Wow! While looking back at week six, here’s a few thoughts that are zipping through my head:
    -Week six has got nothin’ on week five, but it was still majical!
    -We’ve gotten so much work done!
    -We’ve still got so much work to do…
    -I’m tired
    -I’m broke
    -I’m SO thankful for this opportunity…
    -There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing with my summer (:

 

    Compared to week five, week six was rather tame, but I think that’s definitely for the better. Lauren started on the gate leading into Mother Nature’s Cathedral, a space that’s going to bring the walk through the woods to a close, and offer a space that promotes reflection and contemplation. The crystal team continued to cast a plethora of different forms, along with growing crystals on a cow skull that Stephanie so generously donated to the installation. Stephanie began to create and sew the textured flooring that will help transport viewers into the forest with every step, and Alex Ward worked on a diorama/moquette for the shadow puppet theater concept that Silas and Justin developed. Justin and I also put our heads together to come up with a more efficient method of creating the creatures of the forest, and we decided on slip casting their bodies, so Justin could bring them into full-on production mode. This was particularly fun for me because I adore slip casting and the whole process that comes along with it, and I was so thrilled that I was able to pass that skill on to Justin! Daniel has been designing a truly stunning rendition of Mother Nature that will welcome you into the forest, and Justin continued to design the playful, welcoming creatures that will reside within. These creatures, along with Mother Nature, will make a very special appearance in the forest, and our friends at Mad Graphics are going to head over to the studio next week and help us make the majic happen for these entities and help bring them to life.
    Everyone continued on their merry way with their projects, and lent a hand when one was needed, of course, but week six wasn’t all work, we did play. Just a little. It all started when Jen told us about shimmery beer that she had come across at a local brewery, and how it reminded her of us! Eggs and I were particularly enthralled by the idea of drinkable sparkles, since we’re pretty obsessed with all things glittery, but everyone was pretty excited when they heard about it! Jen, being the amazing human that she is, wanted us all to experience it so badly that she tracked down a brewery that would sell this glittery concoxion in growlers to-go! Luckily, this brewery is located in my beautiful hometown of Golden, Colorado, where I’m currently staying with my mom during the work-week, so I was able to pick up this beautiful potion. Shoutout to the kind ladies at Golden City Brewery that hooked it up with the prettiest, glitteriest, yummiest, Summer Sour we’ve ever seen. Thursday after work, we all enjoyed a shimmery glass and headed over to the concert in the park outside of the Civic Center, and enjoyed some time together while a nice bluegrass band played some tunes in the background.
    Alex thought of a great idea for a spirit day theme, where we put everyone’s name in a hat and we had to dress like whoever’s name we picked out. We picked a name on Thursday and dressed like our assigned studio-mate on Friday! This was so fun and everyone really put a great deal of effort into their outfits. Silas got Eggs, Eggs got Justin, Justin got Eric, Eric got Stephanie, Stephanie got Silas, Alex got me, I got Tracy, Tracy got Lauren, Lauren got Alex, Daniel got Jen, Jen got Andrew, and Andrew got Daniel! It was so awesome, we used fake lip rings, nose rings, glasses, hair dye, and even traded and borrowed clothes so we could do the best job being each other that we possibly could…
There it is again, that elevated bond that we’re all developing. Not only do we genuinely have faith in what we’re creating, “Team Spirit,” if you will, but we sincerely believe in each other. Even though we’re all so different, we adore and appreciate one another and all of the beautiful aspects that make us so different in the first place, so much that we even want to celebrate them. In weird ways. Like dressing up as each other…
Psh it’s totally normal guys.