Mass Studios

There's been a few movies filmed right in Worcester in the past couple of years. The Maiden Heist at the Worcester Art Museum, Bruce Willis's film The Surrogates at the old Worcester Courthouse (good buddy of mine Andy Fish ran into Brucio while he was mailing a letter) and most recently a film starring Christian Bale and Robert DeNiro was filmed at Nick's as well as around the Woo. There was even talk Martin Scorese wanted to film a movie inside the now demolished Worcester State Hospital. But the city wouldn't allow it because of liability or something along those lines.

Recently both the Worcester Telegram and Worcester Magazine ran articles talking about a group called The Pullman Project LLC preparing to open a film studio in North Worcester which will be called Mass Studios in what was originally the home of the Pullman Train Car Company. Once the manufacturer of train cars and trolley buses.

That's right folks. A long time ago trolley cars used to run through Worcester. This is some of the reason why Kelley Square is designed the way it is.

However, since the trolley hasn't run through Worcester for many moons, the need for a company that manufactered them became redundant. And the building abandoned. The Pullman Project is looking to utilize the 125,000 square feet of that building into a working film and television studio.

The project is being spearheaded by founder founder Barbara Guertin, developer Anton Nel and producer Kristen Lucas. I got to know Barbara through Nicole Watson at Nick's. I was still in the process of looking for actors for my Sherlock Holmes production and Nicole connected me with Barbara whom in turn connected me with a young actor by the name of Connor Lee who did an excellent job in the role of Col. Sebastian Moran.

Barbara was a huge help in fitting that final piece of the puzzle for me and was able to offer really wonderful advice in getting what really was my very first production together.

Once completed, what would something like this offer the city of Worcester. Well, as mentioned in their mission statement, Mass Studios will be a premiere full-service independent studio campus dedicated to providing content creators of all kinds with the most technologically advanced user‐friendly, one-stop production studio and office facility in Massachusetts.

And what they will feature four state-of-the-art sound stages for film and television production, each with its own support space, pre and post-production offices, and writer’s office space, four audio editing bays, four video editing bays a back lot along with on-site parking.

The Mass Studios Campus is strategically located on approximately a 14-acre Site in the city of Worcester, MA. Sound stages, office buildings and back lot, are the primary permanent facilities used in the production of high value content for film, television and gaming entertainment.

The Mass Studio Campus provides a system that offers a wide variety of infrastructure, amenities, and services including high clearance, column free sound stage space, with adjacent support area for dressing rooms, offices, wardrobe storage, make-up rooms, and pre and post-production office space.

Personally, I think this sounds great. And when this comes to pass I would love to be a part of it.

You can read both the Telegram and the Worcester Magazine articles online to find out more or to find out how to contact Mass Studios

Upcoming show: Blackstone Canalfest September 8th 2012

 

I will be doing my very first (but the fifth annual) Blackstone Canalfest will take place Saturday, September 8, on Harding Street in Worcester, directly above the buried canal. The show itself will be taking place from 11AM till 5PM.

If you happen to be in the area, please stop by. I should have copies of The Casque of Amontillado available just in time for the show.

Smokestack Urban BBQ

Syd and I were mighty impressed with our visit to Smokestack Urban BBQ located near the Canal District in Worcester Massachusetts. We decided to give it a go coming home from work on Saturday night and we're already looking forward to our next visit.

It was first brought to our attention when we recently took part in stART on the Street's Spring Show on Green Street. A kid had been passing out menu's to everyone at the show. He had also mentioned that the vegetarian chili was even more popular than their regular chili. Since Syd's been a vegematarian for the past 20 years, it's always nice to find places that accomodates the veggie crowd.

And there are actually quite a few in the Woo that do.

The restaurant is located in what appears to be an old Mill Building. Parking could be a bit of an adventure, but we were able to find a spot. The first thing that struck me when we walked in was how spacious the place was. Even though it seemed to be hopping even around 8:30/9PM, you don't get the feeling like you're cramped in a phone booth waiting for a table the way some places can be.

And it was very clean while maintaining that funky old mill look.

And the food was great!! I had a Stacker Burger which is a burger topped with Pulled Pork. Syd had a vegetarian burger which looks like it could rival the one she had at Local Burger out in Northampton. It was equally as hearty looking.

And they had a decent beer selection. Any place that has Narragansett Lager for $2.25 is tops in my books.

I recommed checking it out. Great BBQ and great ambience.

New Print!! Scooby Doo? Where Are You?

Well the powers that be decided to postpone stART on the Street: Spring Edition till next Sunday due to the unpredictable weather. Which it looks like it may have been a good idea looking at some of the ominous clouds and it started to rain.

But it's given Syd and I the opportunity to work on a few extra goodies as well as finally buy a tent for the show next Sunday. Which we will use for future shows. Including Sowa's Market in Boston which the two of us have seriously considered taking part in.

But if you come to Green Street next Sunday from 11AM till 5PM, the print above is just one of the new goodies you will be seeing at the show. Hope to see you all there!!

New Art: The White Rabbit Sends A Little Bill

In hopes to entice you to come out to this Sunday's stART at the Station taking place at Worcester's Historic Union Station, here's a brand new pen and ink sketch inspired by Sir John Tenniel's original artwork for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

And remember!! I am now accepting CREDIT CARD purchases at all my shows. Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express are all accepted!!

Worcester Magazine: The Fuzz Club

Beards! Love 'em or loathe 'em they're still beards. I've always been one of those people who grows them for the Winter and shaves them off in the Spring. I'm also lucky Syd likes me either way.

On a lark I suggested to Worcester Magazine editor Doreen Manning about doing a Beards of Worcester issue. The idea was finding different artists, musicians and so forth from around about the Woo who sported the old face fur.

Wasn't I surprised when she thought the idea was great and I found myself on Monday morning down at Worcester Magazine having my picture taken.

And they thought of a much better title for the issue than I could have imagined.

And the result was an issue that was a lot of fun to be a part of and some really great portraits of artsy folks such as Scott Holloway, Kevin McKeon (dressed in his hot dog costume), Shane Hall and Milo just to name a few.

Newspapers don't always HAVE TO BE posting something depressing. They can be fun too. Besides, this is considered a magazine. So, they're articles can be a bit more diverse and enjoyable than the usual "Welcome Wagon Runs Over Newcomer" type stories.

Much like Womag's End of the Year Comic Issue. More on that later.

The issue hits newsstands around the metropolis today. But if you're not able to pick up a copy, you may also read it online:
Worcester Magazine

Boston Donuts

I discovered Boston Donut three or four years ago. At the time it was going by the name Gourmet Donuts. I'm not sure why they changed the name to Boston seeing that they are located right smack dab in the heart of Worcester on Park Avenue. But they did. And thankfully the quality hasn't changed with the name.

I suppose what amused and intrigued me when I first saw it was 1.) It was doing business out of an old Dunkin Donuts and 2.) They were using a very similar font as Dunkin for their sign.

It surprised me that they didn't get into hot water over that. But maybe that's why the name changed. Dunkin might have seen it as a jab inferring that the donuts at this little shop are considered gourmet over Dunkin's. Boston is a bit more innocuous.

Still, the truth hurts Dunkin' ;-) Well, anyways...

I always prefer to have my cup of coffee at home in the morning but I haven't had time to brew a pot of late. So, remembering how great my last visit to Boston Donut was, I decided to reconnect.

Not wanting to stop at either Dunkin' or Starbucks, I went out of my way to Boston Donut get a cup of hot French Vanilla Coffee to have on my drive into work. French Vanilla is one of my favorites in the morning next to good old fashioned regular coffee.

There was enough of a crowd there that made me have to park in the Walgreen's parking lot next door. I began to worry I was going to be standing in line for an eternity to get my cup of Joe.

Not the case. I stepped inside and the two women working behind the counter were efficient at an almost inhuman pace. I mean it!! One moment I'm three or four people behind them. The next I'm standing outside holding a hot cup of coffee wondering if I just stepped into a wormhole and traveled five seconds into the future.

I'm not sure if I even paid for the coffee it happened so quick.

But I know for a fact fast doesn't always equal good. A McDonald's burger is fast. But it is far from being good. As impressive as the service of these two women were, if this coffee didn't taste good, I would be very disappointed.

My fears were quelled when I took a sip. It was just as good as I remembered it to be. I was impressed. The fact that they could move the line along and still maintain a level of quality to the coffee was very admirable. I was driving along enjoying a great cup of coffee while other people were probably still sitting in the drive-thru at Dunkin's.

I've seen the drive-thru at Dunkin's first hand. It never moves along. You'll be lucky you don't age like the villain from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade while you wait for your coffee.

I think if they put these two women in charge of the drive-thru not only would the line move along, but I think the coffee's quality would improve.

Maybe not.

I'm still not sure how Boston's donut's and breakfast sandwiches are. Sydney says the donuts are pretty good. And she's one that swears by Dunkin's. As for the breakfast sandwiches. I couldn't tell you.

All I can tell you is the coffee's great!!

I've also heard great things about Dippin' Donuts and Gonuts 4 Donuts (located on 517 Park Ave in Worcester. I'm not sure if their name has changed again too) from some very reliable sources and I may have to try both at some time. But it's going to be very hard to tear me from Boston Donut. They managed to drag me back in.

I highly recommend all my Woo-Town friends to take a break from your Dunkin routine and try Boston, Dippin' or Gonuts. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised by trying something new.

The Wortown Bombshells

You probably didn't realize Worcester Massachusetts had it's own Burlesque Troupe. Well it does!! Introducing The Wortown Bombshells.

For those of you unfamiliar:

Burlesque is a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. In 20th century America, the form became associated with a variety show in which striptease is the chief attraction.

For those of you familiar with burlesque, don't bother reading the last paragraph ;-)

Well, the Bombshells will be hosting their very first Sketch Night at the Hotel Vernon in Kelley Square on July 29th from 8pm till 10pm with a $5 admission and free food and cheap beer.

Which seems like a great excuse to me to risk a stopping violation from one of Kelley Square's MANY invisible stop signs and red lights.

Click on the banner below and get to know the loverly ladies of the Wortown Bombshells:

Woo-Town & Me :-)

It was a phrase I've been using for the past few years. When mentioning any events either on my blog here, my blog or Myspace, on Facebook or whenever I'm doing something for either stART on the Street, ARTSWorcester or a class I'm teaching at the Worcester Art Museum, I would refer to Worcester as Woo-Town.

Nobody else was at the time although I did get a few of my friends to start calling it Woo-Town. So, you can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I am the author of that nickname for the grey slate Metropolis we all know and love as Worcester Massachusetts.

You can look up my blog on Myspace and I believe there are post going a couple years back where I refer to Worcester as Woo-Town. And I don't remember hearing it called that before me. If you wish to refute me on that, please send along your evidence.

But getting to the point, you can imagine my surprise and delight when I was flipping through Worcester Magazine yesterday and I saw a section of it referred to as Woo-Town.

Needless to say if I have started a trend and people are starting to refer to Worcester as Woo-Town, then I am very pleased to be a part of it. Even if I can't make a cent off the phrase, there is something somewhat satisfying about being part of something in a small way.

If you happened to miss Pop Euphoria's opening tonight...

Be sure to check it out before the show ends January 17th 2009 during ARTSWorcester's regular hours!! Congratulations to Veronica, Andy, Raffy, Tom Grady, Jamie Buckmaster, Mike Briggs and EVERYONE involved in the show!! It's such a great collection of pop art both from the Worcester area and beyond!! AND the actual cowel Adam West wore in the Batman series is there on display. How cool is that???

ARTSWorcester is located on 660 Main Street at the Aurora, Worcester, MA 01610

stART at the Station is TOMORROW!!

Hosted By: stART On The Street
When: Sunday Dec 07, 2008
at 12:00 PM
Where: Union Station
2 Washington Square
Worcester, Massachusetts|22 01608
United States

Monsters Do Not Scare Me

Pages two and three for an upcoming story for Detour #12's Friends and Monsters issue. The title of the story is Monsters Do Not Scare Me and it's another silent movie style story.

I suppose if you would like to read into the story, it's could be seen as cutting the monsters in your own life down to size.

20 Artists of Worcester - Book Signing - Gallery Show

Some very good friends of mine were part of this book called 20 Artists of Worcester and there's going to be a gallery opening and book signing for it's release. The show will be taking place:

Date: Friday, November 14, 2008
Time: 5:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: The Davis Art Gallery - The Printer's Building
Street: 44 Portland Street, 3rd Floor
City/Town: Worcester, MA

To find out more about the show and some of the great artists featured in the book, log onto their website at:

http://20artists.wordpress.com

So, if you happen to be in WooVegas that night, come on out to what's going to be a really great show!!

Fun and exciting classes and events on the horizon...

I have several classes coming up in the Fall for the Worcester Art Museum. Two classes for children and my very first adult education class at the Museum. I will let you know when they are up and running on the WAM website.

The Art of the Cartoon 8-10 years on Saturdays at 10am till 12noon from 10/11/08 till 12/6/08 and Drawing Workshop: Superheroes 8-10 also on Saturdays from 12:30pm till 2:30pm from 10/11/08 till 12/6/08

Introduction to Graphic Novel on Friday nights from 5:30pm till 8pm from 10/3/08 till 11/14/08

What I'm hoping to accomplish in this class is to show the students that you can do so much more with comics than superhero comics. Which I enjoy immensely. But people get into this rut of thinking that comic books HAVE TO BE guys in their skivvies flying around the city and women with... with... huge tracks of land.

But artists like Dave Sims, Daniel Clowes, Art Spiegelman, Terry Moore and Chester Brown did storylines that were outside the realms of the superhero genre. Some of which in the cases of Daniel Clowes and Chester Brown were pretty "down to earth" types of stories.

Basically, my point being, you could create a story based on a night out you had in Worcester. It doesn't have to necessarily go anywhere. And the artwork doesn't have to be super realistic and dynamic to make a great graphic novel. Myself and many of the members of the UCF Group work in styles are outside of the usual comic art aesthetics.

I suppose work from your strengths and use them to tell a story.

A great example of a superhero story that is outside the normal superhero story is Batman: Year One. The artwork is not the usual superhero style artwork. It's very straightforward and simplistic. But yet, I find it completely satisfying and I really enjoy David Mazzucchelli very straightforward, simplistic but yet stylized artwork. The artwork helps you to focus on Frank Miller's writing.

But that's the key. It shows you that the characters don't have to be musclebound or have... um... huge tracks of land. If you have a great story, you accept that the artwork isn't as dynamic (whatever that means) as the usual superhero type artwork.

But bad writing. It doesn't matter how beautiful, dynamic or stylized the artwork is. If the story sucks, the artwork is no better than eating candy all day. Sure if tastes good. But it leaves you somewhat unsatisfied in the end.

Well, that's all on the teaching front.

As for the months moving forward. The Worcester Pub Scrawl will be happening again July 13th at Ralph's Chadwick Diner on 148 Grove Street in Worcester MA from 6:30pm till last call.

Or whenever your fingers fall off. Or you find you find you can no longer draw a straight line.

And in September, I'm already planning on taking part in stART on the Street which will be happening September 21st from 11am till 5pm from the corner of Hyland to the corner of Grove.

After that, I will be taking part in the Boston Comic Con in November at the Back Bay Center and Holiday Art at the Station which will be taking place at Union Station in Worcester MA.

I'll be sure to pass along the times and dates of those events once the information is available.

Well, that's all for now. I hope y'all have a great 4th of Jooly weekend!!

Make plans for another night of beer and socializing

So, bring your sketchbooks, pens, pencils, notebooks, laptops and sheet music for another night of art, beer and socializing.

A month or so in the making, but tonight's the night!!

So, show up around 6:30pm until whenever your fingers fall off for a night of art, beer and socializing with other great artists, writers and musicians from the Worcester MA area!!

I'm hoping to have this become a once a month event either at Ralphs or another bar or pub somewhere around and about Worcester. I'm also hoping to incorporate other aspects to the event like the possibility of an eight hour comic book jam sometime either in July or August where the artists promptly show up at 6:30pm and in that eight hour stretch of time they are FORCED TO create an eight page comic book story which will appear in a short group anthology.

Another thing I'm very excited about is good friends of mine Andy Fish and Tom Grady who I work with through both the UCF Anthology and the Worcester Art Museum are planning something really great at WAM. To quote Andy himself:

Uber Artist Tom Grady and I are attempting to launch a version of Dr Sketchy's Anti Art School Life Drawing sessions here at WAM on either Thursday or Friday nights, and it looks like it's pretty close to happening. Dr Sketchy's, in case you don't know, combines art with snacks and laughs as we attempt to have some fun with some figure work all the while working hard not to take ourselves too seriously. There will be a nominal charge for the model fee-- something along the lines of $5 and it's completely drop in but limited to 20 people. MORE as we work out the final details.

I had a great time at stART at the Park

Although, I left the event with a slight sunburn, I had a great time!! Hopefully, they will do it again at Beaver Brook Park again next year. It was really a great venue for this event!!

I had a great deal of fun chatting with some of the artists and crafters around me. And it was really nice chatting with the people who were out and about checking out the show.

I'm looking forward to stART on the Street now!! But not too much. I don't want the Summer to end too quickly.

stART in the Park is TOMORROW 6/1/08!!

Sunday June 1, 2008
11:00am - 4:00pm
Beaver Brook Park, Mann and Chandler Streets
Worcester, MA
FREE!!



100+ artists and crafters, performers, food vendors, kids activities, organizations and more!

A day long celebration of arts, crafts, culture, cuisine and fun in the sun! Join us for a free celebration in Beaver Brook Park on Mann Street in Worcester, MA. Bring a blanket and spread out a picnic lunch or purchase food from area restaurants and caterers.

Items available for purchase include arts & crafts, produce, decorative and edible plants and more - be a responsible member of the community and sustain local small businesses!

Visit the stART in the Park webpage:

www.startonthestreet.org

I will be selling and signing copies of Diary of the Black Widow and Confessions of a Peculiar Boy... and Other Stories as well as selling copies of my signed prints and doing sketches all day long!!

See you there!

The Worcester Pub Scrawl Sunday June 22nd!!

More news about a potential Drink and Draw style event...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been continuing to chat with fellow Undercoverfish contributor Pete Beaudoin of That's Entertainment fame and other artists around the Worcester County area through Myspace and Facebook about the possibility of starting a monthly (or bi-monthly) event similar to the extremely popular Drink and Draw which takes place around the country. Tenatively, the event will take place June 22nd at Ralph's Chadwick Diner in Worcester MA.

I will have more definitive information up as soon as I possibly can. But mark down June 22nd somewhere on your social calendar because THAT'S when we hope to have everything going.

Until then, stay tuned!!