2022 Nebraska State Fair

I am usually out of town when the when the Nebraska State Fair rolls around. This year I made it back into town just in time for its very last day. The Nebraska State Fair isn’t just about the carnival rides, its mainly about 4H and FFA. There is livestock, food, crafts, woodworking, quilt and many more competitions. There are food vendors and other vendors displaying their merchandise, entertainers, and concerts. Here are some pictures from the fair:

Hand Painted Nativity

I was looking through my boxes, yes boxes, of crafts I had not finished for my next project, and I found the nativity set. I opened the top cover of the box, and everything looked yellow. Then I removed the plastic cover, and the pieces was still white and in great shape. The price tag on the box had the year of 2004. This set survived a flood and traveled over 1100 miles to it new home.

I painted each piece with acrylic paint, but I wanted the pieces to sparkle. After the paint dried, I applied pearl glaze over each piece. Usually, the pearl glaze is added to the painted, but using it like varnish, gave the pieces the shine I wanted. To seal the pieces, I sprayed each with polyacrylic varnish.

Wichita Art Museum

The Wichita Art Museum exhibits work honoring women artists, pre-Columbian artifacts, glass works, and other sculptures and paintings. I found Kay Sekimachi’s Leaf Bowl a fascinating work of art.

The artist of the glass painting did a remarkable job capturing the light reflections.

The museum had some beautiful glass works.

One of the most interesting items in the museum was the history of the Corning Glass Works. Most of us have use Corning dishes. They made the first light bulb for Thomas Edison.

The blown glass exhibit featuring Richard Marquis was entertaining. His glass work was unique, humorous and creative.

Finally, the sculpture titled “Bed” by Lloyd Glasson was amazing.

Rescued Houses – Part Four

Another three house painted from my Rescued Houses series.  Why are they called “Rescued Houses.”  In August 2016, South Louisiana had what some believed to be a 1000 year flood.  The storage unit which held these houses flooded.  These plaster houses were in water for over week.  There is minor damage to all the houses, but that may add to their charm.

The entire story is in Part One.

Notice the Railroad Crossing sign.  It is not original to the house.  The original sign is  currently missing, which means it could be in another box.  Therefore, I created the sign in Tinkercad, printed with my 3D printer, and painted the sign.   I only had to print one sign, because I got the measurements right on the first design.

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Railroad Depot

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Music Store

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Jewelry Store

They are Finished

Yes, in August I poured these painting.  Yes, in November I finally pour resin over these paintings.  Now, they are ready to be hung or given away as gifts.  No, I am not giving them away.

I did not realize that this painting appears to flow towards the center, until I took a picture of it.

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This painting look awesome under a black light.  See..

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And, this painting looks like it could be a fish.

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Rescued Houses – Part Three

After two weeks of being back from my long trip, I realized I missed painting my little plaster houses.  It is something that I believe that I am good at doing.  I am also good at painting walls too.  I finished these three houses and started painting three more.  I typically paint three houses at a time, so others can be drying as I work on one.

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Thatch Roof House

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School House

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Library

If you would like to know why I called them my rescued houses, check at this blog post:  Rescued Houses – Part One