Working Myself into A Fine Frenzy

My love for stop-motion animation is no secret. Give me Švankmajer, give me Brothers Quay over rubbery slick CGI any day. Coraline and Fantastic Mister Fox make me positively quiver with glee. So it's no surprise that this music video for A Fine Frenzy stopped me in my tracks.

It's all too easy to see why I loved this brief little gem of a film, as it's also packed with imagery I adore... from paper umbrellas to tall ships, vintage sewing supplies to doll parts. And much to my delight, I found the singer / songwriter behind A Fine Frenzy, who stars in the video, is an impossibly luscious fiery-haired young vixen named Alison Sudol.

Her sophomore effort as A Fine Frenzy, Bomb in a Birdcage, is the second album I've discovered solely from my love of a music video, the first being the incredible Ramona Falls. The album is at once stirring and ethereal, layered and playful. Sudol's voice is something like a blend of Feist and Regina Spektor, her songs filled with glorious vocal acrobatics... ear~candy for a chanteuse like myself.

While rooting about for more images, I found that she had modeled a line of one-of-a-kind couture vintage-inspired headpieces from L.A. called Ban.do. Photographer Angela Kohler's work resulted in a series of jaw-droppingly gorgeous portraits that feel almost pre-Raphaelite in their dewy glory.

As it turns out, Angela Kolher and her partner Ithyle Griffiths also directed the "Lost Things" short film above that started me down this particular rabbit-hole. They used a similar style to win a contest to design a stop-motion ad for Amazon Kindle in 2009, which became very popular. But it's their work with Alison Sudol that strikes my fancy most.

Ah, the joy of lush new music, a pretty girl, and whimsical stop-motion animation. What more could I wish for?

Things That Please Me: Stereoscopic Vixens

We interrupt this lull in postings with a scandalous report ~ I have discovered an amazingly expansive archive of naughty peep~show cards from Chicago's Columbian Exhibition of 1893.

What is it about the erotica of yesteryear that makes it so much more tantalizing than today's bare-it-all trashiness? Call me old-fashioned, but I find a demure hint of skin much more appealing than a spread-eagled centerfold... and real bodies with real skin and hair a LOT more alluring than the airbrushed and landing-strip-shaven models. The shy poses, the oft-ludicrous settings... I love it all.

As we are sadly lacking a stereoscopic viewing device to properly appreciate these three-dimensional treasures, my man took it upon himself to create a few animated gifs that combine the two images: behold the jittery loveliness.

There are no less than 57 pages of stereoscopic peepshow galleries, and a whole additional gallery of risque French Postcards. A few of the images are clearly more recent than Victorian times, but the vast majority are vintage naughty bits; truly an epic collection.

As my own body metamorphosizes to accommodate the little person growing within (only three more months!), I am ever more appreciative of the female form in all its incarnations ~ I am enchanted by what the body of a woman can do.

The combination of form and function is truly magnificent. And so I raise a toast for the sheer glory of this corporeal existence, and for these complicated systems of bones, blood and breath we call home.

August Bradley's Haunting Imagination

I happened upon this delightful series of images from the 2008 Hasselblad Masters book by fashion photographer August Bradley while poking about on DeviantArt a while back.

Admittedly, the first one caught my eye because I recognized Kojii, one of the models from the single season of Project Runway I indulged in watching (it was only for Louise Black, really!), but I was intrigued. I loved Bradley's painterly use of light and color, and the implied drama in the dreamlike pictures.

You can find a number of lovely interviews with him on the web ~ I particularly enjoyed this one, A Trick of the Light. With most of my favorite photographers, it's the ability to hint at a story behind the scene that captures my heart, and Bradley is adept at making the viewer feel like he's frozen a fable in time.

While the world of high fashion and its overly made-up, impossibly lanky women will always feel a bit alienating to me, I can't help but be charmed by the oddity of this series, the Depression-era-circus-meets-post-apocalyptic-fairytale mood.

The faux ravens, the decaying props, the unusual men mixed in with the leggy models... fine. I'll bite. I even found a very brief documentary on the project which reveals a bit of what goes on behind the scenes.

It seemed like a fitting month to feature this particular artist. So carry on, August Bradley, with your fantastical haunting visions. I look forward to seeing more of what comes out of your imagination.

The Candy~Colored Glory of 666 Photography

What better occasion than a new Facebook fan page and an upcoming large-format book to celebrate the amazing artistry of 666 Photography?

The first image I discovered by Austin photographer Gayla Partridge was a portrait of a petulant corseted beauty holding a pygmy goat. I was new to the world of neo-Victorian costuming and had stumbled upon the picture while looking at the fabulous hats of Topsy Turvy Design. I was instantly besotted.

{Photo: Gayla Partridge / Makeup: Lisa Naeyaert / Model: Kayleigh / Hat: Topsy Turvy}
Burrowing into the colorful website of 666, I found pinup girls and drama queens, harlots and virgins, burlesque beauties and high concept art. Gayla makes all her own props and often hand-paints her backdrops, which gives the sets a timeless tintype feel.

{Wardrobe/Photo: Gayla Partridge / Makeup: Lisa Naeyaert / Model: Ali}
Like pages from a story-book, her photos speak of stolen moments and hidden treasures, epic display windows in the most delectable shop ever.

{Photo: Gayla Partridge / Makeup: Lisa Naeyaert / Model: Jenovia / Fascinator: Topsy Turvy}
Gayla delights in technicolor gloss and vintage va-va-voom. Truly, you have to love an artist who constructs five-foot mushrooms for her shoots and recreates period sets and moods ~ but with a campy modern twist.

{Wardrobe/Photo: Gayla Partridge / Makeup: Lisa Naeyaert / Model: Kalani Kokonuts}
Most recently, her breathtaking series of "Muertos" photographs, with longtime collaborator Lisa Naeyaert as the model and make-up artist, graced the glossy pages of my beloved Coilhouse.

{Wardrobe/Hair/Photo: Gayla Partridge / Model/Makeup: Lisa Naeyaert}
Gayla's love of the female form is clear, and it must be as joyful an experience to model for her as it is to behold the images. Peek behind the scenes in a recent interview with Gayla from Austin's Rare Magazine.

{Wardrobe/Photo: Gayla Partridge / Makeup: Lisa Naeyaert / Model: Jenovia}
See more of Gayla's delicious pictures and keep up with her on her blog, her mySpace page, or Twitter, as well as her website and new FB page.

Bonus temptation: the cephalopod-lovers won't be able to resist clicking this link to see Gayla's perfectly odd portrait of a little girl on the Cephalopod Tea Party blog...

La Fée Verte

The poet in his attic room paces by the dim glow of the oil lamp, fevered ~ again he is walking the thin line between genius and madness, waiting for his muse, a faceted goblet of potent green liquid in his pale hand.

But La Fée Verte is a capricious and cruel mistress ~ she murmurs promises of glorious lucid visions in your ear... but then overwhelms her acolytes with feverish passion for ever more until one sip too many ~ and she is gone in a vaporous flurry, leaving them muddled and weak. Still, the poet drinks… and dreams…

I am beamingly proud to introduce my newest design ~ Absinthe, with model shots by the brilliant Revel of Aesthetic Alchemy. Every time I look at this photo-set I fall in love again ~ the lighting, the mood, the grace and glorious beauty of the model, Ariel Collins...

I've had this one dreamed up for quite some time. In fact, the whole concept of Adornments for Tarts was born from an absinthe-themed gown ~ I made it for myself, and then needed really spectacular, unusual accessories to go with it... so I invented them. And thus it's extra special to me that I was able to use that very gown in these phenomenal images.

Some other bits and bobs of news: my Web site now has a Facebook "share" feature on nearly every page, courtesy of my impossibly talented Web designer husband, of Sassy Monkey Media, so you may easily share links to your favorite adornments. There's also a new interview with me on the lovely Gale's Tattered Rouge blog, where more details of the Absinthe gown story are revealed.

So... drive them mad in the Absinthe adornments, now available in my Etsy shop.

Dark Grace: The Photography of Revel

I have just sent off my Absinthe set of adornments to the stunningly brilliant Revel to be photographed. I discovered Revel while doing the CoutureLust feature on Blasphemina's Closet, and upon visiting her web site, Aesthetic Alchemy, I was smitten.

{Odalisque Precieuse by Aesthetic Alchemy / Wardrobe: HMS Latex / Model: Revel}
I am all aflutter with anticipation at what the results of this endeavor will be. Revel's vision is tantalizing ~ a world of dark and capricious creatures, equal parts fetish wickedness and Lolita innocence.

{White Rabbit by Aesthetic Alchemy / Model: Lauren WK}
Her styling is dangerously bold, with splashes of color and textures seemingly at odds... leather and silk, velvet and latex.

{Bronzed by Aesthetic Alchemy / Wardrobe: HMS Latex / Model: Jessamyne}
Revel meticulously builds and collects all of her props and sets, conceiving each image as a story to unfold and capture ~ the gloss of high fashion meets the curious sinister side.

{Blackbird by Aesthetic Alchemy / Wardrobe: Retroscope Fashions / Model: Revel}
Many of Revel's images are self-portraits, which adds to the intrigue. Her haunting gaze and lustrous pale skin are otherworldly, like a creature out of time, out of the ravages of reality.

{Strangeling by Aesthetic Alchemy / Model: Revel}
Indeed, I was struck by a quote I saw in one of Revel's online profiles, and how aptly it describes her dreamy oeuvre... from the incorrigible Oscar Wilde: It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection; through art and art only that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence.

{Nouveau by Aesthetic Alchemy / Wardrobe: Blasphemina's Closet / Model: Ariel}
I'm thrilled to be able to have Revel take some of my treasures away from the sordid perils of actual existence ~ and into her rich imagination.

The Alternative History of Christopher Perez

In celebration of that most lauded of holidays for costume freaks, Halloween, I must share the discovery of the eerily gorgeous photographs of Christopher Perez, from his Flickr set called Alternative History.

Malachi
In Christopher's own words: "Images gathered from across the Multi-verse. Exceedingly rare and difficult to find, these appear to be from the Ages of Victoria, Punk, Steam, Tribal, and Samurai. How they withstood the stresses of crossing the gaps between Ages in the Multi-verse may never be known, let alone understood."

Ancient Samurai
Perez hails from that bastion of everything wondrous we call Portland, and has the good fortune of a seemingly endless supply of wicked and gorgeous characters for subjects.

Age of Steam
Many featured in these images are from a performance troupe called Bogville Creature Features, a mysterious and enthralling host of miscreants who have thoroughly captivated my imagination. A visit to Portland to experience such splendor in the flesh seems imminent.

Maestro Crunk Vaultz
The Bogvillians seem to have been assembled by tribal steam enchantress NagaSita, of Serpentine fame.

NagaSita as Lady Rhinebone Leveaux
Their makeup and costuming is impeccable, but Perez' eye for capturing essence and his meticulous embellishment of the portraits is what makes these brilliant.

Eyelet V. Wayward
He perfectly ensnares the souls of the characters, and as with much of the imagery that appeals to me, implies a fantastical story just beyond the frame.

We hope to lure Christopher down for the next Handcar Regatta, to set up a Photonic Capture Tent for more alluring portraits... but in the meantime ~ content yourself with inspiration from these lovely freaks.

Find out more about Christopher's work on his blog or his Web site. And spookiest of All Hallow's Eves to you, lovely readers...

Aural Goodness

I've been consumed with putting on a circus for the past few weeks ~ which I'll be writing about as soon as I have some good imagery. In the meantime, for your various and sundry entertainment needs, here are a few tidbits of aural goodness from my music world.

Three albums that have been garnering my attention as of late... first, My Maudlin Career, the new offering from the luscious Scottish indie pop band Camera Obscura. Not unlike my other favorite Scottish band, they spin a lovely web of stories and sounds.

The shimmering, tambourine-rich, sixties candy-pop sound reminds me of the soundtrack of my early college years ~ that would be Mazzy Star ~ but with a horn section that gives it a more soulful flavor. The singer, Tracyanne Campbell, has an endearingly human voice - not seductive or terribly powerful, but lovely in a vulnerable way. If you're in the mood for perfect pop charm, listen to this.

On another end of the indie spectrum, NYC-based Grizzly Bear has been intriguing me with their much-lauded new album, Veckatimest. The band pushes the boundaries of indie rock with slightly dissonant harmonies and unexpected rhythmic changes, but somehow it all comes together in a surreal and mesmerizing stew of dense textured beauty.

I find myself at a loss for words to describe this album well, and it keeps growing on me. There's nothing simple here; many of the songs disperse and regather like oil on water, moving you from folky chamber-pop to epic wall-of sound rock with ease. But if you have a soft spot for complicated artistry and risk-takers, like I do, you just might fall in love.

The last album on my playlist is Dark Night of the Soul, the phenomenal and mysterious collaboration between renegade producer Danger Mouse and reclusive genius Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. This project is noteworthy for a variety of reasons - first, their third collaborator was David Lynch, who put together a collection of his photography based on the music. Even more intriguing was the unconventional release ~ because of a legal dispute with industry giant BMI, they were unable to release the album, and instead published the book of Lynch photos packaged with an art-printed but blank recordable CD-R.

Best of all, though, is the music itself, which is dark, lush and surreal, and varies as greatly as the all-star cast of guest vocalists, including James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, and more.

Read more of the story, and hear the whole album, on the NPR web site.

Dark Sirene

Every sailor knows there are certain places you just don’t take a ship… mysterious and gloomy corners of the earth where one cannot predict the wickedness one might encounter. And every sailor knows that if you have the misfortune of finding such a corner – and if you hear the dulcet tones of a certain kind of voice - you are forever doomed to a watery fate, for you will fall in love with a siren from the deep.


Sitting on her rock, she waits, always singing her ancient song, always searching - her glistening salty skin and beckoning turquoise eyes both an offer and a warning to those who will listen. I'm ever so pleased to share my first new design listing in ages ~ Sirene.

Absolutely luminous model photography is by Lex Machina. If you'll recall, I've been giddy with anticipation about this collaboration, and I'm delighted and thrilled with the results. Lexie did all the styling and makeup artistry as well. Go give Lexie and this image some love on Flickr, and visit the model, Elise XY, on Model Mayhem.

You can find the listing for the cuffs here on Etsy, and I'll be posting the necklace and earrings as soon as a few more pictures come in - Lexie captured dozens of breathtaking images, and is currently working her magic on them.


Lure them in with the Sirene adornments.

Oughta Be in Pictures

I'm swooning with anticipation about my first collaboration with a photographer other than my love Stache (though I do adore his photography). I've just sent off my brand new Sirene design to Lexie, proprietress of Lex Machina Photography (formerly BrainWreck), after being floored by her newest work on Flickr.

This set of images reminds me of some of the brilliant Kate O'Brien's more painterly work, like her "I Spy" photo I've always adored. I'm giddy with Lexie's treatment of these, the richly saturated but understated tones that give them that vintage feel.

Truly, how could I not be enamoured of someone with a a bio that reads like this: "motor-hobo transient photographer and comic nerd of the steampunk persuasion"? It seems Lexie travels around the country full-time in an RV with her soulmate, Emmy, the dashing subject of this stunning image.

This whole tale appeals to me tremendously... although I do love to travel, I am a home-body at heart, and so that kind of nomadic lifestyle is something I can only admire from afar.

And now, the waiting... sigh.