It all started with Saturday morning tv and a home improvement show host with a hyphenated last time. This led to a discussion about last names and their origins, and, eventually, a Google search on our own last names. I found out that there were other Falchetti artists (Guiseppi Falchetti, 1843 - 1918) and, strangely, pop singers (Giovanni Falchetti), and Kiersten found out that her name is famous, in movie sound editing circles, for The Wilhelm Scream. It turns out the Wilhelm Scream is a very distinctive scream which has appeared in movies since the 50's. It gets its name from the 1953 movie, The Charge at Feather River, in which a red-shirt character named Private Wilhelm gets taken out by an arrow, emitting a shrill scream which has since become a bit of a running gag in movie soundtracks. You've heard it - if you've seen any of the Star Wars or Indiana Jones movies, the editors at Skywalker Sound seemed to have an affinity for it, whether it's a stormtrooper tumbling off a balcony or a bunch of Indiana-Jones-chasing henchmen driving off a cliff.

We thought this was too funny, especially when we discovered there's a bit of a cult following to tracking the scream's usage in movies. Check out the YouTube links below:

There was a good turnout for this weekend's workshop at the Wyoming Valley Art League, with 16 members attending. We had time to work with white, red, and black Colourfix paper, and I gave everyone dark green and gray samples to take home. The workshop's title was "Capturing Light with Colored Pencil and Sanded Papers". Here's a snapshot of the main exercise, a rose, done on 4" x 6" black Colourfix:

Clipping from Diamond City's art and exhibit section, the week before the Something Special solo show.

Kiersten's father emailed some pics he snapped during the opening reception at Something Special. Below: Kiersten and me.

My parents talking with John Koshinski. John's my cousin, and an accomplished landscape oil painter.

Kiersten and her grandmother, Florence

Betsy from Lizza Galleries.

My parents

The artist's reception for my solo show at Something Special went great this weekend! Saturday morning there was a flurry of activity as Kiersten and I packed up all of the pictures, tools, and show cards, and headed to the gallery to begin hanging the show. Hanging went quickly, and while we were working, the Something Special folks were busy cooking up all of the yummy appetizers for the evening. They took care of the details for the setting - florals, candles, music - and were the hosts, and we got all of the artwork hung, tags and cards. We had enough time to head back home and catch a bit of a rest before getting changed and coming back for the reception's opening at 5 pm. There was a great turnout! Thanks so much to everyone who supported the show - members of the Colored Pencil Society DC115, the Wyoming Valley Art League, Lizza's Studios, friends and family, and everyone at Something Special (the food, by the way, was fantastic, and the show set up was wonderfully warm and inviting). DC115 sent a beautiful floral arrangement for the show - blue flowers which went so well with the pieces. I even sold a piece during the opening - "Curve". I was able to snap some pictures before everyone came in (below), although I was too busy to actually snap any during. Kiersten's family snapped plenty during, though, so I should have some to post in Part 2.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to support me on the opening night!

8" x 10" Prismacolor colored pencils on gray Pastelbord. Completed 2007.

When I asked my brother if there was anything in particular he'd like for Christmas, he surprised me by asking for a colored pencil portrait of him. I chose Pastelbord for this because my self portrait was done on it, and I liked the idea that the two pictures would share a similar visual style.

Scribbletalk has released its annual calender for sale. Each month has a different artist, and works were chosen by vote. "Cascade" appears for March 2008. You can purchase a calender from Cafepress or view the orginal Scribbletalk thread.

It's been about 2 months since our engagement, and it's been a whirlwind of wedding planning. But we've got our ceremony and reception site - the beautiful Sayre Mansion in Bethlehem, PA, and our date in June 2008. This past weekend we met with the photographer and florist, and now we're starting to choose all of our yummy options from the caterer. Today's task: address and send out all of our save the date cards....which are cute little magnets. The magnets, as it turned out, required assembly - they came as separate adhesive backed magnets and printed cards. Aligning the two took a little more skill than you might guess (sooo sticky!). On the plus side, we had plenty of left over adhesive backings, which are exactly business card sized. Kiersten suggested I stick them onto some of my art cards - so now I have 'Artwork of Shawn Falchetti' magnets. Neat!

Kiersten and I carved our pumpkins this weekend, and now are munching on some roasted pumpkin seeds. Happy Halloween!

....yes! Two weeks ago Kiersten and I spent her birthday at a beautiful bed and breakfast near New Hope, PA. We had our own cottage at Woolverton Inn, complete with a small private garden just outside the doors from our room. The grounds were filled with arbors, cobblestone fountains, lazy pastures with sheep, and scenic views. After a wonderful dinner at Sargeantsville Inn, we returned to our room, lit the fireplace, and opened a bottle of wine we'd bought from a winery during a trip to Monticello when we first started dating. It was then that I popped the question....and Kiersten accepted! The next day we had lunch with Kiersten's parents, and dinner with mine, and everyone was very excited to hear the news. As we told friends over the next few days, we were surprised the everyone immediately asked all of the details of when the date was, where, type of ceremony - we haven't got to any of the details beyond the "we're engaged!" stage! So, last weekend we venturedto Barnes and Noble, bought a wedding planning book, and started to think about some details. This last week we've been looking at ideas for ceremony and reception sites, and visited a few this weekend.

We'd love to have an outdoor ceremony in Pennsylvania either in the Wyoming or Lehigh Valley area ...the type with a gazebo or arbor, a scenic backdrop....and a convenient nearby "plan B" indoor locale if the weather doesn't cooperate. We're planning on an indoor reception, and it doesn't have to be at the same site as the ceremony. For the reception site, we're looking for someplace with a little personality. If you've got any recommendations (either for outdoor sites or reception sites), I'm all ears!

Kiersten snapped this photo this morning from our deck, looking out at the bright yellow leaves of the tree in our back yard.

Cascade won Best of Show in the Wyoming Valley Art League's Fall Members Show. The show is on through the month of October at the Mid Town Gallery in Wilkes-Barre

5" x 7" Prismacolor colored pencil on Storm Blue Colorfix paper. 2007.

This was part of a DC115 members' project for the hospitality suite display at the 2007 CPSA show. The overhead lighting used in the piece gave me the idea to draw Cascade - although I switched to brown Colorfix paper for that piece.

The weekly entertainment guide, Diamond City, featured a picture of "In the Red Room" in its story about the Something Special DC115 Members Show. The article appeared in "The Artist's Studio" section of the paper.

Tonight we hung the show at Shakti, a day spa located on Market Street, Kingston. There was room for all 10 pieces, and I was able to group some of the series pieces together. The show will run for three months. Here's a few snapshots: Pensive and Interlude, at the entrance

Distraction, center right, as seen from the second floor

Curve and Self Portrait, in the back room

My favorite: Wrapped, just over the massage chair (seemed appropriate there!)

Thursday 9/6 I'll drop off 10 pictures for the Wyoming Valley Art League's member show at Shakti, located on Market St, Kingston. This is a three member show which will run for 3 months. Tonight I tagged all of the artwork - it was cool to see all of the pieces layed out together. Depending on the space available, not all 10 may end up in the show, but here's the roster: Bend, Lull, Haven, Blue Nude, Interlude, Curve, Distraction, Pensive, Wrapped, Self Portrait

So, the entire Blue Series, plus two Stonehenge pieces and my self portrait.

Kiersten and I drove to Bristol, RI this weekend for the CPSA DC112 Regional Show. Because it was a 6 hour drive to get there, we decided to make it a fun road trip, stopping overnight midway in New Haven, CT. New Haven is the home of Yale, and was bustling with nightlife and great places to eat. We ventured to the Union League Cafe on Chapel Street, and had an excellent meal with a decadent desert. The next day we arrived in Bristol, and had a sunny waterside lunch at Thames Waterside restaurant, watching the sailboats glide across the water.

A short walk to Gallery 297 brought us to the artist's reception. There I met a bunch of artists I've talked with on Scribbletalk, and whose artwork I admire. We posed for a group photo. Below are: Gary Ruuska, me, Cynthia Brunk, Nicole Caulfield, Christine Hebert.

Afterwards there was a group dinner at Quido's along the water, then we parted ways and Kiersten and I ventured a drive through Colt State Park, which was beautiful. A half-hour drive later, we were at our posh hotel in Providence. As an aside, I'd like to point out that Providence's street design most likely was the work of a madman. I needed to go into "aggressive driving mode" to make it to the hotel, thwarted by one-way streets and lanes of traffic with no street markings or organization. We did have quite a view from the 14th floor of the Westin, however, looking out over the state capitol.

18"W x 24"H Prismacolor colored pencil on brown Colorfix paper. Completed 2007.

Cascade was a follow up from Self Portrait #2, posed under the same overhead picture light. The title refers to the tumbling not only of the woman's hair, but of the play of light as shadows and highlights come in and out down the picture. The part of the piece that gets the most comments - the hair - was actually fairly easy to draw. The shirt was difficult - there's a vertical weave pattern which I struggled with. This picture is interesting in that it's a tight crop drawn at 27" tall - so in effect it's slightly larger than life.

The artist's reception was this weekend for the Something Special DC115 Member's Show. There was a fantastic turnout, with more than 100 people squishing into the shop. Something Special provided some tasty appetizers throughout the event, which were particularly yummy. The show hangs for the next 2 months. In addition to the member works, our self portrait project is also hanging - so you can put a face with the artist's name.

Bend won the Phoenix, AZ, District Chapter 212 Award for Excellence at the CPSA 15th Annual International Show. You can view the other award winners at the CPSA website. Check out my Shows and Events link to see some pictures from this past weekend's trip to Bethesda for the artist's reception.