Stop-Motion Love

I fell head over heels in love with stop-motion animation when I was a little girl thanks to a mid-sixties christmas special. Years later, that tiny flame I held in my heart for stop-motion was refueled when my beloved brought home a copy of Blood Tea and Red String.

I adore this film. It turned my dusty little flame into a blazing fire. The soundtrack is my favorite thing to fall asleep to. All those ticking clocks! Not to mention the "heart rending musical score that was composed and performed by Mark Growden accompanies this disturbing and wondrous adventure".
Aaaah, Alice in Wonderland.
Doesn't just the thought of it make your heart skip a beat?
If not, then perhaps this little gem will.
Alice, (1988), by Jan Švankmajer is about as surreal as it gets when it comes to film adaptations of the book. I owe a very good friend a kiss on the forehead for subjecting me to it and several thimblefuls of absinthe one fine evening (after eight hours of travel no less!).
Taxidermy and tea cups!
I recommend turning the volume on the film off and turning the soundtrack of your choosing up while watching this.
You can view a clip of it here.

And now for the icing on the cake:
I recently stumbled upon the Great Grandfather of today's stop-motion films.
Ladislaw Starewicz was an entomology enthusiast and subsequent stop-motion filmmaker. I've read that he is best known for the 1912 film, Mest' kinegatograficheskogo operatora (The Cameraman's Revenge) (I doubt anyone has made an art of insect personification such as this before or since!!!), but he made so many that I think it's best to decide for one's self. Oh, to have been able to meet this man!

"The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard)"

And for your viewing pleasure:
The Town Rat and the Country Rat
Voice of the Nightingale
The Frogs Who Wanted a King

The Marchesa

"Her appearance made her a legend throughout the continent. She was tall and thin. A thick blaze of flame-coloured hair crowned her pale, almost cadaverously white face with its sensually vermilioned lips. Above all, however, the Marchesa’s large green eyes cast the strongest spell of her unique beauty. She exaggerated these further still with immense false lashes and surrounding rings of black kohl, while droplets of poisonous belladonna made them glitter like emeralds."

If you don't know who she was do find out.
xo

StitchCraft

Have you heard of the Stitch 'N Bitch series? If you haven't, and you've had the itch to pick up a hook or pair of needles, I highly recommend it.
I recently fell in love with crocheting and The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller is undoubtedly where it's at.
I made my first scarf and the beginnings of a lofty birds nest of a hat thanks to her.
I somehow missed out on instruction in the art of stitchcraft in my early years and was foaming at the mouth to pick it up after finding much solace in a very seventies afghan my Mimi made me years ago. If only I'd had her deft little fingers there to teach me before they were transformed into twisted and papery appendages by eighty three years of living!
Sigh.
Just the same, this book has her approval.
Come borrow it from me and make yourself something purty, like this:

Ladies of Illumination (Gals on Fire)

Brand new to this land o' blog (ooooh, I do so wish there were another word for it!), I intend to begin by explaining why I would delve into such a thing.
The title says it all.
I've been lucky enough to recently stumble into a world of amazingly inspirational ladies that I'll most likely never have the privilege of meeting, but who have nevertheless changed my life in wonderful and numerous little ways.
They have inspired and illuminated.
They've filled me up with hopes and ideas (whimsies, magicks, and craftiness to name a few).
And so inspired, I've decided to follow in their footsteps in the hopes of contributing the same to other gals much like myself.
I don't intend for this whole shebang to be hugely egocentric...
I just want to share the things that melt my heart, take my breath away, and set my soul on fire in the hopes that they'll do the same for you.
And so I kick this whole thing off in honor of my Number One Lady of Illumination: my wickedly wonderful pistol of a grandmother, Mimi.