Subtracted Density Photographic Artwork

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Dis-LEE

I took the Art Fundamentals course at Sheridan College in Oakville, ON. It exposed students like me to the widest variety of art forms in the hope that it would help us to pick a main avenue of artistic study. I didn’t continue in the Arts. However, creativity has never been far from my life over the years.

What I am showing today is a project from the Photographic Studies part of the course. It is a process where one manipulates photo paper before the developing process called Subtracted Density.

Reaching Arm

Most efforts along this line tend to be abstract, but I chose to include one recognizable shape, the arm, but I still leave it up to the viewer as to what it is doing there.

To achieve such effects, you can scratch the photo paper, sand it, or otherwise ‘damage’ it. When the light is shone on the finished product, it interacts differently with the affected areas than with the untouched ones.

Lightning

Although more abstract than the first image, I still chose to give it a title, as the end result reminded me of lightning.

Another project involved adding material to the photo paper before developing, and this was called (wait for it) Added Density. I do have one project left in my portfolio showing this technique but I don’t feel it’s very share worthy!

Have you kept any artwork from your earlier days? Or are you still creating personal masterpieces to this day?

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Disney MGM Studios Decorative Plate

Posted on January 17, 2021 by Dis-LEE

Disney and MGM have gone their separate ways now, but the partnership did yield some great synergy (The Great Movie Ride) and some great merchandise.

It may not look like much, but a closer inspection should give us some reasons to love and appreciate this wonderful decorative plate:

First: I love the gold lettering

Second: The Hollywood Strobes are a nice touch

Third: Grauman’s Chinese Theatre makes a very impressive appearance

Fourth: A long line of limousines are dropping off the elite of Hollywood

I’d like to muse a bit on this point if I may. I wonder if this feature of the image was a nod to another attraction that didn’t do so well: Superstar Limo was situated in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area at Disney’s California Advernture and was one of the original attractions featured on the park’s opening day on February 8, 2001. The ride included figures of celebrities which were stylized and caricatured. And, apparently, it sucked!

Fifth: The Sorcerer Mickey Hat isn’t blocking the view

And it has palm trees, I guess?

Can you see why the limos couldn’t be a nod to the failed Superstar Limo ride? Yes, you guessed it, this plate was minted in 1987. Four years before Disney’s California Adventure even opened! Oh well, it was a thought.

If you like plates, check out the one I have from Tokyo Disneyland and A Disney Original (hint: It’s Walt Disney!)

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Theme Park Spoons from Walt Disney World

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Dis-LEE

Disney’s business model when it comes to the Theme Parks is simple: They count on your vacation dollars staying in the Parks first by admission prices, then with food, and then with every imaginable product they can slap a Disney character on. And we love it!

And like any retail business, they know that volume trumps price, and so Disney offers lots of little items to entice us. Like these wonderful Theme Park Spoons:

Pretty in a Row

I only have three spoons from this set. I imagine there would have been a spoon specifically for the Magic Kingdom, but I could be wrong. Also, there wouldn’t be a spoon for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as it wouldn’t be built until 1998, some time after this set was released.

Let’s start with the first spoon featuring Walt Disney World:

A vintage-looking Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse wave amidst a flower garden in this very 80’s image. Walt Disney World was opened in 1971 but, as we will see, this spoon was released much later.

So let’s continue with the next spoon, featuring Epcot Center:

A very nice artist rendering of Spaceship Earth here. Epcot Center opened in 1982 and had its name changed to EPCOT in 1994.

More on what these dates mean later, but now let’s have a look at the third spoon featuring Disney MGM Studios:

Dapper Mickey and Glamorous Minnie are stepping out for a movie premiere in this image. Disney MGM Studios was opened in 1989 and renamed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2008.

Trademark Stamp

The Disney Trademark shown above doesn’t really help us to date these spoons. This trademark has been used across many decades and periods of Disney merchandising. But we can say with certainty that they were produced between 1989 (when Disney MGM Studios opened) and 1994 (when Epcot Center changed to EPCOT). Sound reasonable?

Makers Mark

It’s very unusual to find Disney merchandise Made in Australia! As you can tell from the tarnishing, these spoons are silverplated.

Base Detail

This leaf embellishment is a very nice touch on the back of each spoon. Although it’s hard to figure out what it has to do with the overall Theme Park motif.

I hope you enjoyed our look back at the Theme Parks via these small pieces of merchandise! How many of your Disney Dollars have been left behind in the Parks?

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Popcorn Light Fixture from Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Dis-LEE

Today, January 13th, is our 31st Wedding Anniversary! I can’t help but think of some of the firsts we embarked on together, way back then. Like our first stay at Walt Disney World which lasted 14 nights and 15 days. A long time but well worth the expense! The year was 2006 and we were there to celebrate our 16th Wedding Anniversary.

We stayed at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort and were blown away by the theming! I remember being particularly taken with this lighting fixture on the wall. It was just beside the window to the right as you entered through the door:

Funny story: When I decided to film the room, we turned on all of the lights, including this popcorn box fixture. As I panned the room, I passed the fixture, and it looked like any other light with no image apparent.

You can see how it looked by viewing the image below:

Where’d the popcorn imagery go? It was cool to discover that when you turn it on, the picture disappears! But if you stare long enough, you can just make out the popcorn image.

The trick, or optical illusion, is achieved because the metal screen is perforated with small holes. When light shines through, it blurs the image, fooling your eyes into seeing only white. An opaque plastic sleeve is fitted behind the metal screen to further diffuse the light.

The above picture shows the back of the fixture. You can see where the wire protrudes from the fixture. This would have been connected to the power wires in a hexagon electrical box. But now it has been retrofitted with a cord and plug. But not up to code, as you can see!

Old School plug with no ground. The safety just keeps getting better!

So how did I come to obtain this piece of the All-Star Movies Resort? Well, it’s surprisingly easy to steal fixtures when you travel with a complete set of tools!

Only kidding! Actually, move forward to probably sometime around 2015. I arrive at that year because it seems that All-Star Movies finished a complete renovation sometime in 2013, so it is likely props and furnishings would have been sold off after that time. I was browsing in an Antique Mall in Belleville, ON. In a back room I saw, not one, but two of these lights lying on the floor! I instantly remembered them from my first Disney Resort stay and just had to have one. I wanted both, but I couldn’t afford that at the time! I paid $100.00 CAN for one and have regretted not finding the money to buy the other ever since.

I’ve been looking for years through my archives for the video footage mentioned earlier but just couldn’t locate it… until yesterday! Just in time to edit it into this post. So without further ado, here it is:

This is in my Top Five Disney Finds!

And after I put the film camera down, my wife took this picture:

Just Another Goof!

AFTERWARD: I found old advertising signage for a Concession Stand in Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanic Museum in MI. Notice the shape? It seems Disney was not the only one to use the iconic popcorn bucket to please and entice customers!

Who’s Hungry?
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THE CHILD from Disney+ Series The Mandalorian

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Dis-LEE

The debate waged as to whether this little green guy was somehow Yoda or some other being from his race. I think we all knew it couldn’t be the Jedi Master, but it was fun to argue about it in true Star Wars fashion!

But now we know he is a separate character, initially called The Child, and now named Grogu. I found this collectible at Wal-Mart. It features The Child in his signature Hover Carrier:

Grogu didn’t get his name until well into Season Two of The Mandalorian, so this piece of merchandise still labeled him as The Child.

This is part of The Bounty Collection (Series 2) and features six distinct figures, all variations on costumes or situations The Child was put in, mostly from Season 1 of the series.

Unboxed

Nothing but cute until you realize that he’ll eat anything, living or dead, without a second thought!

This piece has some nice detailing and is quite heavy for its size. So this isn’t a cheap offering in quality but is a deal with a cost of only around $10.00 CAN.

We have Hasbro to thank for the manufacture of this wonderful toy!

The Mandalorian is the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise developed specifically for television. The story begins five years after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983). The Child has certainly become the breakout character of the series!

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Orange Sipper with Mickey Mouse Image

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Dis-LEE

Due to the citrus theme of the sipper it was likely sold in Walt Disney World in Florida. Walt’s second Park used to be covered in orange trees, so it’s not a stretch to connect this collectible to that location.

Let’s have a taste:

Walt Disney Productions

So when was this sipper produced? Here is what an earlier article on this blog had to say about the WDP trademark: “Walt Disney Productions 1929 until 1986 – This trademark crosses the most amounts of years. So one piece trademarked ‘WDP’ could be old and valuable while another could be newer and relatively worthless. This trademark can be spelled out in full or shortened to the ‘WDP’ letters, or even to ‘Walt Disney Prod’ with all versions being fairly common. It usually depended on how much room was available on the piece in question as to which one was used.” You can read the full post to learn more about Disney trademarks by clicking here.

If it is from Walt Disney World, that would place the manufacture and sale of this sipper between 1971 and 1986.

Plastic Fruit
Missing Straw

Am I worried that the value of this collectible is diminished by the absence of a straw? Not at all! Cast Members likely used generic straws when selling this sipper to guests.

I don’t know about you, but I’m thirsty!

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Walt Disney World ‘Hanging Mickey’ Bell and Spoon

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Dis-LEE

“If it’s worth doing once it’s worth doing thrice or more!” – Disney Merchandising

And with that philosophy, we have seen the proliferation of single images appearing across multiple items like t-shirts, mugs, hats, snow globes, picture frames, banners, etc. This is most common with the year logos or Park Icon logos.

But before the simplification of merchandising offerings, we had some other unusual items that would duplicate the same theme. Such as:

What do a spoon and a bell have in common? I guess they both make tinkling sounds (for the spoon, when you stir your tea, you know?), but in this case, the common feature is the Hanging Mickey:

Or Dangling Mickey, whatever you prefer! Either way it’s a unique feature.

I don’t believe this spoon is silverplated but simply a stamped metal of some kind.

This Walt Disney World logo helps us to date the pieces although with a wide spread of years: The complex in Florida used this logo (the ‘D’ encircling the globe) from 1971 to 1996. So this spoon and bell could have been produced within this time, but I would narrow it down to during the 70’s or very early 80’s. Why?

The Walt Disney Productions trademark also helps me make that guess as it was discontinued on products in 1986. So now the production time has to be between 1971 and 1986.

These two items are identical in every way from the base of the stem up. They only differ in that one has a spoon scoop at the bottom and the other a bell housing with a clapper.

I love finding multiple items sporting the same imagery!

Do you have items in your Disney collection that have the same pictures on them?

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Ambiguous Image of a Bird at Rest and In Flight

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Dis-LEE

In art, it’s fun and challenging to create images that can be viewed from different angles or can be understood as two or more different ‘things’.

Before this gets too confusing, let me show you an example I drew back in the mid-1980’s:

Bird Horizontal

Above you can clearly see a bird flying with its wings in the down beat position. But if we pivot the picture 90 degrees clockwise:

Bird Vertical

Now another bird is seen at rest with its wings still.

This is what is called an Ambiguous Image. Such visual forms ‘create ambiguity by exploiting graphical similarities and other properties of visual system interpretation between two or more distinct image forms. These are famous for inducing the phenomenon of multistable perception. Multistable perception is the occurrence of an image being able to provide multiple, although stable, perceptions‘. Thank you Professor, you can take the rest of the post off!

Ambiguous images are important to the field of psychology because they are often used as research tools used in experiments on the mind.

Well, my mind is blown! I didn’t realize I was creating something so profound with a simple doodle.

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The Collectible Mickey Mouse Shovel Spoon

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Dis-LEE

Why a Shovel Spoon? I don’t think we’ll ever know! I did some research and couldn’t find much about this unusual collectible, other than you can pick them up on eBay for about 10 bucks.

Let’s just dig right in (see what I did there?) and see what we uncover:

So we know it is a Little Present, it is made of Engravable Genuine Pewter, and was produced in the USA by Walt Disney Productions. That’s a lot of information to pile onto the front of a package! But at least we now know that it was released before 1986 (WDP).

The Gang’s all Represented

“A Fort Product”. I couldn’t find anything about this company. Interesting logo, though!

Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy also got their own shovel to stand on. Why? We still don’t know!

No one is this happy to use a shovel!

It’s nice to see such a high level of detail on the backside of Mickey, er… the shovel. The spoon!

Trademark Stamp

Would you like to see what the other characters look like?

Yup, they are all too happy to be digging with shovels! What’s with these people?!?

One unfortunate thing is the use of Mickey on all four of the characters’ packaging. This is a method used by many companies to lower production costs by reusing the packaging designs, but I think it cheapens the line. What do you think?

Do you know what characters this Shovel Spoon concept would have been a perfect fit for? The Seven Dwarfs! It’s even in their theme song:

We dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig in our mine the whole day through
To dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig is what we really like to do
It ain't no trick to get rich quick
If you dig dig dig with a SHOVEL or a pick
In a mine! In a mine! In a mine! In a mine!
Where a million diamonds shine!

We dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig from early morn till night
We dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig up everything in sight
We dig up diamonds by the score
A thousand rubies, sometimes more
But we don't know what we dig 'em for
We dig dig dig a-dig dig

Am I right, or am I right? They even admit it’s what they ‘really like to do’! Oh well, what do I know. Heigh-Ho, it’s time to go!

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Mickey Mouse Races into 2021 in a Porsche

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Dis-LEE

And a Formula 1 Car

As I’ve mentioned before, I love it when Mickey gets behind the wheel! And you know when he does it, he’s going to do it in style!

Case in point is this sweet ride, a canary yellow Porsche:

Dig the license plate!

M-1989 gives us the year this toy was made, and identifies the car as a 1989 Porsche 911, one of the most iconic models on the planet! And what else would Mickey cruise around in?

Unlike most of the cars Mickey drives, this one is not powered by friction. You have to wind this one up.

I think he took the corner too fast!

This toy was made in Japan by the Masudaya Corporation. Masudaya, also known as Masudaya Modern Toys, is a Japanese toy maker which is one of the leading builders of mechanical and battery operated toys. The trademark is Walt Disney Company.

But Mickey doesn’t limit his driving to the open roads. Sometimes he likes to take some laps on the track. And for that, he drives:

Looking cool in his racing suit, Mickey is ready to hit the circuit for the win in 1928! And you all know why that year is significant, right?

This car returns to the friction locomotion we are used to with Mickey’s rides. And in case you weren’t aware, Mickey is both a Champion and a Disney Character.

M-1 stands for Mickey-1 instead of Formula 1. See what they did there?

And again Mickey takes the corner too fast!

We learn from the undercarriage that this car was also made in Japan by the Masudaya Corporation, but this time, in 1988.

Both of these cars still work. The condition would be considered ‘good’, as there are many scratches and signs of wear. Durn kids! Why do they have to play with the toys I’m trying to collect?

You can find more Disney-related cars in the post entitled Chevron Autopia Die-cast Model Cars. Race ya there!

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