Welly-mooter Sanit releases his first art book!

Sanit Klamchanuan, our talented and very own Welly-mooter has had his first book of art published, and it's a gorgeous "colouring-for-adults" print book!

Sanit with the new book

Weta Workshop's Sanit Klamchanuan (who you may remember as the creator (and wearer) of that amazing Dwarven costume at the opening of the Rivendell Archway, as well as at the Ultra-Marathon at the Roxy earlier this year) got the inspiration for the book after his work was exhibited at Wellington's Thistle Hall a a few years ago.

The colouring-for-adults art book, titled Ni Tan, is a collection of black and white sketches of fantasy creatures from around the world, that have inspired Sanit over the years. You'll find more than a few creatures that obviously also inspired Tolkien.

I've seen an advance copy of the book, it looks great. It's not a cumbersome tome - and the nz$20 (us$15) price tag reflects that. You can get the book via mail-order at the publisher's website (Olorin Publishing) at this address:

https://olorisbookshop.com/collections/non-fiction/products/ni-tan

If you're looking for other Middle-earth related books by independent authors, they have a great selection there. Alternatively, they also have links to their Amazon shop, where it's also available.

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From the blurb on the publisher's site:

Sanit Klamchanuan is a Thai New Zealander, living in Wellington, New Zealand. He has always enjoyed drawing. This book is his first book and is his take on fairy tale creatures from around the world with a little Thai twist.

Olorin Publishing also published Welly-mooter Peter Kenny's book (from the Brisbane Tolkien Society) of Middle-earth poetry, Dreams Of Another Land, available for us$18 here:

https://olorisbookshop.com/products/dreams-of-a-another-land

Sad news - the picnic is cancelled. :(

Really didn't want it to come to this, but we're cancelling the picnic this Sunday.

After the week we've all had, with earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, floods, tornadoes, and an uncertain weather forecast for Sunday, and a still-soaking-wet picnic ground around Rivendell, we've decided to call it off. It's not something we do lightly.

So, to repeat - the picnic is cancelled. We will announce a new date later, but expect it to be no earlier than January.

My apologies if you had a bunch of stuff planned - I know we were all really looking forward to it all.

There will be another day!

  - Jack

Picnic in a week - get ready!

Heya everyone!

The Welly-moot picnic at Rivendell is on in a week's time! At this stage everything is going ahead. I would love to hear from you if you're thinking of turning up - just to give me an idea of the numbers.

 So, if you're thinking of coming, can you drop me a line on jack@welly-moot.com please?


The plan is to meet at 11:00am, at the Kaitoke Regional Park, at the grassy field beside the Rivendell filming area.

However, if the weather is a bit wet, we're moving it to the camping area - I will try get some signs up, pointing the way once you get the the park. The ranger will also be made aware of our plans.


If you need directions, there's a Google Map at the end of this blog post.


Bring the following:
- Lunch
- A barbecue (we're not sure if anyone is bringing one yet, so PLEASE email me!)
- A costume if you have one,
- Soft swords (ie, not metal) if you have some, (no projectile weapons please!),
- As many people as you can find :)

Also, I will have the "Middle-earth" road signs with me - if you haven't preordered one, there will be spares there but please get in quick, as they will most likely sell out.  $15 for members, $20 for non-members.


If the weather is REALLY bad, we may cancel, so please do keep an eye out on the blog or the facebook page before you come out. We will confirm in the morning, before 9:00am.

Hope to see you all there!

  - Jack


Oh, and PS - here's the map!




Bring

Wooden Middle-earth roadsign - any interest?

As mentioned in the previous post, I have sourced a supplier who can get me a number of wooden Middle-earth roadsigns, in the yellow AA sign style, like this:

The signs measure 45cm x 10cm, so they are perfect for hanging on the wall, or pointing the way to your house from the road.


At this stage I have not received enough emails from people to make it worthwhile, so please - if you want one, let me know as soon as possible. I want to put an order in at the end of this weekend, otherwise I won't be able to get them to you by the day of the Rivendell Picnic (November 20th).

This only works if I get enough pre-orders. If I don't have enough interest, I won't order them, as I don't want to be stuck with a box full.

So, email me at jack@welly-moot.com if you want one. If you can't make it to the picnic, that's ok, as long as I know to order one for you.

  - Jack

Welly-moot Picnic coming up November 20! Loads of stuff happening!

On Sunday, November the 20th (in less than a month!), the Welly-moot will gather in Rivendell, in the grass fields beside the filming location. Essentially I'm planning for it to be a noisy, messy, chaotic gathering of as many of us as can make it there. Come in costume if you can (and if the weather is up to it).

We plan to start setting up around 11:00am on the grass, to ensure we have the spot. The rangers have made it clear that it's a first-come-first-served spot, so let's all get there early!

We have a few activities planned, but only loosely. If anyone has (soft!) cosplay weapons, I gather we have a few people with skills to show us how to protect Imladris from the darkness. No projectile weapons please (except perhaps Frisbees!)

If anyone has a barbecue, that would be most welcome as well. Can everyone keep me informed as to what we're all bringing - I'm happy to act as a go-between if you want to bring extra meat etc but don't have a BBQ yourself, or vise versa. KEEP ME INFORMED though please!

It'll be a usual kiwi/Welly-moot picnic - bring a plate; which means bring enough food/drink for yourself, and share it around if you wish to. As long as everyone does this, I'm sure there will be plenty to go around.

So, can everyone let me know if you're intending to come to the party, either leave me a message on the facebook page, or via email at jack@welly-moot.com. I don't check the google+ page very often (is anyone actually using that, btw?).

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Something different - I've managed to source a couple of cool souvenirs if anyone is interested, but before I pay for a box of stuff nobody wants, I need to know what sort of interest there would be. In a few souvenir shops around New Zealand I've spotted a lovely yellow AA-styled roadsign pointing the way to Middle-earth. I can get some for a good price, and pass them on to our members. Please send an email to me at jack@welly-moot.com if you'd be keen on having one. They measure around 45cm long, 10cm high.

Middle-earth sign, 45cm x 10cm (made from MDF) - $15 for Welly-moot members

The cost would be $15 each, but I need a certain amount of orders before it's worth it for us. They will pay for the various Welly-moot expenses that I've racked up over the last 6 years, so drop me a line if you want a cool sign. If I get enough orders in the next week or so, I can order them before the picnic.

Also, I think I've sourced a supplier who can turn our Welly-moot logo (the runes in the red diamond) into an iron-on transfer patch, if anyone is interested? They'd be around $5 or so. Again, email me at jack@welly-moot.com if you want one. If there's enough interest, I'll order them before the picnic also. Wear your geek with pride!

If you're not yet a Welly-moot member, simply turn up to the picnic, and you will be one (make sure you come and talk to me about it though - I won't do a head-count on the day!). Membership is free, and for life.


Anyway, expect a few more posts in the next few weeks, with more picnic details. See you all there!

  - Jack

Moot Report - Welly-moot #5.5 (September 25, 2016)

We had a fun meeting on Sunday the 25th of September. It was the start of Daylight Savings Time, but it seemed everyone remembered it in time, and no one was too late at the meeting because of it.

We started off with the usual greetings, and caught up with news and updates from everyone, with a quick chat as usual. Mooter Sarah had recently visited England's Oxford and visited Tolkien's favourite pub The Eagle and Child for a meal, and brought back a few souvenir postcards by Andrew Manson. Andrew, who was the Artist in Residence at the pub, had a writeup in the Oxfordshire magazine recently, which is available as a pdf file here.

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The theme for this meeting was "the diverse landscapes of Middle-earth". Everyone brought their books, tablets or their knowledge of Middle Earth. We talked about landscapes, forests, and mountains. We enjoyed sharing our ideas and thoughts.

Alex was particularly interested in the “stone-giants” from The Hobbit; there is not much explanation in Tolkien’s books and the ambiguousness of their existence; are they from Bilbo's dreams, or are they real? Kris found some good photos with rock falls, where it is believed that Tolkien got the idea of the “rock-giants” and found an article why they play games by throwing rocks, and risking their lives.

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Next Welly-moot meeting will be the last meeting this year already. It will also be the last meeting hosted by Jack and Alex. As it was announced on the last post, we will be stepping down from being the main hosts of the meetings. We have a few Welly-mooters who have have got their hands up, to take over from us. But don’t worry, we won’t disappear. We will still be attending Welly-moots.

Before we go though, we decided to have a picnic lunch on Sunday 20 November at Rivendell in Kaitoke Park in Upper Hutt. We will try to have some attractions on the day as well - maybe a swords demonstration, a guided forest walk, best costume competition, or whatever. Come and join us! We will post the details when it is closer.

  - Alex & Jack

PS - please note the new date for next meeting - it was originally set for November 27th, but it's now November 20th

Welly-moot #5.5 will be on Sunday 25th September

As promised, here's the announcement for the next moot - we will be meeting at the usual time of 2:00pm, in the usual place of the Embassy Cinema, upstairs in the Cafe, on Sunday the 25th of September.

For the afternoon's theme we will be discussing the diverse landscapes of Middle-earth. I'm keeping this deliberately vague, so everyone can come at it from their own angles. Does the map of Middle-earth make sense in a geographical sense (I've always been slightly worries about the "squareness" of the Mordor mountains, for instance). We're lucky here in New Zealand - Tolkien's landscapes are all around us.

Some creatures seem to have become part of the landscape. Think of the Ents and the Huorns, who basically make up a large part of the forest. Or those Stone Giants - did Tolkien intend for the mountains to be self-aware (think Caradhras), or was Peter Jackson taking artistic liberties?

How did Tolkien make the landscapes of Middle-earth into their own character?


So, come and join us for an in depth discussion. As always, meetings are free to attend, and attendance gives you membership for life. Bring money for coffee & cake from the cafe!


See you all Sunday!