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of war, in camp. I'm planning to do at least one hour per session. I'll need to see how my students, if any, feel about working into part or all of the second hour - taiko is tiring. As for what to teach, I figure Renshu and some "call-and-response" exercises are a good place to start. (Sensei Susan Horn of Emeryville Taiko got a random assortment of audience members of all ages to figue out call-and-response drumming when I saw her do it last July 4th. It's an excellent way to get people listening and thinking and drumming together.) Note to self: have water and paper cups available during class. They're gonna need it. I was appalled that no water was provided at last year's Artisan's Display and all that required was sitting around and talking to people.
Speaking of which, I'm debating whether I want to chain myself to a table again for three hours. I could take the hiogi, the sugoroku box, the shibori-of-fail (assuming I remember where I put it), but do I want to? At all?
Damn giri.
I did tool down to Daiso Japan, where I picked up another basket colander (I love these things - light weight and they don't conduct heat when you're straining pasta!) and some S-hooks, but decided I really did not absolutely need more $5 steel knives and managed to restrain the urge to buy a cheesy ceramic haniwa I found in the garden department. No tanuki this time. Did get some red New Year's envelopes. Seeing as I've already extended a verbal invite to Their Highnesses Mists to Rising Sun's Lunar New Year party, I ought to pop off invitations to Their Majesties and Their Highnesses Cynagua and Oertha while I'm at it.
I also swung by the fabric outlet in Berkeley on a whim, which paid off. I found 2 yards of cream upholstery jacquard in the remnant bin with distinctly Japanese-looking plum blossoms in the weave. $6.00. Burn tested it outside (to the consternation of pedestrians watching me dig a lighter out of the camp box in the back of the truck and light threads while sitting on the tailgate). A cotton blend of some sort and heavy enough for a dobuku. Which, yes, my Readers, is a male garment, but an extra "coat" layer for a cold night at Estrella is not to be sneezed at. I already have some flannel ikat in the house to line it with, and I just pulled it out of a dye bath - a little yellow, a little teal, some hot water and vinegar and the result is a green which came out paler than expected, probably due to the polyester content of the jacquard. (Fabric shown drying on a hanger in the shower. The pattern may be a touch modern, but hey, it was $6 bucks!!!!)
The blue batik hakama are pleated and in a moment, I will go downstairs and continue putting the waist ties on. (Yes, by hand. Of course, by hand. That's how The Curmudgeon rolls.)
Plastic sheeting has been acquired and cut for drum-heads. I found a perfectly good 5 gallon plastic bucket in the dumpster at work yesterday. If I actually get as many as six students for the taiko classes at Estrella, we will have enough objects to beat upon: my sewer-pipe taiko, two 22" high okedodaiko, three shimedaiko and the bucket. My IKEA plant stands, upside down and folded, make adequate shime stands as long as the players are seated - and allow me to get away with not having to build more stuff to cram into my truck.
The collegium coordinator has me on the official schedule from 4 PM to 6 PM on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of war, in camp. I'm planning to do at least one hour per session. I'll need to see how my students, if any, feel about working into part or all of the second hour - taiko is tiring. As for what to teach, I figure Renshu and some "call-and-response" exercises are a good place to start. (Sensei Susan Horn of Emeryville Taiko got a random assortment of audience members of all ages to figue out call-and-response drumming when I saw her do it last July 4th. It's an excellent way to get people listening and thinking and drumming together.) Note to self: have water and paper cups available during class. They're gonna need it. I was appalled that no water was provided at last year's Artisan's Display and all that required was sitting around and talking to people.
Speaking of which, I'm debating whether I want to chain myself to a table again for three hours. I could take the hiogi, the sugoroku box, the shibori-of-fail (assuming I remember where I put it), but do I want to? At all?
Damn giri.
