15th Year Process

Graphomania is coming!

2011-01-31T18:57:00.001-06:00

Tabula Rasa

2010-11-23T00:03:00.000-06:00

Site visit for Plasticene's new show that will be performed this
March on the Pritzker Pavilion Stage at Millenium Park.

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Graphomania!

2010-11-22T23:49:00.001-06:00

Coming Soon!

Soundcloud set for music

2010-05-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

From a Fading Light by Plasticene by eleon

Photos during Dress Rehearsal

2010-05-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a set of photos that Plasticene's video and visuals designer, Stephan Mazurek took during dress rehearsal last night, May 10.

Architectural resource work

2010-04-07T14:35:00.001-05:00

Website Update

2010-03-21T15:03:00.001-05:00

www.plasticene.com

The Plasticene website has been updated

with graphics and 2010 Intensive information.

Feel free to direct inquiries to the site.

From A Fading Light

2010-03-15T18:51:00.007-05:00

A Feast of Sundays

2010-03-13T13:28:00.000-06:00

In researching the Lutheran Lectionary, I found an interesting progression through the Sundays we will be doing the show. Basically, the show straddles the Ascension—when Jesus finally shuffles off this mortal coil and leaves the world of men. Looking at the readings associated with these particular Sundays, there seems to be a progression from:
The Tangible—the last bits of advice Jesus has to give while he is in the world of humans.
To the Emotional—the realization of the prophecies. Jesus is in fact ‘of the Father’ and therefore is to be worshipped.
To the Conjectural—he will come again and if you keep to the path you will be able to join him in heaven.

May 9th, 2010 is Rogate, the 5th Sunday after Easter. This is the Sunday before the celebration of the Ascension.

The Epistle is James 1:22-27 which begins…

But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightaway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

The Gospel is John 16: 23-30 which contains…

These things have I spoken to you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly the Father.

And…

I am come forth from the father and am come into the world: again, I leave the world and go to the father.

May 16th, 2010 is the Feast of the Ascension. This is the Sunday of celebration of the ascension of Christ to, ya know, sit at the right hand of God the Father.

The Epistle is Acts 1: 1 -11 which contains…

He was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward Heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?

The Gospel is mark 16: 14-20 which contains…

Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (I assume that includes squirrels.)

May 23rd, 2010 is Exaudi, the Sunday after the Ascension.

The Epistle is 1 Peter 4:7 -11 which contains…

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grade of god.

The Gospel is John 15: 26 to 16:4 which contains..

But when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the father, even the spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the father, he shall testify of me: and ye shall also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
And ‘The Gradual’ (a call and response prayer) contains…

I will not leave you comfortless: I go, and I will come again to you, and you heart shall rejoice.

St. Paul's organ keyboard and sound test

2010-03-06T13:34:00.000-06:00

Listen!

First test of the organ reveals that it sounds great, though as heard in this AudioBoo, some pitches are off and some notes get stuck. Laura Weathered says the repair estimate is $400, which seems reasonable for an instrument of this size and complexity. The slideshow below provides visual details of the organ's keyboard and pedals, along with scenes and objects I found in and around the church.

To help appreciate the anatomy and mechanics of a pipe organ, Matthias Wandel's d.i.y. organ website is worth a visit. It's an ambitious woodworking project.

Notes for organ exterior and stage

2010-02-10T01:43:00.000-06:00

The grand visual presence of the organ is impossible to ignore.

Colors: golden pipes and red-brown wood.

The stage is wide and deep enough for twenty people to stand on, even with the grand piano.

Interesting details, plaque with date and dedication, “The Young People’s Circle 1906”.

Backyard photos, Jan. 17, 2010

2010-02-10T01:21:00.000-06:00

St Paul images

2010-01-24T22:47:00.000-06:00

Gabriel Isaacson-Architect

2010-01-24T22:35:00.002-06:00

A little biographical information on Gabriel Isaacson; St. Paul's architect:

-from The History of Chicago, vol. 3 by A.T. Andreas, 1886

Costume Designer's Thoughts

2010-01-21T13:40:00.000-06:00

Dear plastisexy folks,

1. I am super pumped about the new show. Can't wait to check out the space in March(?)--am a bit scattered so don't remember the workshop dates.

2. I hope there's a way of incorporating the ax that the fire fighters left in my apartment. It's quite large and heavy. I can post a photo soon.

3. Thank you, Dexter, for the phoenix comment a couple of weeks ago. Rising from the ashes has been a theme lately. Death, renewal, etc.

4. Have been thinking about Victorian photo collages (recent exhibit at AIC--exhibit has closed but you can probably check out the catalog for it). They were quite popular scrapbook creations for the bourgeois set. The ladies and gents who made them often depicted the heads of their friends and family on animal bodies. These wry, tongue-in-cheek images were no doubt influenced by Alice in Wonderland and Darwinism. Who wants to be a half-ass? Marky?

5. The photo collages and the Patrons of Husbandry has had me thinking about bestiaries [oh, and bestiality]; catalogs of animal types or half human-half critter types.

6. National Order of the Grange started a FIRE insurance cooperative in 1893.

ORGAN!!

2010-01-21T01:45:00.001-06:00

Here is the beast---installed in 1905 by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford Conn.

featuring their patented Universal Air Chest System.

Their site:

http://austinorgans.com/history-Yesterday&Today.htm

& a geeked out explanation of how their walk in air chest system works:

http://www.concertartist.info/organhistory/works/works16.htm

Behind the fake pipes up top:

Through a small door and inside ...

FYI: the motto in the coat of arms reads:

"SCIENTIA ARTEM ADJUVAT"

Science Aids Art

“The Austin motto has always had the priorities right; science cannot determine, dominate, eclipse or degrade art. It bows to the requirements of art; science is a servant of art."

-Orpha Ochse

Church minutes

2010-01-20T18:50:00.000-06:00

Scanned images of the St. Pauls church minutes from April 21, 1985:

church and secrecy

2010-01-19T18:56:00.003-06:00

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3739636

scripted rituals of The Grange

2010-01-19T18:55:00.001-06:00

http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/fraternalism/grange.htm

Bathrooms & Water-fountain hallway

2010-01-19T18:53:00.000-06:00

BATHROOMS & WATER-FOUNTAIN HALLWAY

Pew in hallway faces the 2 bathrooms almost symmetrical – when sitting center one can see action in both bathrooms.

Gentlemen at left

Ladies on right

Both bathroom have 2 user capacity/2 stalls, though men’s urinal doesn’t work leaving just one toilet.

The ladies have 4 rolls of toilet paper, men just one

Ladies have 2 mirrors attached on opposite walls making it almost possible to see the back of one’s head

Ladies also have a make-up table under the 2^nd mirror

Each have one mirror over sink that has hot/cold water

There are towel dispensers in both

And little trash bins

Men have a plunger

The water fountain does not work and stand right between the two bathroom’s

The hallway is divided on the right (facing bathroom) by double doors into the front landing. On the left by 3 curtains leading to the gallery.

There is a triangular exit light hanging by double door.

There are lightswitches for both bathrooms to left and right of water fountain. Did not see light switch for the lamps on ceiling

Concrete floor

Backyard

2010-01-19T18:52:00.000-06:00

BACKYARD

3 trees: one big climbable one, 2 smaller ones. A pine of sorts and a tree that has far-reaching branches but too weak to be climbed on

flowerbeds and pots, there are old florescents and scrap wood in a pile: Things to dig and bury and burn

animals: Birds and squirrels

2 big windows to peer into the kitchen or climb on the iron-grid

there is a chainlink fence which is climbable

the backyward lies below the height of the alley, there are 5 steps leading up and a gate in the fence to exit

working grill

there is a locked door into the building – the room that lies north in the kitchen area?

No outside lights

Stairwells

2010-01-18T14:55:00.000-06:00

Transitional space. The stairs going up are more formal and lead to the church. Stairs down are more institutional and lead down to the bathrooms and basement. Sound of North Avenue present, and it's drafty.
Stairs up: 8 feet wide, 10 stairs, carpeted. Carved wooden railings and dark wooden wainscot panels. Wall of stained glass around double doors. At the top of the stairs is a formal wooden table and chair about 6 feet by 2 feet. Nice lamp on the desk. Doors leading into the church proper are glass paneled so you can see into the church.
One electrical outlet by the desk.
Stairs down: 4 feet wide, 11 stairs, wooden. Floor at the bottom is concrete. Large wooden pews line the walls at the bottom. Enough seating for 10 to 12. Feels isolated and despairing to me down there.
No electrical outlets that I saw. Overhead light that is kind of harsh.
Crap stored behind a portable photo screen.

Forgot my camera. No photos. Pardonnez-moi.

Tasting Room

2010-01-18T14:45:00.000-06:00

Odd little space. About 12 by 24 feet, with a storage nook for chairs and folding tables.
Other items: a rolling safe, three small tables, some random lamps, library ladders, a dresser.
One electric outlet in the ceiling, one on the wall.
Ceiling fan with lights, some awful flourescents and a small overhead fixture. Light also comes in from the kitchen windows and over a 3/4 wall separating this space from the kitchen.
Large sliding doors that do move, but are heavy. Space can be enclosed from the rest of the basement.
Sound seemed very alive but not bouncy in this space--acoustics very precise. this makes it feel very private and intimate to me. Nostalgic somehow.
Could fit about 10 audience members in here.
No photos.

Lutheran MIssionary Work

2010-01-18T14:34:00.002-06:00

Quotes from a longer post about Lutheran missionary work. Take a look at the link if you want to read more.

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NORWAY/2003-11/1069093109

"My experience has been precisely this, that always having to consult oneself, always being alone in every undertaking, constitutes the most depressing feature of mission life. For surely external hard times, when they prevail year after year have an unnerving effect; anyway, we cannot deny that it is so in our case. Certainly one is sorely tempted by many disheartening thoughts when one looks over his work--realizes how insignificant it is, how little fruit appears; yes, often there are times during which I consider myself the most superfluous person in the whole world and my heart weakens, my knees shake, and my arms fall powerless to my side. But worst of all is the fact that one has no ministerial brother whom one can consult and from whom one can receive assistance in moments of weakness."

"I think most people...will believe that there are both freethinkers and blasphemers and many who show no interest in the church...But now consider that the Norwegians in Portland...are more indifferent in a churchly sense than they are elsewhere in America. Is there no excuse for the fact that this situation has come about? I maintain that there is. I think it a wonder that such church interest as actually prevails still exists among the people...and no one can fairly blame the people for leaving the Lutheran church and 'going over to the sects," as the expression goes, when the work of the church has been carried on as it has been done here."

Findings: The Kitchen & The Flag Room

2010-01-17T18:10:00.000-06:00

THE KITCHEN

Overview…
It is really dirty- dirty dishes about, open seasonings, crumbs everywhere, dirty mop water
It is chaotic and careless
There are fly strips and mouse traps

It holds all the machinery of the building…the furnace, hot water heater, breakers, alarm system, phone connections

It holds the guts of the building
The sounds…
Dipping
Ticking

The backyard & alley

Hum of the refrigerator

Everything makes noise…the cabinets, the drawers, the appliance doors

With all the chaos of this room, it should be louder

The smell…

Faint bacon smell
The refrigerator is sour

The lighting…

Single fluorescent tubes

One incandescent light

Large window- daylight and alley light

The inventory…a mere taste of what is there…

Push mower & rake

Food- there are oils, seasonings, the fridge is full; it is a working kitchen

Computer components & a fax machine

Kitchen tools- pots, pans, service pieces (real & disposable), mugs, plates, knives, etc

2- 55gallon drum garbage cans

2 coolers

Coffee maker & Microwave

Random plants

Large chalkboard & cork board

2 sinks

Appliances- stove/oven, refrigerator/freezer

An island with cabinet space

2 tables, couple of chairs, and a stool

The temperature…

Average but drafty near the door and the window

THE FLAG ROOM

Overview…

A cluttered room to dump things in…no real purpose

The windows look like they open and have 1’deep sills

It is carpeted; same red as the church

Walls are painted, the ceiling is peeling badly

There are 6 coat hooks on one wall at about 4’h

There is also a bar for handing clothes running wall to wall; doesn’t look very well anchored

There is a small (8”) kick-out from the wall, near the door, that create a 3’ wide stoop that would be comfortable to sit on

The sounds…

The traffic on North Ave.

The smell…

Like an old closet

The lighting…

No fixtures

2 stain glass windows- daylight, streetlight (North Ave.)

A mirror is opposite the windows

The inventory…

Carpet rolls

Wood scraps & shims

Mop heads

1 TVs

1 2-drawer wood filing cabinets

Extension chords

Plastic tarp

3-step ladder

Stereo components

Wooden chairs- 5 child size, 1 regular

Shop vac

6 Tore up couch cushions
3 cans of paint

2 box fans

2 metal folding chairs

A long poled grabber of sorts

A wheeled wagon approximately 1’wx4’lx 3”d

The temperature…

Touch cooler than the church, due to the drafty windows

ck photos- first visit

2009-12-14T20:35:00.001-06:00

Former Pastors

2009-12-13T02:06:00.000-06:00

St. Paul's listing in the Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Norwegians in Chicago

2009-12-13T01:20:00.003-06:00

A brief history of the establishment of the Norwegian community on Chicago's Northwest Side

Welcome

2009-12-10T21:02:00.001-06:00

The process begins. What follows are thoughts, documentations, data, and resource for our exploration of St. Paul's Church.