Serena Epstein » Art and Crafts

De Vilde Svaner

Serena — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:45:24 +0000

I’m always on the lookout for new adaptations of lesser-known fairy tales, and just over a month ago I was lucky enough to find one practically on my doorstep, at the National Gallery of Art.¹ De Vilde Svaner (The Wild Swans) is one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most beautiful stories,² and I had high expectations. The more I read about this production, an hour-long Danish film with art design created by–no joke–Queen Margrethe II of Denmark,³ the more apprehensive I became. A film with découpage backdrops and actors greenscreened in? I just wasn’t convinced that they’d be able to pull it off.

And oh boy, was I wrong! I spent that hour in the National Gallery watching one of the most artistic, imaginative films I’d ever seen. The integration of two-dimensional art with live actors was seamless, and the movie somehow bridged that gap between the limitless world of storybook illustration and the realism of live-action cinema. As the actors wandered through the extraordinary, ornate sets, I had to remind myself that it was all just made of magazines, cut out and glued in place. I had the surreal feeling of experiencing the story both on paper and on the screen.

Take a look at two of the sets:

Unfortunately, the DVD isn’t available in the US, so the only way you can see what I’m raving about is by watching the (very beautiful) trailer:

And in case you’re not already thinking of running away to Denmark to catch a screening of this film, here are even more gorgeous images:

I wish the National Gallery were actually on my doorstep. That would be fantastic.
Read it here!
The crown prince and princess, who happened to be in town, were there to introduce the film. Only in DC, right?

New paintings!

Serena — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:24:30 +0000

As well as setting a really dangerous precedent of two blog posts in one week, I’m also getting into the bad habit of posting a lot of images and very little text. I’ll try to get better about that, though I secretly believe that people are, in general, too lazy to read lot of text anyway.¹

As promised, here are my four most recent paintings. They’re actually finished, which is more than I can usually say! We’ll see about continuing this trend.

Everyone should have blue skin.

spring

summer

fall

Voila! I’m going to save up for a couple of canvases² so next time I don’t have to paint on paper.

Have I lost you yet?
Did you know: en française, ‘canvas’ is ‘toile’. Not to be confused with etoile or toilette.

Mystery project and contest!

Serena — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:16:05 +0000

I’m still here! Despite my hectic work schedule,¹ I’ve gotten quite a few art projects done over the past month. More on that later. But now, a sneak preview of my next project! (click for full size)

And just because I love you all so much, the person to guess the highest percentage of these correctly will receive a special prize! So go on, I dare you.²

Including not getting home till after 11pm every night last week.
Isn’t this so much better than some dumb post about toys?

Do I dare to eat a peach?

Serena — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:17:57 +0000

Two years ago, when I was afflicted with horrible sunburn¹ and confined to the house, I started a tradition of decorating notebook covers with strange collages. As I was completely sunburn-free last August, I missed my opportunity. But this year I’ve revived the tradition! Not only that, but I’ve revived it with poetry. This year’s notebook brought to you courtesy of T.S. Eliot and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.²

"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each"

"I do not think that they will sing to me"

My sunburn notebook from two years ago:

And one extra this year because I had so many leftover magazine clippings:

I fell asleep on the beach for four hours or so…
I hope my mother didn’t need those magazines.

Really Cool People Who Aren’t Me: Brady Earnhart

Serena — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:22:40 +0000

Over two years ago (freshman year), I met Brady Earnhart in an intro to creative writing course.¹ The following summer, he graciously consented to be in a short film I made for a new media course with Gardner Campbell. I fell in love with Brady’s music the first time I heard it, and it made up most of the film’s soundtrack. Earlier this year, I made a music video for him. You’d think that I’d eventually get sick of the music after all those hours of editing, but every time I hear a new song of Brady’s, I fall in love all over again.

You can hear some of Brady’s music on his website, or watch him play a newer song in the music video:

He teaches poetry at UMW.

Illustrations!

Serena — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:23:02 +0000

So I finished writing the short story for my individual study last week, and decided to draw some accompanying illustrations. (I’m a sucker for illustrated books.) Just to give you some context, here’s a little bit about my story:

“Saturday Night” brings retellings of myths and fairy tales into a contemporary atmosphere through an unusual setting: a bar that—instead of serving drinks—serves stories. Characters go to this bar for the same reasons one usually does: companionship, escape, distraction, stress relief, solace, and entertainment, for example. Each retelling addresses its reader in some way, though it’s not always enjoyable or comforting. But then, some of the characters aren’t that pleasant either.

For a retelling of “Sleeping Beauty”:

“Snow White”:

“Little Mermaid” retelling:

Poetry retelling of “Pygmalion and Galatea”:

Accordion?

Serena — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:43:12 +0000

I’m not in the habit of writing “this is what’s going on in my life” kind of posts, but this week has big news: I caved and bought an accordion. I’ve been wanting to learn accordion for a while now, but could never find any instruments to try out, let alone buy. I’m discovering all kinds of neat things and challenges.¹ Still very excited.²

Also, there’s a really cool guy in Toronto who does fabulous YouTube accordion tutorials, as well as entertaining street performances. He might be my new hero. Highly recommended.

Mostly challenges, in fact.
Although I think some of the reeds may need re-waxing.

Really Cool People Who Aren’t Me: James Kuhn

Serena — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:58:36 +0000

Welcome to the first installation of Really Cool People Who Aren’t Me.¹ Today’s post features James Kuhn: artist, drag queen, former nudist, born-again Christian², and–most spectacularly–face painting genius. James says,

I love to paint on anything, including flesh!

James did his own version of the 365 photo project: 365 Transformations. He painted his face differently each day of the year, and then kept going!

And, even better, there’s video:

The complete collection can be found on his flickr page.

And also aren’t Jim Groom. Sorry, Jim.
We won’t hold that against him, though.

Leftover Sketches

Serena — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:47:07 +0000

I draw on everything. Really, everything. And the drawings are usually bizarre.¹ I’ve scanned a few scraps from notebooks and calendars, just for you. Ready? Be bold, be bold, but not too bold.²

–

On a page of story ideas:

A toad’s eye:

A cartoon man with an oversized tie standing on someone’s closed eyelid:

Brainstorming page for a poem:

Random face:

Linguistics notes:

More linguistics notes, and a Very Hairy Man:

Mermaid, and other observations:

An imagined doll outfit:

Someone you may recognize, but–as observed–not the correct age. And eye with arrows:

Feathery Tuesday:

Almost November:

A Halloween skull hat:

Shocked that it’s Saturday:

Random mermaid:

The evil elderly:³

More eyes:

Sometimes even accompanied by equally strange text!
From “Mr. Fox“, in case you didn’t get the reference.
Extra credit: “Scapegoats“

Guilt Upon Accusation

Serena — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:44:11 +0000

In case you haven’t heard, a new law (Section 92 of the Copyright Amendment Act) is about to be passed in New Zealand that will force the removal of websites and internet service if there is a suspected (not proven) copyright violation. It won’t require evidence, a trial, or even any consequences for false accusations. The primary campaign against this law can be found at http://creativefreedom.org.nz/.

Patrick has a much more in-depth post on this, including helpful comparisons between this New Zealand law and related U.S. ones.