(Inside A Black Apple)

A Very Short Story of a Little Elephant & Crocodile

This gem is from Babar & His Children.
I think it makes it into all-time-favorite children's illustration territory for me.

The text is also great, in a Babar-ish way (it begins "Three seconds in which to act -- and no gun!")  but I think it's a such a perfect three panel story all on its own. What cold heart could resist a baby elephant encountering a crocodile while floating in a bowler hat?

Soviet Era Children's Books

I'm always losing my mind a little bit over a lot of things. Right this minute, it goes something like: thoughts of my next picture book, balloons, Manet's portraits, Babar, muffins, girls in blouses, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, sewing dresses, the Bears film etc. etc.

There's also this Soviet era children's book art. All but one of these (the pink elephant) are from this beautiful archive/online exhibition from the Rare Books/Special Collections dept. of the McGill Library.

 

   

The lively, simplified shapes & beautiful, wise use of color and grey-blacks make them so arresting & eternally modern. I think the barracuda/cat/mouse spread is one of my favorite things I've seen.

Now I'm wondering about Beautiful Books, Terrible Times...it looks like a good one.

Tim Walker for What Ails You

Sometimes when I am feeling a little beauty-starved, I binge on Tim Walker.

His heart is, I think, like my favorite people's hearts: that is, full to bursting with everything all at once, exuberance and shadows and wonder and love and magic. A devout maximalist, a baroque day dreamer, and obsessed by decadent beauty in a time when it isn't terribly fashionable to be any of those things. He's also quite good on mermaids.

Pictures, his monograph, is one of my most prized among my big shelf-breaker books. Above are just a few windows into his rabbit hole (the shadow creatures up top remains my all-time favorite.)

There are hundreds more, too, all beautiful little cakes to eat greedily & make yourself sick in the loveliest way.

Little Fur Child

Last week, very out-of-the-blue, I got a wonderful package in the mail from one of my favorite people. Inside the wonderful package was the drawing above, an original Garth Williams sketch of the Little Fur Child from Little Fur Family, my all-time favorite picture book. I know I might've said all of the rest of this before, so bear with me if I'm repeating myself!

I remember there was an auction of most of the original artwork a few years ago, and I wanted so badly to swoop it all up. Feeling wistful about that made me all the more beside-myself to have an original Fur Child of my own. I love sketches in general, and I know this little guy (and his perfect little hat!) will be close beside me in my studio for forever. I just have to find the perfect frame for him!

My three favorite things about Little Fur Family:

- What a bunch of misfits the family is, but how perfect they are together. The little one is very bearish, the papa is a Scottie-dog/bearish creature, and the mama is...? A bush-baby? The grandfather (not pictured) is also very terrier-like, so I'm assuming he's on the father's side.

- The papa's outstanding singing-face in the lullaby scene (top R)

- And my most, most, most favorite thing of all...in the book but possibly just in general: the moment the Fur Child finds a tiny version of himself (top L)

"Then he caught a little tiny tiny fur animal,
The littlest fur animal in the world
It had warm silky fur and even a little fur nose
So he kissed it right on its little fur nose
And put it gently back in the grass
And the little tiny tiny fur animal
Ran down a hole into the ground.

The subtly frantic look on the tiny tiny fur animal's face really makes it, I think.

Other People's Pictures: Hokusai's Flowers

Hokusai's Wave gets all the attention, but lately I've been having a moment with his unbelievably beautiful and delicate flower paintings.

They're both ethereal and substantial, somehow.

  

 

I'd like to make more posts here about other people's pictures. It would be nice sometimes to chronicle who's hypnotizing me at any given time, since my eye has an easy heart and falls in love over and over and over again.

My art-book-buying has been a little outrageous lately - the evidence of my crushes pile up all over the place in little stacks. Sometimes I get very voracious about pictures, sometimes I am more reserved.

In the age of curating your infatuations online and tumbling and pinteresting them, I'm still quite tactile with mine. Even if I find an image online, I'll usually print it out and tape it or paste it into a scrapbook so I can go back to it in the leisurely way I like.

And then it can all be integrated into my revolutionary filing system - the Little Stacks™ method.

Other People's Pictures: The Tiny Paintings of Stephen Mackey

I recently happened upon painter/enchanter Stephen Mackey's website for the first time. All of his work is wrenchingly gorgeous, but since I love little things, his small paintings struck me most of all.

Did you read The Family Fang? In it, some very peculiar and very beautiful-sounding tiny paintings are discovered. That was one of my favorite parts of the book, and these were just what I imagined.

I think placing any kind of restraint on your work can result in some staggering beauty- Working tiny. Working in a square. Working on a three-dimensional object. Doing anything out-of-the-ordinary.

These little oil-painted worlds are the proof - delicate, marvelous proof.

Mermaid Symphonies

I'm having a Silly Symphonies moment right now, especially King Neptune (1932).

So much so, I made you a gif of my favorite part, the sweetest whirlwind of animated mermaids. I wish this was my own personal aquarium.

I got crazy about the Fleischers a few years ago and my Ub Iwerks DVDs have seen lots of use, but I really hadn't spent that much time poking around in the post-1930 Disney vault 'til now. There's so much to see!

I've spent most of my time looking at slightly earlier cartoons, and it's amazing to see the jumps in fanciness a year or two made in those formative days. I guess that's like anything, right? The beginnings of things happen in leaps, not hops.

If you're interested in this kind of thing, I highly recommend Of Mice and Magic, Leonard Maltin's book about American animation. My friend Devlin (who has pointed me in the direction of lots of excellent old cartoon tomfoolery) recommended it, and I wolfed it down. It's a fascinating book - I especially loved the long bit about the trials & triumphs of Walt Disney, about his working philosophies, etc.

There were a handful of brilliant men obsessed with craft and cleverness in the 20's & 30's, when animation was still quite young. Moving treasures that sprang from hundreds or thousands of drawings - I just feel lucky that so many have been preserved and/or restored and are so easy to conjure up any old time.

Yelena Bryksenkova

Yelena Bryksenkova's world is somewhat new to me, but I was really happy when (via some internet rabbit hole twist and turns) I found myself there.

Love Spell for Lone Wolf Magazine / All images copyright Y. Bryksenkova

The mix of domestic, quiet things like teapots and floral rugs, with witchy, wild, fairytale things makes for a world that is somehow soothing and at the same time, a little dangerous. I especially like her fierce dedication to pattern, which makes the illustrations feel rich and full of controlled clutter (in the way that feels cozy and not claustrophobic) and makes your eye flit all around the page.

Visiting her blog also tends to make me want things. The above illustration, for Lone Wolf magazine made me want to push the order magazine button.

And a few months ago, the peeks of her illustrations for the book Fairytale Food made me click quick like a bunny to see if I could get my mitts on it in the U.S. (it's published in the U.K.) and sent me whirling through the Fairytale Food blog.

The Beast in the illustration above is really the tops. I'd love to see that gentleman dressed in some kind of finery, although his fur-suit is obviously suit enough.

Spitalfields Silks

I've picked up a few of the V&A pattern books (be warned, the V&A website is a rabbit hole - from old mechanical toys to beautiful wallpaper galleries, there's a lot to make a person picture-drunk.) 

 
Copyright © Victoria and Albert Museum, London / V&A Images -- All rights reserved.

I think my favorite of the books, so far, is the Spitalfields Silks volume. In it, beautiful woven silks rub elbows with gridded, painted designs - a nice juxtaposition, and a testament to how lovely the planning stage can be.

Each book comes with a cd for personal use - if you run low on stationery, I think some of the patterns would make beautiful print-at-home cards. The books in the series are all nice, I'd love a little row of them on my shelves!

The Fate of the Folk Art Museum

 

Untitled/Two Girls and a Dog Sitting in a Garden - Henry Darger
Collection American Folk Art Museum

I was heartbroken to read this NYT article recently about the American Folk Art Museum. It seems the institution is in real trouble, and might not be around for very much longer.

This is a crushing blow, because not only is this place important in a larger cultural sense, it's very special to me, personally. To say their Darger collection, Carousel exhibition, and early folk portraits altered the course of my life and work isn't hyperbole, it's the honest truth. It feels awful to think other artists and appreciators might not be able to visit this magical (if relatively humble) place.

I'm not sure what we can do about this, but I ardently wish I had deep enough pockets to swoop in and save it.

I don't want this box of idiosyncratic jewels to go away.

*** UPDATE: Wonderful News! (Thanks, Nicki!) ***

Locket Peek

There's a whole bunch of new wearables coming to the shop...and some old favorites, too!

I love seeing how the tiny prints look underneath that beautiful glassy little dome of resin, in their pretty brass frames. (This is just a peek, but I'll let you know very soon exactly when they will be available for order in the shop!) 

I have been so excited to reveal that my collaborator, the lovely locket lady, Lori (alliteration!) & I have been scheming & dreaming up a new collection behind the scenes. Finally, the Lost on the Midway pieces (and a few other newbies) have beeen miniaturized!

 
I've even redesigned the packaging for the Fancy Wearables, so they're the sweetest and nicest possible little art lockets you're ever likely to find.

Can't wait til' I can put them in the shop!!!

Stitched Covers

I am completely spellbound by these cover illustrations that comics artist and illustrator Jillian Tamaki has created for some new Penguin editions:

The Emma jacket is lovely (and there's a sweet one for The Secret Garden, which we were just discussing the other day!) but I love the Black Beauty embroidery the most.

It's really unbelievably, almost cruelly beautiful...

Jillian's blog has more info, and some really fun-to-peek-at process photos of the embroideries in progress. What a multimedia wonder she is!
I read one of her books, Skim (written by her cousin, Mariko Tamaki) a few years back and it's one of those books that is so truthful and honest, it has a piercing loveliness.

My friend Devlin, who is always showing me beautiful things, tipped me off about the mention of these on the D+Q blog, and I was just blown over - especially considering the timing. I'm completely humbled by the beauty of these covers, especially because I'm currently doing the final bits of work to complete the cover painting for my first children's book.
(More on that later!)

I feel like I've been living in this cover painting for several months now (in addition to working on the Alice paintings.)

All I can do is hope it's even a percentage as nice as these stitched wonders!

Stop-motion Paper Doll Magic

I recently discovered these videos out of the vast and mysterious internet, and my heart was stolen. Stolen clean away!

The Teddy Bear's Picnic is one of my all-time favorite things, so imagine my delight to happen upon this little gem:

 

I think I am officially dead because that video right there killed me. Dead as a doornail.

It seems some lovely director out there has made these amazing little stop-motion films using the dolls and backdrops from my Paper Doll Primer ! And if you are the film-maker in question, please say hello so that I can give you proper credit.

 

The captions! The sideshow!

I really can't articulate how moved I was by these, and I can't think of a better use for my oddball book than this. They're just incredible, and they put a lump in my throat in the best possible way. I could not wait one more second to share them.

Thank you for all the Alice love! I am so happy at the warm reception these pieces are getting - thank you, thank you.

Happy Friday to you!

Dainty Kitten Flowers

My order of this outstanding fabric from the clever Melinda Josie arrived recently, and I cannot wait to sew with it!

The printing is beautiful, and the sateen it's printed on is lovely to touch and should be very nice to work with. The first time I saw the print, I was smitten.

A kitty dress is imminent!

(The stack of dresses-to-be is getting out of control, so I suppose I need to get to stitching)

Neat Things People are Up To

While I'm waiting to be camera-functional again, I thought I'd share a handful of cool things that have struck my fancy around ye olde internet lately.

 

- First up is Picture Book Report, an incredibly cool collective illustration project spearheaded by ringleader and general image-wizard Meg Hunt (who has created some really great Alice images, like the one above). Laura Park's Geek Love installments are a favorite, too (I'm also quite fond of her Mome contributions). 

 

 

-Next is "Forage", the new bow-tie project from those brilliant attention-to-detail-fanatics Something's Hiding In Here. You can see all of the work and care that has gone into the construction of every iota of the project, from fabric selection to packaging. Their pop-up shop will launch at Curiousity Shoppe in SF really soon and an explosion of sherbet-colored tie goodness will abound.

 

- Anja's new style of product photography for her beautiful Etsy vintage shop is incredible. It's so simple and fresh and perfect with the white backgrounds and the floaty grace the white space creates. The garments stand on their own remarkably well, especially since Anja has such an eye for interesting items. Her last photo setup was so good, too - she's got an amazing brain for that sort of thing. 

- My favorite printers are always up to something neat (plus they've got great taste), and now the Pinball folks have made a fantastic blog, BangBack. It's a fun, varied love letter to print, and features their own projects as well as lots and lots of other things (other people's projects, books, etc). The cute Portland bingo cards above are a clever project created by smarties Amy R. & Bishop Lennon 

Whew! Even in the sleepy Summer, people are always dazzling me!

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!

So Good

On Friday night, we headed over to Ashley + Drew's opening at Redux. There were lovely things to look at, fun people to rub elbows with, and a baby black bear -
I swear it was!
But I've been informed that it was actually a tiny black dog with very fluffy fur.

Here is my favorite part of the show (which winds in and out of the length of the space)...
little gals in lovely old tiny frames:

This one (the be-dotted one in the white frame) is coming home with me after the show closes:

I love her and her demure ways...Ashley outdid herself. I plan to name her Eunice, or something equally demure-sounding.

I just love clusters of things, and that whole school of art-show/display. Especially if the contents are in lovely banged-up frames.

Thank you for the beautiful show and the fun night, excellent friend of mine!
You dazzle me.

Nara and The Wagon

I was really excited to see a snippet of the new Nara show at Blum and Poe in the newest Hi Fructose.

Image from Arrested Motion

I love seeing his portraits framed like this.

Image from Arrested Motion

Or just sketches tacked to the wall...it feels right casual or carefully presented.

Image from Blum + Poe

The show is everything lovely about his work that you already adored, but with the magical element added of a small installation in the shape of a scallop-roofed wagon!

 
Image from Arrested Motion

Image from Arrested Motion

Inside looks like the coziest, sweetest little drawing studio imaginable. It's all too much...I love it so much it makes me want to cry.

Image from Blum + Poe

Over at Arrested Motion, there are tons more photos and even a little video tour of the show for those of us that don't get to wander through it ourselves. Nara was one of my first favorite artists that I didn't learn about from an art book, so he'll always be about 1 1/2 inches away from my heart.

Artwork Dreams & Donut Wishes

I thought I would be hermit-like this weekend, but it always seems that when I plan on that, we're 10 times more social than usual. This is a good thing! It means we got to spend Friday night with Ryan + Lucy hanging out at the opening at Grass Hut for a show in which Ryan had lots of work. This is my favorite Ryan-piece from the show:

Ryan is so prodigiously good that it's actually a little frightening.

The piece that made me cry a little inside because I cannot really afford it at this time is this Carson Ellis drawing:

Jeez louise.

She also has a drawing on the Grass Hut website (that I didn't see at the gallery) that is the "Little Fur Child" from this book, which is absolutely my favorite picture-book. And if you happen purchase it, please get the faux-fur binding. There is no point in the non-tiny, non-fur-bound edition.

We had dinner and then donuts, and the abundant artificial light at the donut place was too amazing.

 
You can barely make out the "mega donut" on the upper tier on the right. Its radius was at least 6 inches.

Aforementioned prodigous Ryan with utterly out-of-place chandelier.

The boys were really into this bubble-hockey game. Like, two hours of games into it. Josiah is there on the right. That man is such a cutie. A cutie among cuties.

We also got to hang out with this out of town Etsy-pal on Saturday, and then Drew made us brunch today. Ashley contributed by pouring us some orange juice.

And now I'm going to cut out fabric for dollies and spend time with my numero uno friend of them all. Luckily, he's just in the other room.

Swap-Meet (or, Other People's Radness)

I'm having one of those days where I've got a headache and I just want to drop-kick everyone.

So, in an effort to battle this negative-Nellie-ness (and because I love it when other people do it, like here), I thought that I would make a list of some of the great things other folks are up to. You know, to remind myself of the good things that are in the world.

1.) My long-time "co-worker", and all-round smarty pants pal Ashley has made these incredible miniature pieces of ceramic art that are just so fresh and beautiful.

 

She updated her shop with a new batch earlier today, and I think there are still some great designs left (including my favorite one, which I'm lucky enough to have hanging in my studio). Hop quick like a bunny and see what's the haps!

2.) This bee ephemera from The Snail + The Cyclops today really made me swoon:

 

*Sigh*
Pure, typographical heaven.

3.) I found this this beautiful photography shop via Etsy's blog today, and it swept me back to my days in the photo-lab in college. Oh, darkroom chemicals.

This one's my favorite:

Or maybe the one with the fish.

4.) More ephemera-goodness...this card-hoarder's exhaustive flickr archive of vintage Valentines and such.

  

I've been poring over them a lot whilst designing...a new set of Black Apple Valentines!

5.) Lastly, a really unlikely shout-out to these amazing jeans, with which I'm am very in love. They are the most Elizabeth Taylor-ish of any jean I've ever seen, and they seriously stole my heart.

Thanks, fancy-jeans makers.

Listing off good stuff is such a nice, therapuetic exercise. I feel like less of a malcontent already.