End of the Road

End of the Road: Yokohama Bay Oahu

No matter where you go on the island of Oahu there is a beautiful site. This is one of them. Yokohama Bay is literally the end of the road. The Farrington Highway, which runs along the Waianae side of the island ends at this point. From here on it's a dirt track. I decided on this day to see where the road went and discovered not only the end of the road but that it goes on as a trail of sorts to around the northern tip of the island. I didn't walk around to the other side, though I did consider it, I didn't want to leave my car unattended and I had not idea how long it would eventually take me to go around Kaena Point and back again.  While trying to find the proper spelling for the point, I ran across this great web side about Hawaii roads. http://www.hawaiihighways.com/photos-Oahu5.htm  Apparently at one time you could drive entirely around the island (around Kaena you'd need a four wheel drive as it is a dirt road) but there was damage to the road and the state shut down the road to traffic. It is hike-able though. I for one would recommend it. The views alone are worth the trek. While at the bay I had my lunch and while sitting in the shade of the car, just listened to the waves as they battered the volcanic rock. On this particular occasion the waves were rather rough. There'd been a storm somewhere in the Pacific and the surf was high.

Waianae Range looking SE

When I was  little girl I always wanted to see a volcano, well in Hawaii I got that in spades! The photo to the left is a shot that I took while traipsing through this little valley located on the western side of the range. I wish I could tell you what street I had taken to find this beautiful area but I'm afraid I can't. It was residential and I believe near Makaha. It also has a great neighborhood watch but that story will come in another posting. :)   It was a beautiful day and I had taken the road just to see where it ended and it ended not far from this point. It continued on as a dirt track which only 4-wheel drive vehicles could handle. I walked along the track listening to the beauty of the place, the wind rustling the leaves of the trees and the song of the birds in their branches. The Waianae Range is actually NOT a mountain range per se, it's the remains of a shield volcano. Now before you think I am extremely intelligent, which is far from the case, I didn't know this fact while I was taking photos of the range. I looked it up and according to the information on Wikipedia it is "the eroded remains of an ancient shield volcano that comprises the western half of O'ahu."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waianae_Range

Al Moore April 1948

As an artist I admire other forms of art. My favorite time periods being Egyptian, Greek, Medieval, Renaissance and the pin up artists of the 20's through the 60's. I've accumulated quite a collection of art from these time periods thanks to the Internet but didn't know what I was going to do with them. I know now. I'd like to share my collection with whoever might enjoy seeing it. When possible I will add a link to the site where I found it. One great place is over on Flickr. Old car guy 41 has some GREAT pinups both from advertisements and men's magazines of the time. http://www.flickr.com/photos/47888952@N02/ I actually delved into the realm of the pinup myself. Back when my husband was in Germany (the late 70's)  I sent him pinups that I'd drawn myself. They are rather primitive to what I can do now but for early work it isn't bad and over the years I've lost so much of my earlier endeavors. I found them while my husband and I were sifting through some old papers, throwing away what was trash and keeping what needed to be saved. The pinups were among them. I scanned them and now it's just a matter of piecing them together (they were rather on the large side).

I not only enjoy making paper dolls I also like collecting them and I've accumulated quite a collection which I hope to share on my blog. The major of these will be vintage, some from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Anything I acquire that is modern will be just the doll and in small size so as not to infringe on any ones copyright. Besides if you are a paper doll collector wouldn't you prefer to own an original rather than a copy??  When I was growing up the Sunday paper usually contained a paper doll...Jane Arden, Tillie, Mopsy, Toots and Casper, Blondie. It's a shame the papers don't still carry a doll. I have this notion to upload my newspaper dolls that match the day I blog. So with that in mind; here is Tillie the Toiler from April 25, 1948.

Please forgive the quality of the image. I bought a CD which purportedly had newspaper paper dolls on it. It did but they were photos from the newspaper and not the sharp images that you would receive from a scan. But beggars can't be choosers I suppose so I am happy with what I have. If nothing else the ones I have are great reference material for outfits that I might want to design for any future paper dolls that I might want to make. I've adjusted the image somewhat, used brightness/contrast and tried to align the image right so that the paper doll is (hopefully) usable should you wish to cut her out and use her in a craft project. I like the dress and chuckle over the brim on that hat!! I'm sure wearing it you'd clear a path in front of you. I always wonder what happened to the fashion designers who created the outfits. If you want to see more paper dolls from the Sunday comics I have more of my collection posted at my webshots page. http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=refreshPhotos&albumID=270210829&security=nnfFyl Unfortunately you have to pay in order to download the sets. I will eventually have them all posted on my blog as well.

Before I call it a day I wanted to share one more Star Wars paper doll that I created in the 80's. This one is again of Princess Leia but with outfits from the Star Wars comics. I have everyone of them from 1 to 107...(well did anyway...Number 1 is up on Ebay being auctioned off as is Number 107) and used the costumes within the pages for the doll. I just liked how they looked and wanted to make a paper doll using the costumes. At the moment there are 25 pages in the set. I am in the process of reducing it somewhat by combining some of the smaller accessories onto other sheets. The wonder of Photoshop!!

Til tomorrow Aloha and May the Force be With you!!