(Inside A Black Apple)

Bright Star

    Josiah and I went to see Jane Campion's newest, Bright Star,  this weekend and we were both very excited. Me - because I love the filmmaker, and Josiah because he loves the Romantic poets. I am happy to report that neither was disappointed, and we were both very taken with this gentle, lyrical movie...it was perfect on a chilly, late-September Sunday night.

    Both of the leads were wonderful - I liked Abbie Cornish (Fanny Brawne) when I saw her in the second Elizabeth film, but I was initially skeptical of Ben Whishaw (John Keats) because of his unfortunate association with 2008's Brideshead Revisited. I instantly forget his turn as Sebastian Flyte when presented with his understated, honorable, sparkling Keats. Cornish was wonderful, making Fanny into a study in opposites: someone both flip and thoughtful, secure and vulnerable, warm and interior.

    It's that very duality that I love about Jane Campion's film making. She grabs ahold of me most when building a world that is both handmade and elegant, rough and refined, whimsical and grounded. The first beach scene in The Piano is an excellent example of this dynamic, as layers of black Victorian taffeta mingle with the dirt and sand of the shore. Bright Star carries on that theme in quieter ways: With Fanny's simple stitches and gorgeous, dramatic collars. With the couple themselves, slight Keats mingling impishly with the sturdy, rosy-cheeked Ms. Brawne.  With the slow bloom of their story set amidst the mundane everyday interiors and glimmering, grand forests.

    The whole thing has a beautiful slowness to it (Josiah referred to it at one point as "so pleasantly boring"), but this just gives their love story the space it needs to unfold at a convincing pace. And the romance does feel convincing and true (even to me, who usually rolls her eyes at on-screen love) - because Jane Campion is a master at replicating the way we really experience love:
As something at once humbly naturalistic and terribly grand.

The Robot has Spoken (again!)

Oh, thank you for the rather vivacious giveaway comments!

The Robot has chosen, and the emails are sent! Bethany, Christina, Jenni, Alicia, Katherine: watch your mailbox for a package from us...I hope the fabric find you well.

It's so interesting that several of you are reading/recently finished reading the same books - The Elegance of the Hedgehog seems to be very popular with you guys. I will have to look into it!

It also tickled me that lots of things I'd recommend myself came up - like Fun Home, Geek Love, The Hurt Locker, Spider Baby, Roald Dahl's short stories, I Capture the Castle, Cold Comfort Farm, Guy Maddin's films, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Good ol' Harold + Maude, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, etc, etc.

And the recipes!  We'll never go without a dinner or baking idea this fall.

There was such a variety of thoughtful comments. I feel very lucky to have such a well-rounded, generous readership, and I do so wish I had 1,084 bundles to send off to you. Thank you so much for playing along!

See you soon & Thanks again!

Presents for You: Fabric Bundles!

Here's another batch of presents I've made for you guys!

I have five lovely fat little bundles of 100% cotton custom Black Apple fabric designed by yours truly:

To enter, again - just leave a comment!

You can leave whatever you'd like, but I always love book, movie + recipe recommendations. On Monday, I'll close the comments and again consult ye olde Random Number Generator for 5 winning comment-numbers.

Happy Friday to you!

The Robot has Chosen...

...and the numbers for the button bundle giveaway are:

57: Jodie (orange plaid dress)
77: Coralee (uniform convert)
426: Siobhan (sole saddle shoe wearer)
475: Erika (unfortunate grey jumper)
658: Tonigirl (equal parts Molly Ringwald + Don Johnson) Needs to email me with her mailing address, since her email isn't provided)
550: Michele (four pairs of layered socks - so Clarissa-Explains-it-all)
492: Maeg (put herself through school! ALSO needs to email me with her mailing address, since her email isn't provided)
11: Chris (silk shirt fever)
520: Lenna (knee-high boot fashionista)
555: Susie (fancy but tragic first day of kindergarten)

Thanks so much for all of your sweet, hilarious, rad comments. They were amazing - some serious comedy gold in there.

Tonigirl + Maeg, remember to email me! Everyone else, stay tuned for the next giveaway very, very soon.

xoxo

Presents for You: Button Grab Bags!

I don't get enough chances to thank everybody that stops by this blog for, well, stopping by. So to make up for that, I've got a few days of give-aways lined up.

Woot!

First up - I've got 10 Button Pouches full of various misfit buttons (some from years ago!) all ready to give to some of you lovely readers. 

To enter, just leave a comment!

You can leave whatever you'd like, but I'd love it if you'd share your most favorite (or most horrendous) first-day-of-school outfit. Since it's September, I've been thinking about those good ol' days of agonizing, and planning and stirrup-pants, etc.

On Thursday, I'll close the comments and consult ye olde wizened Random Number Generator. 

Happy Tuesday!

(UPDATE: These stories are KILLING me!)

UPDATE PT. 2: Comments are closed at #683 + the winning numbers are chosen! More giveaway goodness soon!

You're the Cream In My Coffee (a Song for Josiah on his Birthday)

Josiah had a birthday late in July, and for his birthday, I usually try to make a present to give him along with all of the books other presents I amass for him. I've been meaning to share this for months (!), because I had such a fun time making it. For, this year, it was none other than a pictorial version of my favorite Ruth Etting song...and I swear up and down that all of the funny little proclamations are true.

I found this neat wooden-cover notebook at Powell's, and just drew directly in it (although binding it myself would've been nice for certain).

I made the book into a little set on Flickr, both because Typepad was being funny with my images today, and because I thought it would be cute as a slide-show.

You can find it here as a set, and here as a slide show.

And I can't seem to find Ruth's version to listen to anywhere, but here's a pretty cute version!

Bend It Like...Amy

Since our arrival in Portlandia, Amy has been one of my best partners in (shopping) crime and one of my most thoughtful confidants.  But before that, we were internet-aquaintances, and I was nuts about her first book. So nuts, in fact, that I don't think I have any copies on hand because I always give them away to people - shoving it into their hands like this: "Oh, goodness! You're learning how to sew? Take this book!" (then repurchase) and then "You're not excited about sewing anymore? Oh, but you used to love it...hey, Just take this book!" And so on, and so forth.

I can definitely see the same endless buy-give-away-buy-again thing happening with her new printing + embellishing bible, Bend The Rules With Fabric.

 

I got my copy a few weeks ago, and I raced through it immediately. And just as I had hoped, the projects are adorable and clever and (so important for enduring usefulness) the techniques are highly adaptable to your own makin' stuff needs. The amazing, idiot-proof screenprinting method will definitely come in handy, especially considering my own, ahem, mishaps. So exciting!

As you would expect from her blog, Amy's tutorials are conversational, un-intimidating, and so to-the-point (in a helpful, funny way). I love that.

I'm both excited about the sourcebook she's created, and I'm really proud of my friend for being such a dazzling writer and bookmaker.
Good work, Ms. A.

And I can't wait for her Powell's signing this Sunday! That makes it the 20th of September, at the Downtown Powell's location, from 7:30-9:00...and I hear there will be a cake walk. Cake walks terrify me, personally (as do musical chairs...pinatas...most children's party games) but this one should be good.

Happy Friday!

Button Parade Day 4

The last of the lost-lost-for-a-while button packs is now in the shop! These pretty Springtime Girls - and I think that's a nice way to wrap it up, although I should have the Oddfellow's sets in pretty soon, and I hope they will knock any socks that are even slightly loose (including my own) clean off!

Happy Thursday to you!

Button Parade Day 3

Aaaand for today, the Milkland Pin Pack is now in the shop!

I hope your week is coming along nicely!

Button Parade Day 2

For day two...the Paper Doll Pin Set is now in the shop!

And this is completely unrelated to buttons or paper dolls, but did anyone see 9 (the film) last weekend?

We went on our standard Friday old-people-stuck-in-a-rut date (but we love the rut) to dinner at the same Mexican place and a movie at the same movie theater, and that's where we watched the late showing. Even though the story was a bit anemic, I loved (LOVED) the "craftiness" of the movie. I know that's an odd quality to look for, but it has saved movies that are otherwise a little on the weak side (Science of Sleep, Be Kind, Rewind...okay, so several Michel Gondry movies) and a bloated superhero epic like Iron Man (remember all that inventing he did?) from losing me altogether. 9 was as creative visually as it wasn't story-wise, and I think that makes it worth seeing...all the tactile little details and inventions just killed me.

Happy Tuesday & See you soon!

Button Parade Day 1

I've had four whole button sets waiting in Fort Apple...they were just nestled in their velveteen bags, boxed up. I don't know what they were doing with all their free time down there - presumably taking a two-month-long nap. I had forgotten all about them (!!!) until Josiah reminded me that I never added them to the shop after Renegade...so now I'm going to add one each day for the next four days until they're all in there.

First up: The Black Apple Alphabet Pin Pack!

 

A week (almost) of buttons! Very exciting. And then the week after, I'm planning a week(ish) of giveaways/presents for you lovely applets + readers, so that will probably be a darn good week, too.

Let the be-buttoning begin!

3 Beautiful New(ish) Comic Books

The late Summer was very good to me in terms of comics. Sometimes I go months and months, and the only new comics I get my hands on is whatever new Mome is out. Maybe this is all a sign that I'm too persnickety!  Anyway, these are some noteworthy, new (I think they're all from 2009) picture-stories I love.

I photographed these, rather than scanning them, 'cause although scanning does give a crisp image, I don't think you get a good idea of what the book really looks and feels like.
So!
First, the highly anticipated conclusion of Richard Sala's series Delphine, which is published in this wonderful large format Fantagraphics calls the Ignatz Series. 

I'm going to go ahead and admit that I've had this for weeks and weeks and weeks, and I still haven't really read it. I do this - I "save" things, because I don't want to use them up just yet. The inevitable problem, of course, with things you're saving for a rainy day is that you can totally forget about them altogether!

But I won't let that happen with Delphine...I'm too excited about it. I love his older work and newer work alike - the evolution of Sala's inky, angular charmers is a treat to see - and this story (a retelling of Snow White) has been such a wonderful foreboding wander through the twisty, turn-y, dark forest.

I picked up this next little volume when we were in SF in July...we walked by the Little Otsu store, and I peered in (because it was night, and they were closed). There was this beautiful window installation, and I said to Josiah: "Huh! That tea-kettle looks very Lilli Carre-ish".

And when I went over to the store during normal business hours, I was so happy to see that the installation was promoting their new collaboration, Nine Ways to Disappear!  I was also excited to learn recently about Kettle of Fish, Lilli's blog. To me, she's just one of the best up-and-comers in the comics world, and I'm always eager to see what she's up to next.

Last is The Bun Field by Amanda Vahamaki, which I didn't even know existed til' I picked it up last week. I just love it. There is a bear driving a car! There is so much sketchy, smeary loveliness in this little volume...her drawing style has this quality that I find fascinating. It is slyly deceptive about her skill as a draftsman (draftsperson?), and cycles in and out of sophistication and naïveté in a very interesting way.

 

Plus, it perfectly conveys what a dream feels like, without being too mannered, idealized, or trying too hard to charm you.

Just lovely.

Champion Festival

If you are a local, I highly recommend you spend this (Thursday) evening the way the Black Apple is going to: at the adorable Black Wagon for the opening of my favorite frog Ryan Berkley's new show, "Champion Festival". I will be there for most (if not all) of the evening, admiring some insanely whimsical and detailed scenarios, and hoping against hope that ribbons bearing the words "Fancy Dandy" will be handed out as party favors at the end of the night.

Then only the next day, both jet-setting Berkleys head to ye olde Renegade Chicago, so please go out and visit those two (and Sarah and her new ferris wheel!) if'n you're around the windy city.

I wish we were going!

Oddfellow's prints now available!

I've gotten so many (wonderful, sweet, excited) emails about this series, as well as queries about when the prints will be available. It is just thrilling - there is no other word for it. The response to this work has had me on cloud nine, and I'm excited to let all of you lovely readers that the new work is now available in print form in ye olde Black Apple Shop!

As promised, here is the gallery of Oddfellow's images together.
And, as always, you can click to enlarge, if'n you'd like to see them a bit larger:

 

 

 

   

It is so neat to see them all together like this...it's the last time for me, since the originals are now off to their new happy homes. I feel a little sad (okay, more than a little) about this, but I know they'll be well loved.
For some reason, laid out like this, they remind me of very fancy postage stamps! Is that weird?

Anyway, all of these images are now available in the shop. Hip, hip, hooray!

Pictorial Texts, Old and New-Old

  

We found the book on the left when we were hunting for old things last weekend. It's so beautiful, and in better condition than it looks in the photo. Anyway, I bought it because, in addition to the hilarious and preachy forward (which hopes that "savages" in foreign lands can use it as primer to one day better themselves), it has nice black and white line art illustrating nearly every lesson, from vocabulary to verbs. Imagine my surprise when the book on the right came to me (as a surprise present from Josiah) just a few days later! It's a new (to me, anyway) book from Chronicle, and is it ever lovely. And it is bursting with the most beautiful illustrations...as Chronicle's website says: "over 1,500 engravings that originally graced the pages of Webster's dictionaries in the 19th century"

When I uploaded my photos of the pages, it was difficult for me to distinguish between the two, except from the tattered pages! Here are a few from Picture Teaching...I love these that have little "labels" - one on each item illustrated:

 

Oh, that chart on the left below...be still my heart!

   

And here are a few favorite pages from the utterly exhaustive Pictorial Webster's:

   

This is my favorite page thus far, but that might just be because it's near the center of the book, and so my volume has an easy time falling open to that page. But come on! Those three monkeys that the top? And the molars aren't too shabby, either.

I'm excitedly readying all the prints from the Oddfellow's series...they'll be making their way into the shop tomorrow (Friday)!

See you soon!