C is for Coulton


C is for Coulton-Jonathan Coulton. 
The first time I heard Jonathan Coulton was when my hubby finished playing Portal.  He asked me to come listen to this song that played when you beat the game the song “I’m Still Alive” was humorous and it made me want to know who sang it.  My son was the one who told me who sang the song and got me to listen to his music.  Part geek, part humor and part irony his music made me think of They Might Be Giants a group I loved in the 80’s for their satirical take on things.  Jonathan Coulton did something like I am doing by write and recording a song everyday for a year which if you have a moment I suggest you check out his website to listen and download his music which some he offers for free.  My son is not a big fan of music like I am so when he asked me to listen to him I jumped at the chance to share in this. On Mother’s Day he gave me 5 songs of Jonathan Coulton and I was hooked.  In early 2010 my friend let me know that he was playing a concert at the performing art center she works at so I gave her my credit card number to get us tickets as a late birthday gift to my son.  When we picked up the ticket the night of the concert to our surprise we were sitting front row center stage so close that we could touch him. This delighted my son as we watched him sing as we sung along; I relished the shared experience of watching a performer who in some way brought us together in a mutual love of music.  After the show he came to the lobby to sign autographs and take pictures with his fans, my son grin in the photo tells a story of a moment.  His fans are an array of young geek to older odd balls (me) who sat outside to talk about the newest game systems out, to which politician is running for congress.  Jonathan Coulton bridged a gap between my son and me to a place that I can burn a cd for him to listen to and he does the same.

My art work for C is a college on a canvas I did two one which expresses my son’s geek side with photos of the people that he has meet that are semi-celebrities in his tech world.  I was not happy with how it turned out canvas is something I am just learning to use, so I did another one to reflect the song I choose by placing a girl and boy in frames.  Both canvases reflect the song I choose, the song is called “You Ruined Everything”  Jonathan Colton wrote this song upon hearing he was going to be a father it is a sweet lullaby in an ironic way but it is one of my favorite songs of his.  The video of the song was created by me to reflect the one of the loves of my life my son in it our pictures that were taken at the concert and from our yearly trek to Austin for SXSW Interactive or as I call it Geek Mecca.  So enjoy and come back tomorrow for the letter D and more tales from my musical journey.  

The process for making my son version:
Canvas painted
Colored photo
Black and white photo copied on Velum

Velum placed over colored photo





Son's version
The other one




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