crafty mcgee

Ozu

Another in my homage to Asian director's series, this time it's for Yasujiro Ozu. Ozu's films were all about people, small dramas about folks just getting by in the world. They say that his earlier films were much more Hollywood-like and funny, but I'm only familiar with the post-war stuff. They are all about people coping with the Westernization of Japan after World War II, from the grandparents mourning the changes to their lifestyles, to the little kids scheming for their first TV, and all the ages in between. Perhaps the most famous, and they one I would recommend, is Tokyo Story. I usually shy away from family dramas, but Ozu's films are fascinating. He is credited for introducing "new wave" film techniques, such as long still shots, elliptical scene transitions, and having the actors speak towards the camera, instead of in head shots with each other. The scene behind Ozu is a famous shot from the film Floating Weeds. This lighthouse and bottle were the only thing in the frame for nearly a minute, at several different points in the film. Sometimes you could hear dialogue, sometimes music, other times just the sounds of the sea. Interesting stuff (to a film geek like me, anyhow). I chose a cat because of the filmmaker Ozu's fond, but somewhat distant treatment of his characters. You know, cat-like.

My Ozu is another tiny piece, he is just shy of 3" at the top of his ears. I based him loosely on a pattern from one of my mame wanko books. I tried to get him to pose with the newest member of the household -

our little Neko, but neither of them would have any of it. Cats! What are you gonna do?

Happy 2007!

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve, and didn't overindulge too much. Me? I spent it playing "Animal Crossing" (gift from my son) on the Nintendo DS (gift from my brother) I got for Christmas, and watching the Marx Brothers on TV. Lame, but happy! I thought I'd start out the new year with an inspirational post. The image above is my new calendar from artist Saelee Oh, aka Lemonade Maid. I've posted about her before, but she's one of my favorites. It's pretty small (it fits almost completely on my scanner) and is full of happy farm scenes.

It's been around for a little while, but I finally got The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child and Peggy Borland. It's filled with amazing 3-D pictures and stuff. I'm so impressed with it that I've been inspired to illustrate my own story with my vignettes. As soon as I decide the fairy tale (or something else) that I want to do, I will post the scenes as I complete them with the text on the blog throughout the year. Stay tuned!

Finally, this little felt gift card holder from Starbucks! I usually avoid Starbucks like the plague (along with Microsoft products) due to my aversion to the whole global domination thing (I have thought about the fact that both of these companies are based here in Seattle, but haven't reached a satisfactory conclusion as to why that is yet). But I needed an inexpensive thank you gift for a co-worker, and I got this with a $5 gift card! Yikes! I hate to think of the folks slaving away in some third world country for a giveaway, but I think it's very cute, and a great idea. Maybe I'll make some of my own sometime.

Don't forget that the Kim Family Benefit Arts & Crafts Auction starts on ebay on Wednesday. There's a link on the top right column, and I'll post the ebay address as soon as it's up. I'm going to try to get something, but I haven't decided what yet. I have a feeling prices will soar out of my range fairly quickly, but that's OK, it's for a good cause.

Have a great year, everyone! I look forward to sharing our crafting adventures!

Akira

Alice (aka futuregirl) has created a set of stuffed characters based on great German film directors. Duly impressed, I vowed to create my own set based on my current obsession with interest in Asian film. Here's the first, Akira, namesake of the grand master of Japanese film, Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa made films from the 1940's until the early '90's covering many genres, from his famous samurai films  Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro; film noir detective stories in Stray Dog, The Bad Sleep Well, and High and Low; covers of classics like Throne of Blood (the best ever version of Macbeth), The Idiot, and The Lower Depths, and lovely slice-of-life films (Ikuru, Madadayo). All amazing, all exquisitely written and shot. Kurosawa made relatively few films in color, but in the ones he did make  the colors are almost painfully vivid, in vibrant reds, magentas, and turquoise.

I made my Akira a crow - since crows are sharp-eyed, curious, intelligent and mysterious. All words I would use to describe Kurosawa himself. Thus ends your first lesson in Asian Cinema 101.

The still in the background is from one of my favorite Kurosawa movies, The Hidden Fortress, which was a major inspiration for the subplot of Star Wars. The little guy is the master himself. Yet another reason to admire the Japanese - they make action figures of their artists!

Inspiration day: Shiba Productions

When I started making my vignettes, a few people mentioned that they'd make great illustrations for storybooks. I remembered a set of books with 3-D illustrations and hologram covers that I had when I was a kid. Specifically, I remembered The Little Mermaid, but I couldn't remember the publisher or the illustrator. It was not easy sifting through the hundreds of versions of the book published in the late 60's and early 70's, but I found it! Actually, my copy of the book, along with The Snow Queen and The Steadfast Tin Soldier, are biding their time in my mom's garage, but that's another story.

I found out that - of course - they were produced in Japan! A stop-motion film animator named Kihachiro Kawamoto started Shiba Productions as a young man. Most of the books have covers similar to the Thumbelina one above. Some of them are collectors items, and very expensive. A few are sold on ebay from time to time, and I recently scored a few. (I am also on the lookout for affordable copies of Mr. Kawamoto's films if anyone knows of a source).

He says that even though the figures in the photos are dolls, he likes to call them puppets because they are actors in the scenes. I love that!

And they aren't all fairy tales, what's not to like about a puppy in a space suit? The hardest part of this post was deciding what pictures to use. I find all of them extremely inspiring. Hope you like them too, and happy first day of summer!

inspiration day

I've found so much inspiring work lately, I thought I'd post about my favorites, rather than just putting them on the side bar.

I love the work of British artist John Dilnot. I think it's the perfect blend of a naturalist and graphic sensibility. I've got some ideas for boxes using shrinky-dinks. Another style I would like to try is that of Caroline Hwang:

She does amazing combinations of painting, applique and embroidery. It could be great for ATCs. I'm happy to say that I actually own a copy of this image, which I was lucky enough to get on Tiny Showcase a while back.

Not only does Fieleke van der Leest make cool fiber art, she also makes great mixed media pieces using bits of old toys - I've got boxes of those in my basement. And thanks to a post from Lyn (sorry, I couldn't find the exact one) - I discovered Brown Betty.

I don't know exactly how it happened, but seeing her stuff put the idea for my vignettes into my head. I'm so grateful for the internet, for giving me the ability to see all of this amazing craft!

aliens among us

Lady Linoleum is having a contest in honor of her first blogaversary. She is giving away one  of two five foot crocheted aliens to two winners of her "make a back story/spaceship for the aliens" contest. Of course I want one, so I made a back story and a ship! Since it's her deal, you'll need to go over there to read the story, and see other pictures of the ship. All of the entries will be posted on her site, and voted on by you, the blogging public. So head over there early next week, and vote for me!

In other outer space news - if you haven't seen it already, check out Myra's post on Astronaut Biff and Astrogirl Suzie, it's the best!

a great mail week

My poor mail carrier. In addition to the daily pound of catalogs and political flyers, he also has to schlep this really good stuff. First up, from my Secret Pal:

Two lovely skeins of luxurious yarn. One is bamboo, the other is soy silk. What to make?  Perhaps something where I could use them together? Thanks, SP!
   
Inspired by Kim, I went on a little spree at Reprodepot. (You can see them better if you click on them). I think that groovy 70's-ish print on the far left will be perfect for a quilt I want to start after the holidays. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the Munki Munki pool fabric, but I couldn't resist it. I also got some fabric from the sale bin at eQuilter. I love the animal print:

Then, I got the Katy Horan print from Tiny Showcase that I ordered a couple of weeks ago:

And last, but certainly not least, I've got one, too! Unusual Toys for You to Knit and Enjoy by Jess Hutch. It's wonderful! Since everyone else has shown the cover, here's a different bit:

I plan on making at least two of everything in this book!

a halloween story

Some background: This picture comes from a set of picture books my grandma had called "My Book House".  I recently found a set of these books in a local used book store! Back to Halloween...

This picture always spooked me. I'm not afraid of Native Americans, but ghost Indians...yipe! The story is "Tippity Witchit's Hallowe'en", about a little black kitten on Halloween night, but trust me, it's not a very good story. Look at the pictures and make up a better one.

   
I don't know about you, but sinisterly cavorting agriculture freaks me out. And another creepy one:

But it all turns out okay in the end.

holiday treats

Have I mentioned I come from an extremely artistic family? In addition to my uber-talented youngest brother, my other brother does exquisite cross stitch and quilting, and my mom is a very talented weaver, artist, and all around craftsperson. Yesterday I received one of her creations:

The tree skirt she has been promising me for the last five years! I think she finally finished it because I threatened to make my own this year. It's so pretty! I love it. Here are some details:

Thanks mom!!! I really love the witch in the corner. Speaking of Halloween...there is so much wonderful stuff being created on these crafty blogs (see any of my "Daily Motivation" links), that I don't usually post about other folk's work. But I've got to make an exception in the case of Lady Linoleum. Check out this crocheted skeleton antimacassar. I'm overwhelmed with admiration. And if that weren't enough, see the articulated hand sewn, double-sided skelly she created (in the same post)! Whew. For more Halloween fun, check out my links on the right. Thanks to Lady Linoleum and meggiecat for some of them. And let me know if you have any great ones, I'll add them to the list.

Yaaay!

This is my baby brother, Craig McCracken:

A fine human being and all-around good guy who happens to be an EXTREMELY talented artist and animator. Lest you think this is just a doting sister's opinion, he won an Emmy(!) on Sunday for character design for his show Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Oh yeah, he's also the creator of the Powerpuff Girls. Heh, I taught him everything he knows! (Ouch, I just got struck by lightning...) Congratulations kid, I'm real proud of you!