Cross-Training | Pageant of the Masters 2010

I’ve mentioned it before… the idea of Cross-training. Athletes cross-train to give their bodies a break from their normal sport… and also to work the brain in a different way. Way back when, in my soccer days, I joined a swim team during the summers to cross-train for the Fall soccer season. Not only did swimming work different muscles than soccer did, but by the time Fall season rolled around, I could run like 10 laps around the field without breathing. Creativity can be very similar to athletics in the sense that it takes the development of creative muscles to be able to turn your creativity into something useful. After a certain amount of time using the same creativity muscles…. I find myself in one of two places– the first being the place of slight laziness, since my muscles are used to that particular activity…. the second being a place of creative dryness. Neither of these places are good to stay in… and it takes a lot of determination to choose the hard road of paving new paths and finding new inspiration.

For me, other art forms like painting, drawing, sculpting, and music inspire new creative juices. When I’m feeling particularly unmotivated… I pull out my art box and create SOMETHING… and I love it!

I spent an evening recently at Laguna Beach’s famous Pageant of the Masters and Festival of the Arts media night. A friend, Ernie Castello, invited Christopher and I to attend for the 2nd year in a row and, let me tell YOU… it was SO COOL! If you get the chance to go to the Pageant of the Masters…. take it! It’ll change the way you see art…. and it will totally fill your creativity cup as well!

The evening began with a preview into the Festival of the Arts, known as California’s Premier Fine Art Show. It was voted “Best Arts Festival” by the Travel Channel this year… and it’s the longest running outdoor fine art show in California! Basically, tons of artists set up outside on this really nice patios area and there’s mini art classes and demonstrations…. you can even talk with the artists themselves! Here’s some shots from the Festival…

The second portion of the evening consisted of a behind the scenes tour of the Pageant and we learned about each step by step process from the backdrop design, to the costuming, to the actual placement of real people into the live works of art. Here’s some shots from behind the scenes…

ps… this dress was hand-painted to look identical to the one in this picture…

For each piece of art being shown in the pageant, the cast is painted to look exactly like their characters look in the original masterpiece.

See if you can pick this guy (above) out in the following masterpiece named “Prince’s Day” by Jan Steen.

Here’s some more shots of the cast being painted…. this guy is going to be one of the characters in the famous “Etruscan Dancers from the Tomb of the Leopards.”

Once they’re painted and costumed up, they’re placed by the stage artists into their backdrops…. very intricately, I might add.

This is the final presentation the audience would see… how cool!!

“Bon-Ton Burlesque Poster”

“Coffee and Donuts”, by Scott Moore.

Many thanks to Ernie for hanging out with us, inviting us, and just being plain awesome. 🙂

This night was so rejuvenating for me. I loved soaking in the artsy atmosphere and brushing shoulders with the oldies and newbies of the art and media world. Maybe one day I’ll be half as good at creating as these amazing people…..