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Fake plastic trees
Jun. 29th, 2008 07:06 pmI really want to like the Docklands. There are parts of it that I love - the twisty bridge over the river, the weird park with its unnatural geometry printed straight from a clunky CAD program. It's the heart of the site that's the problem: it just doesn't appear to have one.
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aeliel and I went to see Ignite last night, along with jilavre and qwade. Excellent company, and an imposing fire-powered organ looming over the gathered crowd. Unfortunately the pyrophone really failed to impress. Strong wind hampered the performance, blowing flames askew or snuffing them out entirely. The percussion sounded fine, but the organ pipes certainly didn't live up to their billing - making faint drones that were drowned out by the drums. At least it left the Fire Garden for dead... despite the name, it turned out to be a collection of white plastic sculptures and an orange light. For a festival about fire, there was a sad lack of burning things to ward off the winter chill.
I then stupidly suggested getting a drink from Hot Chocolate. Note to self and anyone else considering the place: DO NOT GO BACK, no matter how tempting their website looks. We sat and shivered at an outside table (next to four heaters, none of which were turned on) for three-quarters of an hour waiting for the staff to figure out how to make four hot drinks. The waiters looked lost, forlornly carrying the same tray back and forth past our table - no doubt looking for customers who sensibly decided that it just wasn't worth the wait.
At least the company was good, and the pyrophone looked pretty...
I also loved the glowing trees that illuminated the walkways, but forgot to take a picture of them. They look simple enough to make... take a long string of superbright LED fairy lights, arrange it on a wire armature until it has the desired shape, and then squirt layers of clear acrylic resin over the whole lot. The stringy resin traps some of the light, illuminating the structure as well as the area around it. I want to find a bulk supply of acrylic so I can make my own...
aeliel and I went to see Ignite last night, along with jilavre and qwade. Excellent company, and an imposing fire-powered organ looming over the gathered crowd. Unfortunately the pyrophone really failed to impress. Strong wind hampered the performance, blowing flames askew or snuffing them out entirely. The percussion sounded fine, but the organ pipes certainly didn't live up to their billing - making faint drones that were drowned out by the drums. At least it left the Fire Garden for dead... despite the name, it turned out to be a collection of white plastic sculptures and an orange light. For a festival about fire, there was a sad lack of burning things to ward off the winter chill.I then stupidly suggested getting a drink from Hot Chocolate. Note to self and anyone else considering the place: DO NOT GO BACK, no matter how tempting their website looks. We sat and shivered at an outside table (next to four heaters, none of which were turned on) for three-quarters of an hour waiting for the staff to figure out how to make four hot drinks. The waiters looked lost, forlornly carrying the same tray back and forth past our table - no doubt looking for customers who sensibly decided that it just wasn't worth the wait.
At least the company was good, and the pyrophone looked pretty...
I also loved the glowing trees that illuminated the walkways, but forgot to take a picture of them. They look simple enough to make... take a long string of superbright LED fairy lights, arrange it on a wire armature until it has the desired shape, and then squirt layers of clear acrylic resin over the whole lot. The stringy resin traps some of the light, illuminating the structure as well as the area around it. I want to find a bulk supply of acrylic so I can make my own...
