illustration

Where the Wild Things Are: link dump

Posted by hil

Sendak

(Photo credit: wellingtonany)

Mentioning the Spike Jonze film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are a few days ago reminded me that I had a bunch of WWTA/Sendak links that I collected when I was trying to scrounge information about the film. (As it happens they are keeping things very well under wraps, which is understandable.)

Take a Swim on the Wild Side: article about the filming taking place in Nov 2006 on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. There are two pictures of one of the monsters on the beach,and wading out in the water, but don’t get too excited – they are so tiny you can’t really make anything out! It describes the puppets (made by Henson) as follows:

The seven creatures stand up to 275 centimetres tall. Although made of foam, they are heavy and hot for the actors and stunt doubles operating them. Word is they wear them with the head on for no more than 30 minutes at a time, with 10 and 15-minute breaks in front of an air-conditioner… Heavy boots inside the suit and massive clawed hands make it difficult to move.

Loungelistener’s photoset of the performance of Where the Wild Things Are at Detroit Opera House, performed by the Grand Rapids Ballet. Some very cool picture of huge puppets on stage and behind the scenes.

Hand puppets and soft toys, and here
Action figures 1,2,3,4,5,6
Graffiti/stencil in Melbourne
Stencil art
Jack-o-lantern
Leg tattoo
Max tattoo
Mural in LA
Mural at the Philadelphia Flower Show, 2006
Costumes at DragonCon
Float in Mardi Gras, New Orleans, 2006
Pavement chalk art
6 part home videos of WWTA Interactive Metreon theme park – glimpses of one of the big puppets.
The Rosenbach Museum has Sendak Gallery (holding original drawings), shop, and is hosting a Spring Festival this coming week
Mommy a video about Sendak’s new pop-up book.
WWTA animation, I think the 1988 one.

There now, I can delete my Wild Things bookmark folder!

Thats the way you do it!

Posted by hil

Sharpe

Ian Sharpe’s comment on the latest development in the travesty of justice that is David Hicks’ lot.

Happy New Year

Posted by hil

Happy New Year, blog friends. A new year and my 300th post!

Last night I dreamed vividly (and I mean vivid physically!) of giving birth – one of those oops-I-need-to-push, and-I’m-in-the-supermarket-and, oh-my-goodness-here-it-is! births, and then a tiny crumpled gorgeous creature cupped in my hands! (maybe because I had seen the tiny animals on fingers photos?)! You will have to take my word for it that it was a good dream, though, and surely its auspicious to dream of giving birth on a new year’s day, don’t you think?

These are the draft drawings I did for the poster for The Moth Tree. I’m particularly fond of the one with the little girl in it.

I used some chalky pastels to do this, and I always forget what lovely effects they give and how much pleasure I get from using them. I should really draw more often, just for pleasure.

A while ago I discovered a lovely sculpture in the ANU, Winged Harvest by Fiona Foley, which has silver bogong moths. I didn’t give them a thought when I was doing the poster, but I really think there must have been some subconscious connection going on here.

Mothssm

(photo credit: Tim Raupach: Cutflat)

The Moth Tree opens tomorrow night

Posted by hil

Mothtree

Over the last while I have been involved in designing and making the set, costumes and puppets for Canberra Youth Theatre‘s production, The Moth Tree: An Awesome Adventure.

The Moth Tree is a quest story set in a distant place, in a quiet part
of the world, where the ancient and beautiful Algoma City lies. Since
the very beginning of time the city has been protected by moths that
grow on an enchanted tree. Until now the city has been a haven of
harmony and a place of gentle joy. However, a band of villains have
hatched a wicked plot to bring the city to its knees. All that stands
against the coming darkness are a ragged pair of unlikely young
heroes…

The play has been developed in a collaborative process involving the group of 8 to 12 year olds, the director, Tim Hanson, and the writer, Shiereen Magsalin, workshopping and developing characters and plot lines. The intention has been to offer the kids the experience of creating and presenting theatre, with a crew of professionals. We open tomorrow night! If you are in Canberra and have kids, why not take them along to some live theatre?

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre & Shaun Tan: The Arrival

Posted by hil

arrival

Following on from yesterday’s post about the puppet-based theatre adaptation of Shaun Tan’s picture book, The Red Tree, today I discovered that Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s adaptation of Shaun’s new book, The Arrival, had just finished it’s season in Perth. The production, which The Australian gives a rave review, uses digital animation, puppetry and acting, and is visual theatre:

‘The absence of words not only makes the story perfect for puppetry but emphasizes the isolation that is experienced by many people arriving in a new place.’

Although The Arrival book doesn’t come out until October, there is an online preview, in which you can see some of the pages, and read Shaun’s detailed description. It looks wonderful – a 128 page book of illustrations without words, a
silent graphic novel, arranged and presented rather like a photo album, which can be interpreted rather like a silent film. ‘Through a series of connecting images, it tells the story of an anonymous migrant leaving some unfortunate
circumstances in his home country, crossing an ocean to a strange new city, and learning how to live here.’

The Lost Thing, another Tan book that was made into puppet theatre by Jigsaw Theatre Company here in Canberra a few years ago, and for which I made puppets, has been touring since, and is due to have a season in Melbourne this November at the Arts Centre.

I also came across some photos at Flickr of a Shaun Tan mural at the Subiaco Library in Perth.

Update:
Talking Squid’s review by Russell B. Farr

Links updated 2015

Pemberley is 10 years old

Posted by hil

I decided to put up my old anniversary graphics in my Pemberley Image Gallery, to mark the decade since Amy started the Jane Austen site, Pemberley on 22 July, 1996. I put up some others while I was there, so its a sizeable gallery now. I also put in some keepsake graphics which haven’t been public before. Thanks for everything, Amy.

Mechanized animal structures

Posted by hil

Fish3Vladimir Gvozdariki is a Russian artist who makes whimsical figures, animations and images. Some are pleasing in their simplicity, but I particularly like his complicated drawings of mechanized animal structures. They are in numerous places in his galleries, like here, here and here and here. I also like how some, like this fish, have made the transition from drawing to sculpture. I could imagine them being used theatrically, and some aspects -the whimsy and the technical details – remind me of some of Shaun Tan‘s creatures in The Lost Thing.

I also like Gvozdariki’s interest in snails and miniature worlds. How would you like to live here?

(via the wonderful BibliOdessy)

Quilt patterns from ‘Alias Grace’

Posted by hil

Lucy Tartan’s review of Margaret Atwood’s novel Alias Grace over at Sorrow at Sills Bend this morning prompted me to go hunting for my sketch of all the quilt square patterns that were used as chapter illustrations. I liked how the motif worked in with the story and themes of each chapter much better than I liked the book overall.

Quilt squares

I always intended to make a sketch of all the knots used similarly in E. Annie Proulx’s wonderful book, The Shipping News, but haven’t as yet.

I once heard an interview with Margaret Atwood; it must have been on the ABC. In it I think – and I might be mistaken, I’d like confirmation – she defined the novel as writing that always has the notion of a clock in it. Does anyone else remember that? I guess it implies that there is always a timeline and a narrative, but being me, I started thinking of clocks and watches and other time pieces!

While you are at Sorrow at Sills Bend, don’t miss the rats and hydatid posters!

Shaun Tan’s website and Aquasapiens

Posted by hil

aqua51

Shaun Tan now has his own website. It looks relatively new. It’s great to see a number of illustrations under each picture book listing, and read his thoughtful and friendly commentary. I was also delighted to see some images from the puppetry-based theatre production of The Red Tree, which was produced as part of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s ‘Out of the Box’ festival for children in 2004. I had heard about this wonderful fish puppet on the grapevine. There are also some in-theatre pictures of some of our puppets for Jigsaw Theatre’s production of The Lost Thing.

One project that was unknown to me before, is Aquasapiens. Tan was commissioned by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in Fremantle, WA, to design large-scale puppets for a street theatre event as part of the 2005 Perth International Arts Festival. The director was Philip Mitchell, the puppet maker Jiri Zmitko and sound designer/composer Lee Buddle. These creatures are fabulous! Here are drawings of the Yellow Naut‘ and ‘Shrimpy’. I also love this.

Aquasapiens is going to be part of the Adelaide Fringe in February and March, and is available to perform at schools from February 27 to March 10.

Apparently Spare Parts will also be adapting another of Tan’s books, The Arrival, which is about migration and is due to be published in April.

updated links 2015