Your Very Own Rocking-Bird

Dear Reader,

Yesterday Alien One came home with a wonderful rocking bird she'd made at school.

I'm not sure where, or what it will inspire, but I am sure some variant will make it into The Squirrel King. Enjoy her instructions!



It's all in there, you just have to pay attention :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Location Scouting in Wonderland

Dear Reader,

Scouting with Alien Two and Justus yesterday was a wonderfully magical experience.

She led us to a giant over-sized lunch-bag that stood three times as tall as our handsome leading man.












And when Justus fled up a tree, Alien Two came to consult me, until ...

Justus ran into a spider :)

The bottom line: we found some excellent locations!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Hummingbirds Outside Robin's Window

Dear Reader,

As promised last week, here is the view out Robin's window!



The glimpse is so quick, I gave it twice :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Stealing the Police

Dear Reader,

Some time back we built and shot the Nesting police station interior.

Yesterday we got to the exterior.

Unfortunately, all I can show you of our stolen location (as it's known when you simply go a shoot a scene without jumping the bureaucratic hoops) is Robin running through the gorgeous surroundings.

Doesn't Nesting look like a lovely town, though!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Grand Plans and Horsing Around

Dear Reader,

With Alien Two once again on a school break I found myself reflecting on the longevity of this project and where the goalpost now are - those mercurial objects that do so move.

To summarize: the journey so far has been an amazing one, touching many people and at the core bringing love, creativity and joy to me and my family, both immediate and more generally.

More practically, we're well past half-way in our shoot (something we begun in late 2010), but there's obviously more to come. So here's the grand plan!

Goal: finish production by the end of 2012!

Stay tuned and enjoy the continuing adventure :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Making the Sky

Dear Reader,

With Alien Two on spring break, we started our crazy constructions. Yesterday we built a sky from a kiddie pool and cotton batting :)

She even got some water into the pool!











A little good humored parental help was required with the bird ...

Stay tuned, I promise to share some bird footage next week, either this or the hummingbirds of last week :)





Finally, of course, the clouds were freed for blue skies!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Costuming Competition

Dear Reader,

Like mother, like daughter. How gorgeous to see Alien One unleashed on the sewing machine!



Just a cushion on the floor to raise the pedal, but otherwise ...

The concentration. The creative intensity. So recognizable! I believe the Trouble and Strife has an apprentice :)



And the results? ... Pure love as always, and a skirt for her sister (not pictured).

She's now talking about a dog costume!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Cool Canopy for Cats

Dear Reader,

While looking for inspiration for the Cat shelter in the small town of Nesting, I came across this design from old cans. Pretty cool, but I'm not sure it would contain the cats :)

Check out the blog Recycle Art for more pics!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Cardboard Trains

Dear Reader,

Inspired by this wonderful cardboard train, Alien Two and I set out to make our own ...

somewhat more modest version of a cardboard train for the small town of Nesting (where The Squirrel King takes place).


Of course, as with all things Squirrel King we couldn't resist incorporating whatever was lying around. In our case those corks supplied by our wonderful leading lady found yet another use!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Catching a Leprechaun

Dear Reader,

Bitten by green whimsy, Alien One desperately wanted to see a leprechaun. To that end, she built a leprechaun trap, replete with the promise of gold.

In a delightful turn, her leprechaun escaped on a gold-wrapped chocolate ladder leaving a note with a cheeky challenge:

"Better Luck Next Year! xoxo Your Leprechaun"

... and leaving all of us believing in magic.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The View Out Robin's Window

Dear Reader,

Yesterday was a quintessentially Squirrel King collision of delightful elements: cotton batting bought for cushions years ago, a side table made of found windows (one of the first pieces of furniture the Trouble and Strife and I ever put together), Alien Two's hummingbirds and our bonsai Christmas tree!

All came together to create the view out Robin's bedroom window.



Alien Two was happy with what she saw so we began the zen-like stop motion. A couple of hours later, we had Robin's view of the hummingbirds.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Dear Reader,

As some of you long-time followers may recall, Dark Lightning is our black angel fish of considerable magnetism. So much so, that she's now cultivated disciples outside her domain.


Fortunately for me, I have my own aide in the form of Alien One and her clever plans. Here you see her (in funky leggings care of the Trouble and Strife) gathering materials to lure our hummingbirds back onto the set of The Squirrel King.

Assuming the weather holds, stay tuned for images from today's shoot.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Coconut Trees

Dear Reader,

Having recently stepped out into her musical life, Alien One asked me to post her second composition, Coconut Trees.



You'll notice the soothing effect on Alien Two, who is putting away laundry in the background ;)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Manta-Ray in the Sky

Dear Reader,

Sometimes there's something in the air and the best thing to do is just go with it. That something for me is scientific locomotion right now. Last week I shared the biking robot, today it's a concept airship called Air-Ray.



Enjoy!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

In Search of a Voice

Dear Reader,

The last couple of weeks have involved a search for the voice to narrate our teaser trailer (which is getting closer every day).

Acting on a suggestion of Bob, our sound guru, I've given Alien One a shot at another key role.

Naturally she threw herself into it, and I've got to say, I do like the way she says "intergalactic nemesis" :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Solipsist

Dear Reader,

A friend sent me this clip called Solipsist by Andrew Huang.



It's something beautiful, weird and a little dark and spooky to contemplate over the weekend.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Finger-knitting with Aliens

Dear Reader,

Motivated by the Trouble and Strife and a friend at school, Alien One has turned herself into a finger-knitting guru, much to the delight of Rose, her new bunny (notice the pink scarf on Rose).

I'm now racking my brain for a way to incorporate this gorgeous loose knitting into our world :) Ideas welcome!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Hummingbird Dream

Dear Reader,

They came out of the glitter glue, amassed on the special chair and Alien Two's dream of hummingbirds sprang to life.





The proof of the pudding was in Alien Two's smile!

Now, as happens with so many things destined for The Squirrel King ... it's time figure out where to fit these birds of whimsy into our series :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Hummingbirds On the Move

Dear Reader,

With Alien Two's hummingbird celebration happening today, here's some of the final stages of prep!


The gorgeous outfit, care of the Trouble and Strife (and yes, in case there was any doubt, the skirt with the giant flower was also whipped up at Squirrel King headquarters).


Rest assured these 80 hummingbirds now have wings too - final product images to come after the kids have added their own glittering touches :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Talent Abounds

Dear Reader,

In life it's always great to celebrate the amazing feats of others. In that spirit, I hope you enjoy the following clip as much as we did. Truly amazing stuff!



Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS Stay tuned to see a flock of hummingbirds ... a BIG flock :)

The Impeccable Logic of a Young Mind

Dear Reader,

Whilst walking a friend's child down the street this morning I was struck by the whimsical logic of the following conversation.

Child: I saw a man without shoes.
Me: Was he running? [he had indeed just run by]
Child: Yes.
Me: Do you think he was chasing a bird who'd taken his shoes?
Child: No, birds don't wear shoes.

Simply delightful logic :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Progress Update

Dear Reader,

With our first prototype potted flower kits wending their way out into the world for our contest winners to enjoy, it's a good time to reflect on the progress we've made so far on a project that all started with a whim.

Check out the delightful path that's gotten us to where we're at by clicking the Progress tab above.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims