Lanterns - Enterprise Edition

When I found out that Wil Wheaton was coming to the Vancouver Fan Expo this year I decided I wanted to build the Enterprise as a lantern... I'd thought about it for a few years, and this seemed like a good excuse to actually build it... the only problem was that I was in the middle of GISH and already deep in build a TARDIS Little Free Library mode. (More about that in another post.) So, while I wanted to build the lantern, I really didn't have the time... until 10 days before Fan Expo was set to begin, when I got the crazy notion to build it anyways.

ETA: George Takei has signed it!!

Thus began project #canidothisin10days (spoiler alert - no, I couldn't, but 11 days is not bad!). The following 11 days consisted of very little sleep, but I did get it built in time to bring it on the Sunday. In a last-minute decision fueled by a conversation with someone while we were waiting for Wil's Q&A to begin, I chose to have Wil sign it. It was a rather surreal experience, fueled by sleep deprivation and anxiety, where I was basically incapable of normal dialogue. Luckily, I had written out what I wanted to say to Wil that morning, and was able to give it to him. I got confirmation later that he did read it, and now any time I feel like something I have made or written doesn't matter, I'll look at that screenshot to remind me that it does.

After Fan Expo I was unhappy with the proportions of the saucer compared to the rest of the ship, so I did some emergency surgery on the Enterprise and retrofitted her with a larger saucer. I was careful not to go near the area that Wil signed, and that is still safe and in tact.

ETA: George Takei was at FanExpo this spring, and while I apologized that it was "the wrong Enterprise" he signed it and was extremely supportive and kind.

There are more pics on my instagram @Tortoisefly.

Lanterns - TARDIS Edition

This summer Jacquie and I got coerced into taking over Lanterns for Folk Fest. We are hoping our usual fearless leader will come back and take the reigns again, but in the meantime we survived being in charge... just barely!

I built a TARDIS lantern. It's one I've been wanting to do for years, but one of our former team members built one years ago and I felt like I had to wait for the statute of limitations to run out.

Here you can see the project from frame to final lantern.  I took her to VanFanExpo last month and only hit two people on the head with her. (Sorry people!) She needs a longer pole to go out into public safely.

 More pics can be found on my instagram @Tortoisefly