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Free Film

May 11, 2012

I want to invite everyone to see a free film. It’s called Addiction Incorporated, it hasn’t yet been released to theaters. It’s the story of a tobacco industry insider, hired to research how to make a safer cigarette, and then fired because he discovered the first evidence that tobacco is addictive. I know that sounds like old news today, but his discovery led to the first federal regulation of the tobacco industry, and the education campaigns that exist today. Here’s the screening schedule, tickets are FREE:

May 15
Brewvies Cinema Pub
677 South 200 West,  Salt Lake City
7:30 p.m.
Must be 21 years or older

May 16
Salt Lake Community College Amphitheater
4600 S Redwood Road, Taylorsville
8:00 p.m.
All Ages

May 21
Ogden Megaplex
2351 Kiesel Avenue, Ogden
6:15 p.m.
All Ages

May 21
Santy Auditorium
1255 Park Ave., Park City
7:00 p.m.
All Ages

May 22
Main Library Auditorium
210 East 400 South, Salt Lake City
6:30 p.m.
All Ages

May 22
Moab Arts and Recreation Center’s Stage Room
111 East 100 North, Moab
7:00 p.m.
All Ages

 May 23
The Price Theatre
30 East Main Street, Price
7:00 p.m.
All Ages

May 24
The Scera
745 South State Street, Orem
7:00 p.m.
All Ages

May 24
Salt Creek Cinemas
1101 East Highway 132, Nephi
7:30 p.m.
All Ages

May 25
The Electric Theater
68 East Tabernacle Street, St. George
7:00 p.m.
All Ages

Posted in Events, Film | Leave a Comment »

Totally Cool Rewards Program

March 1, 2012

It’s a Bay Area week this week. On Tuesday, we blogged about Veronica DeJesus’ memorial drawing of Whitney Houston. Today, we are blogging about her beautiful partner, Regina Clarkina’s comedy sketches:

“My goal is to alleviate stress by laughing about all that which is terrifyingly depressing in our stunning society,” says Regina.

Here you go – a comedy sketch just for you about the poorification of the middle class:

www.funnyordie.com/videos/0a1820f051/thank-you-totally-cool-rewards-program

Posted in Film | Leave a Comment »

Bloody Mary Meets a Culture of Concealment

October 6, 2011

My dear friend Giuliana Serena put on a bloody big party for Salt Lake City Saturday night. The topic of the night: periods. And, no, we aren’t talking about punctuation. Giuliana shared with us her philosophy and thought, and the development of her Moon Cycle Timepieces, which help you track your flow, and what is going on with your body every day of the month in relation to the moon.

Giuliana believes that, like the trajectory of a planet, or a strand of DNA, time is built on a spiral. I love conversations about the nature of time. I love learning about different ways of tracking time and calendars. As an artist, I use time as a component of my work – specifically with dance and music. It is amazing how a three minute performance on stage can impact your life so much more than three minutes spent waiting in line at the bank. I also see individual use and structuring of time as an extremely important aspect of the journey toward self-actualization, as well as conveying respect both to yourself and to the people you share your life with. So managing my calendar is something I take very seriously, almost as if it isn’t a means to an end, but is a discrete skill and task to enjoy and develop.

The movie “The Moon Inside You,” is a foreign film about cultural attitudes toward menstruation. For me, by far the best part of the movie was the drawings about menstruation it shared by little boys. One boy drew a series of cant’s: “can’t swim,” can’t do laundry,” “can’t smoke,” and “can’t schedule your Pap smear.” (Ok, I forgot some of his cant’s, so I made up my own.) Another little boy did a pencil drawing of a stick figure with a bob haircut and no secondary sexual features. Her legs were apart and red marker blood was angrily flowing and pooling. HA HA, yep, that’s it exactly, son.

The point of the movie and discussion was to build a more positive view of menstruation in our society. After all, without it we wouldn’t be able to have children. Cultures were discussed that view menstruation as a reminder for women to take time for themselves and to be served by others. One culture sees it as a time of great feminine power. Another culture viewed the period as a time of rebirth. My favorite perspective, however, was that during the days before a period (AKA PMS), the veil between a woman’s conscious and subconscious mind thins, allowing her to speak the truth. Take that! I don’t have PMS, I’m speaking the truth, bitches!

One thing that bothered me about the movie, however, was the attitude toward the pill, IUD and other forms of birth control. The women in the film and in the room seemed to look at these forms of birth control as oppressive to women. I strongly disagree. The invention of the pill completely changed the trajectory of the female life and made the sexual revolution of the 1960s possible. No longer was your future entirely determined by the flow of blood, and the little egg that when fertilized changes your position economically, socially, educationally and in all of your relationships. Birth control technology  allows a woman more choices and opportunity.  So, while, yeah we all agree that the doctor who invented the uterine implant, who sees menstruation as pathological, is a dick. I still believe that most of the doctors who have advanced birth control options are heroes and heroines to my gender. Giuliana emphasizes that birth control is a personal choice for every woman, and that she must educate herself to choose the best option. I agree, but I can’t help wanting to celebrate the fact that I DO have those options, unlike my grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother and great great great grandmother.

But wait, there’s more. Giuliana is accepting registrations for a Red Tent retreat in November. Visit http://www.moontimerising.com/event-schedule/ to sign up. She is also at the Dowtown Farmers Market on October 8, 15 and 22, selling her Moon Cycle Timepieces. You may also visit her website to join her Moon Letter List or “like” Moontime Rising on FaceBook to be informed of upcoming film screenings.

In addition, I’m looking at scheduling a girl power belly dance class to begin in November. Drop me a note or comment if you are interested in participating.

Lady's Room Sign at Vitalize, Where the Movie was Screened

Lady's Room Sign at Vitalize, Where the Movie was Screened

Posted in Events, Film | 1 Comment »

Art in the Caves

June 12, 2011

The Chauvet Cave

Cave Bear

A few weeks ago I went to see Werner Herzog’s movie The Cave of Forgotten Dreams at the Broadway Cinema. I have no doubt that there are some people who will not like this movie at all, but I think it is one of the most amazing films I have seen in a long time.

Horses and Rhinos

I have spent a good chunk of my life roaming through my imagination. I’ve also spent a lot of time researching history, and I am often able to understand the people from the past by looking at the artwork they left behind. Prehistoric man calls out to me through their artwork, and I have spent a good chunk of time living with them in my mind. My imagination wanders over old relics and art objects and builds a bridge between me and the ancient world. I have never been to the prehistoric caves in France to look at this artwork in person. Aside from running around Utah and other parts of the western U.S. looking for petroglyphs, I’ve seen very little prehistoric artwork in it’s original setting. But it is something I have a little bit ‘o book learning on, and Herzog’s film made it seem like I was right there exploring with him.

Lion Panel

I find myself thinking about how it must have been for mankind to live in such a harsh world 32,000 years ago, which is when the first drawing in The Chauvet Cave was created. People were surrounded by animals that just want to eat them, and every animal (including humans) was desperately trying to find enough food to keep themselves alive. Even the herbivorous were incredibly violent, which is illustrated on the cave walls in the images of all the woolly rhinos fighting. And not only that, but it was a freezing cold ice-age too.

Bison

These cave drawings weren’t made by one single person, but by many different people contributing to the panels over thousands of years. The way human beings experienced time must have been so very different. Another interesting thing to think about is, humans didn’t even live in many of the caves that contain the ancient artwork. Instead, people would just go down and down and down into the earth with flickering torches, into caves that were often occupied by giant cave bear or puma, to draw a picture. Somehow that picture became ritual. And that ritual became religion. And that religion probably made them feel like they understood, and even have a little bit of power over, this crazy world.

Cat & Crotch

In the end, this movie may not be for you, but I’d still recommend it to everybody. I came away with so many ideas and insights. For instance, I never even considered how the flickering torches the artists used must have made the artwork and panels seem alive, almost as though the animals were moving. So beautiful. I could go on and on…

Sorcerer - Trois Frères

An aside, but there is one image from another cave in Trois Frères called The Sorcerer that kind of haunts me, and I’ve drawn many variations of this ancient character. I still don’t feel like I have said all I need to say about this Sorcerer/Shaman, so I am sure he will visit me through my artwork again, but he’s always a welcome guest.

Sorcerer - by Todd Powelson

Shaman In The Caves - by Todd Powelson

Posted in Film, Sunday Post, Visual | Leave a Comment »

The Mighty Thor!

April 3, 2011

The Mighty Thor wasn’t the first comic book I ever read (that was an issue of the Fantastic Four), but Marvel Comics’ Thor was the probably the first comic book character to completely fascinate me. For that reason, I will always have a very soft spot right in the middle of my heart for him.

I remember being a kid of about eight or so making, what I thought at the time was, a pretty good replica of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir… it was really just a heavy rock that was clumsily tied to the end of a stick. I ran around pretending I was Thor all the time until one day I let some other kid use Mjolnir. The other kid was swinging that hammer around, he pretended to throw it at me, and the rock flew off the end of the home-made hammer and hit me in the side of the head. Actually, the rock would fly off all the time, I’d just tie it back on.. but I’m the only one who it ever injured. I think it even knocked me out for a second. I shouldn’t have let that other kid use it, because only the worthy can wield Mjolnir!

In Norse mythology, as recorded and told in the Icelandic Edda, Thor is the Norse god of Thunder. He is the red-headed son of Odin and Jord, and is married to the fertility goddess Sif. In addition to his hammer, Thor also wore a magic belt that made him stronger, and iron gloves that would allow him to handle Mjöllnir. Thor is constantly warring with the frost giants, dark elves, and dwarves. Thor rides through the sky in his chariot, which is pulled by his two goats “Gap-tooth” and “Tooth-grinder”. When lightning flashes, you could bet that Thor had just thrown his hammer. Thor’s death is foretold in the myth of Ragnarök, when he and the world serpent Jörmungandr destroy one another.

In 1962, when Marvel Comics was just starting to get a foothold in pop culture, Stan Lee, Larry Leiber, and Jack Kirby adopted the myth of Thor and made him into a superhero. I’ve heard that those creators at Marvel Comics wanted to make a superhero that was as powerful and noble as Superman. Even though Marvel’s version of Thor was blonde, many of the comic’s supporting characters and adventures did come right out of the original mythology. Here is what Stan Lee had to say about creating Thor:

“I was looking for something different and bigger than anything else. And I figured what could be bigger than a god? Well, people were pretty much into the Roman and the Greek gods by then, and I thought the Norse gods might be good. And I liked the sound of the name Thor and Asgaard and the Twilight of the Gods’ Ragnarok and all of that.

“I wanted him to be the son of Odin, who is the King of the Gods, like Jupiter. And I wanted him to have an evil brother, Loki. And just like the Fantastic Four were always fighting Dr. Doom, and Spider-Man was usually fighting the Green Goblin, I figured Loki would be the big villain. He’s Thor’s half brother. He’s jealous of Thor. He has enchantment powers. So in a way he’s a good foe. Thor has strength, but Loki is like a magician and can do all kind of things. So that seemed good to me.”

I started reading reprints of the original Thor stories in the ’70s. They were pretty cool, although I didn’t like Thor’s alter ego Dr. Donald Blake all that much. I began collecting the Thor comics in the early ’80s and I had pretty much all of the issues written by Walt Simonson, which is considered by some to be the best Thor stories written for comics. Unfortunately, I misplaced all of my back issues somewhere when I was moving around so much in my late teens and early twenties. I did manage to keep track of Thor issue #300. I love that issue and kept it close. Partly because the Celestials appear in the story, but mainly because the Destroyer plays such a big role! Gotta love the DESTROYER!

Todd's Thor Cap - WHOOOM!

On May 6th, the movie that is based on the comic book character will come out. I have no idea if it’ll be a good movie or not, but it is going to be a movie I am sure to see. Probably more than once. I’ll be the guy wearing my Thor baseball cap, my Thor tshirt, and I might even bring my own hammer… that damn rock tied to the end of a stick!

Excelsior!

thor.marvel.com

marvel.com | thor

marvel.com | digital_comics

Posted in Comics, Film, Sunday Post | Leave a Comment »

2011 Academy Awards

January 25, 2011
Dior 1955

Dior 1955

This is my third year of an annual tradition. A few friends and I try to go see as many Oscar movies as we can between the time the nominees are released and Oscar’s night. Oscar’s night is on Feb 27th, it will be a wonderful night for movies, but is also one of the best nights of the year for fashion voyeurism. My favorite Oscar’s dress in recent years was Reece Witherspoon’s beaded Dior number from 1955. I love it when the actresses wear vintage. I’d really like to see the gents decked out in bits of fashion history, too.  Maybe our friend Ron Green, vintage trendsetter, who owns the Green Ant, could give them a lesson.

Here is the list of Oscar nominees for 2011. Who is up to the challenge of carrying on my movie-watching tradition? Drop us a comment and let us know your picks. Who do you think will win my favorite category: Best Costumes?

Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”

Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”

Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”

Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”

James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale in “The Fighter”

John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”

Jeremy Renner in “The Town”

Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”

Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”

Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”

Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”

Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”

Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams in “The Fighter”

Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”

Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”

Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”

Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film

“How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois

“The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet

“Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

“Alice in Wonderland”

Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”

Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan

“Inception”

Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat

“The King’s Speech”

Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr

“True Grit”

Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Cinematography

“Black Swan” Matthew Libatique

“Inception” Wally Pfister

“The King’s Speech” Danny Cohen

“The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth

“True Grit” Roger Deakins

Costume Design

“Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood

“I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi

“The King’s Speech” Jenny Beavan

“The Tempest” Sandy Powell

“True Grit” Mary Zophres

Directing

“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky

“The Fighter” David O. Russell

“The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper

“The Social Network” David Fincher

“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Documentary (Feature)

“Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz

“Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic

“Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

“Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger

“Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

“Killing in the Name” Nominees to be determined

“Poster Girl” Nominees to be determined

“Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon

“Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger

“The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Film Editing

“Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum

“The Fighter” Pamela Martin

“The King’s Speech” Tariq Anwar

“127 Hours” Jon Harris

“The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Foreign Language Film

“Biutiful” Mexico

“Dogtooth” Greece

“In a Better World” Denmark

“Incendies” Canada

“Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

Makeup

“Barney’s Version” Adrien Morot

“The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng

“The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)

“How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell

“Inception” Hans Zimmer

“The King’s Speech” Alexandre Desplat

“127 Hours” A.R. Rahman

“The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)

“Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey

“I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater

“If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong

“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″ Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best Picture

“Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers

“The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers

“Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers

“The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers

“The King’s Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers

“127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers

“The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers

“Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer

“True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

“Winter’s Bone” Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

“Day & Night” Teddy Newton

“The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang

“Let’s Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe

“The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann

“Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)

“The Confession” Tanel Toom

“The Crush” Michael Creagh

“God of Love” Luke Matheny

“Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt

“Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing

“Inception” Richard King

“Toy Story 3” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers

“Tron: Legacy” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague

“True Grit” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey

“Unstoppable” Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing

“Inception” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick

“The King’s Speech” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley

“Salt” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin

“The Social Network” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten

“True Grit” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects

“Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi

“Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell

“Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

“Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy

“The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

“Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich

“True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

“Winter’s Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh

“The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;

Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson

“Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan

“The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg

“The King’s Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

Posted in Film | Leave a Comment »

Candy-Studded Picasso in Gingerbread

December 21, 2010
Double Wide Gingerbread Trailor

Double Wide Gingerbread Trailor

Halloween Gingerbread

Halloween Gingerbread

I love to make a good gingerbread house during the holiday season. One year I built myself a teepee to live in and a dogsled powered by cinnamon bears for my transporation. And I had pigtails with furry boots (who said gingerbread women didn’t care about fashion). Another year I built myself a boat to sail away on. My gingbread houses are not the picture-perfect, polyeurethane sprayed, built to last variety. Mine make a mess, express a dream and then are eaten alive. I use cream cheese icing because it tastes good. I make and roll out my own dough so I can cut any shape I want. Ever seen a dog-sled gingerbread house in the little boxes at the store, ready to assemble? I didn’t think so.

Todd and I are going to spend Boxing Day with two friends this year. If you didn’t know, that’s the day after Christmas. Gingerbread house making is at the top of the agenda. I’m already planning my creation. I thought I’d better look around for some inspiration. I found a gingbread house that looks like a double wide trailor, a blogger who recreated Hogwarts and I found a cute little halloween gingerbread house, too.

I’m not sure what I’ll make. I’ve always wanted to live in a tiny home paired with a giant barn, so that’s in the running. Or I may paint Todd a candy-studded Picasso. Or perhaps a Welsh Terrier farm? We’ll see. I’d love to hear your suggestions

Happy holidays. I hope you spend it creatively.

Gingerbread Hogwarts by redblueworld

Gingerbread Hogwarts by redblueworld

Posted in Film | Leave a Comment »

Harry Pottah, why do you frequent the Gap?

December 2, 2010
Oh Harry, I love your top

Oh Harry, I love your top

With 25 years (combined) of vegetarianism, Toddy and I often celebrate Thanksgiving by seeing a blockbuster movie. Add a sports phobia to our campaign to “save the turkeys,” and you can see that roasted bird and football is just not our thing. I’ll admit I’m a terrible movie watcher (sitting still is a problem). But I do love to look at a good movie. And of course, by that I mean, I just want to see the fashion. Costumes are my cinema.

I’d be surprised if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I was nominated for an Academy Award in the costume category, but it did give me a feast for the eyes. Here’s my top thirteen (yep, thirteen) list of interesting fashion elements that held my attention through the film:

Dobby

Dobby

1 ) Numero uno: Dobby’s shoes. Who knew house elves liked orange Velcro to go with their Fred Flintstone dresses? I almost cried when Dobby died, he is one of my fav characters, but he looked so much like a Keebler elf that I couldn’t totally get into it.

2 ) Hermione’s eyebrows: maybe she’s born with it? There are a few faces that set the standard for brows. Elizabeth Taylor. Ann Hathaway. And now Emma Watson.

Say, that's a nice gray wool sweater

Say, that's a nice gray wool sweater

3 ) Gray. Wool. Want to look like a young wizard? Wear a gray wool sweater. The next day wake up and pull another one out of the endless bag and that brings us to…

4 ) The endless bag: purple and beaded, this cute little number goes on and on and on and on. This is one fashion element that becomes an important part of the story.

5 ) PMS necklace (the Horcrux). I thought it was funny that when they put on the necklace containing a bit of Voldemort’s soul, they all developed premenstrual dysphonic disorder. Don’t we wish we could just take off the damned necklace when we get so crabby?

Love my long johns and insanity robe

Love my long johns and insanity robe

6 ) If you want to wear the best costumes in a Potter flick, you can go one of two ways. The first is to be a member of the older generation of wizards. What’s with the wizard-wear generation gap? These senior dudes have the awesome duds and most of them remind me of my friend Jordan Halverson’s designs. For instance:

a. Wizard at the wedding in the jacket with a million layers of collars.
b. Crazy wizard in the cool house with the long johns and the robe that belongs in an insane asylum (this is how I look on Saturday morning).

Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Umbridge

7 ) The second “it-list” style option is to go the evil route, for instance:

a. Helena Bohnam Carter wears a cool (yet predictable) Klingon-inspired costume when she wrestles Hermione to the ground
b. The corporate look: navy pin striped suits, leather dusters, ties… Doesn’t it just scream “he who shall not be named” owns me.
c. The super cute cat lady look: pink scarf with a fox’s face, helmet hair and matching pink suit creates the news anchor meets room mother that is Dolores Umbridge. (I must have the fox scarf for my own.)
d. The steampunk wagon totally ran over the hot Robbin Hood guys in the forest who kidnapped our favorite threesome.

8 ) Pendelton: I can’t prove that all that plaid wool I saw in the movie was made by my favorite Oregon-based wool company. But Ron’s plaid coat and Hermione’s plaid blanket sure looked like it. This is a brand from my childhood and I just want to rub my face in its itchy glory.

Fearless Leader Jacket

Fearless Leader Jacket

9 ) Fingerless gloves: one of my obsessions this winter. You just catch a glimpse of a cute Fair Isle pattern that adds a little femininity to Hermione’s camping look. My friend Carrie makes the cutest ones I’ve ever seen, check her out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/bigbrownhouse.

10 ) Houndstooth and bold checks on fellas. Nice one, Fred and George Weasley (see the checks on Fred and George in our first photo at the top). In fact, this week I was totally fashion-stunned when my fearless business leader walked in wearing a black and tan checked ultra classy jacket. One of the most striking looks I’ve ever seen on a gentleman.

Fleur's wedding dress

11 ) Fleur Delacour: loved every inch of your style from the blue jacket, to the lace bra (was that you or Harry?) and especially the black and white wedding dress. The movie’s costume designer, Jany Temime said this dress needed to be “a witch wedding dress but not a Halloween dress. . . the phoenix motif is a symbol of love in a way because there is rebirth, love never dies, it is born again.”

12 ) Birthday suit: I don’t even know what to say. Little Harry Potter is growing up. SNARF!

Gap gear looks great wet

Gap gear looks great wet

13 ) Do wizard frequent the Gap? I’m sorry Harry Potter, but I was really disappointed to see your contrived yuppie outfits that looked like you just took them out of the dry cleaner’s plastic after a heavy-starch job. I mean, I like the Gap, but I thought only muggles shopped there.

Want to get the wizard look to make your winter a little more magical? Here are some ideas from Etsy:

Velcro Shoes

Yellow Velcro by kahiko

Yellow Velcro by kahiko

Blue Suede Velcro by lisazain

Blue Suede Velcro by lisazain
Endless Bag

Purple bowling bag by staircasetotheattic

Purple bowling bag by staircasetotheattic

Purple Suitcase by LunaPerro

Purple Suitcase by LunaPerro
Dolores Umbridge

Felt Fox Scarf by misschanterelle

Felt Fox Scarf by misschanterelle

Fox Spirit Scarf by smokyhollow

Fox Spirit Scarf by smokyhollow
Fingerless glove

Fingerless glove - hatsnglovesyoulove

Fingerless glove - hatsnglovesyoulove

ZenAndCoffee Arm Warmers

ZenAndCoffee Arm Warmers

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Posted in Film, It's Fashion, Duh! | 1 Comment »

The Secret of Kells

November 7, 2010

It’s become a rare thing for me to sit down to watch a movie anymore. It just seems like there is always something else to do.  Even though I’ll sometimes have the news or a show playing when I draw, usually that is just background noise. But I recently watched an animated movie that actually captured my full attention called “The Secret of Kells“.

From the Book of Kells

The story is set within the Abbey of Kells around the ninth century, and starts with monks who would copy the bible by hand in order to spread God’s good word through Ireland. The monks have been forced to abandon their work in order to fortify the abbey’s walls, partly because they live in fear of the natural world that surrounds them, but also because the abbey is under a constant threat from invading vikings. In the mean time a young boy named Brendan, who is being raised by the monks, starts to make his own copy of the bible. Even though he is forbidden, Brendan sneaks into the surrounding forest in order to find some berries that will allow him to make an ink for his book, and he learns to love nature. Eventually, the vikings break down the abbey walls, and Brendan flees Ireland and becomes a Master Illuminator. Brendan eventually returns with his masterpiece, the Book of Kells.

From the Book of Kells

This period of time in Catholic and Christian history is fascinating to me because of the way pagan and Christian ideas weave together and spread through Europe. It’s also interesting to me because, even though most medieval Europeans couldn’t read and only a very few people owned their own copy of the bible, the artwork that the monks made helped the congregation relate to bible stories. It is amazing how much work must have gone into reproducing each copy since, before the printing-press was invented, each bible had to be drawn and lettered by hand. Of course, the illustrations from this time might be a little more stylized than what we are used to seeing today, but this is another thing I love about the movie. The animation and art match up perfectly with that medieval look. This is a beautiful movie.

Black Chandelier

I was reminded of the Book of Kells once again when I met Matthew Stevens, a Black Chandelier artist who created a fabric pattern that was a blend of an art deco style and images/pages from the Book of Kells. What a damn cool idea!

youtube.com | “The Secret of Kells” – Trailer

wikipedia.com | The Book of Kells

google.com | The Book of Kells – Timeline

Posted in Film, Sunday Post, Visual | 1 Comment »

Fashion, Fashion CRAFT!

November 2, 2010
The September Issue

The September Issue

The first week of November is a big week in the old SLC. We’ve got two sexy fashion events, followed by one that will bring your inner crafter deep satisfaction.

Fashion

First up, we’ve got the SL Film Center’s bi-annual fashion film. They are showing the documentary The September Issue. I have wanted to see it since it premiered at Sundance, but unfortunately I will be teaching a class that night. Here’s the details, please go if you can and support our film center:

Wednesday, November 3, 2010
8:00 pm
Club Elevate
155 w 200 s
Downtown SLC

The film revolves around the making of the Vogue September 2007 issue. It depicts the effort that goes into making the magazine, and the passion that Grace Coddington, a former model turned creative director and the only person who dares to stand up to Anna Wintour, has for the highly-regarded fashion magazine. In the film, Coddington is often portrayed as the leading victim to Wintour’s aggressive personality. However, the relationship between Wintour and Coddington reveals itself to be symbiotic as Wintour recognizes Coddington’s expertise and keen eye for design. In the end, Wintour approves most of Coddington’s ideas and they appear in the final version of the September issue.

Craft Sabbath

Craft Sabbath

Fashion

Next up, we’ve got In Magazine’s super sexy bi-annual fashion show called Fashion Night Out. I believe our friend gorgeous friend Ninevah Dinha from Fox 13 will be modeling that night.
Fashion Night Out
Saturday, November 6
Doors open at 7 pm, show is at 8 pm
Featuring Fresh, Ypsilon, Fice, Nappi, Mary Jane, Solissa and Beckett Robb
At Cucina Nassi
2155 S Highland Drive
Salt Lake City
The after party will move on over to the Depot at the Gateway. The fun kicks off at 9:30 p.m. and costs $10, or $30 for the show and after party.

Earrings by Sarah de Azevedo

Earrings by Sarah de Azevedo

CRAFT

Now, after all this sexy fashion, we all need to come back down to earth and get our craft on. It’s a great time to get a head start on holiday shopping at the monthly Craft Sabbath.
Craft Sabbath
Sunday, November 7
1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Main Library
210 E 400 South
Salt Lake City, Utah

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Posted in Craft, Events, Film, It's Fashion, Duh! | 3 Comments »

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