Studio Kiekje

Terrible Yellow Eyes

I have already mentioned my love for the work of Maurice Sendak several times on Studio Kiekje (see here and here). Yesterday was Mr. Sendak's birthday, and I discovered that there is a blog, called Terrible Yellow Eyes which features artwork inspired by the wonderful "Where the Wild Things Are".

Cory Godbey, the creator of the blog, describes its goal, "Simply put, like a visual love letter to the book, with Terrible Yellow Eyes I am seeking to celebrate and promote the original masterwork by Maurice Sendak in the best way I know how -- with pictures."

 

(art by Sarah Caterisano, who also has a blog)

I know I've said it before, but "Where the Wild Things Are" is so special to me. I loved it as a child, and I think it was one of the many books which informed both my love for reading and my love of art. (And let's not forget, the "wild rumpus"!)I never thought about what it might mean to other people - as a kid, you always think your treasures are all your own. But now that I'm older I'm not at all surprised to discover that many artists have been inspired by Sendak's work. I think it truly is a classic which adults may hold in just as high (if not higher!) regard as kids.

(art by Cedar Leidigh)

I am so looking forward to the movie (my expectations are high, Mr. Jonze!)

Kiki illustrations

 
I think I've mentioned before that I am a very big fan of Hayao Miyazaki's animated films. Kiki's Delivery Service was the first one I saw, and I've seen it several times now (and have it on DVD!). But it was some time before I learnt that the movie was based on a novel by Eiko Kadono. I would love to get my hands on the book and its sequels (I believe that only the first book is translated into English).

The illustrations are fantastic. 

 

 

I always think I like color illustrations, but lately I've really been drawn to simple black and white images. Perhaps I'm becoming minimalist?

(Definitely not!!)

Fraktur

 I've been reading this book about some children's book illustrators. I'm particularly fascinated with the chapter on Trina Schart Hyman, who was a favorite of mine growing up. Her version of Little Red Riding Hood is an amazing work of art with strong folk influences.

 

Hyman lived in Sweden for a few years when she first started out, and one of her first jobs was to illustrate a book by Astrid Lindgren. With the money she earned for that book she bought a bright blue tandem bicycle and used it to travel with her husband through Sweden, Denmark, Norway, England and Scotland. The influence of the country-side and towns through which she traveled on this journey can be seen in her work.

 

I was interested to find out too that Hyman was born near Philadelphia and that she was fascinated with the art by the local Pennsylvania Dutch community. In particular she cites Fraktur painting as something she imitated when learning how to draw and paint. I had never heard of Fraktur  despite living in this area, so I turned to the almighty Google to find out more.

 

Fraktur is a style of lettering and illuminated folk art created by the Pennsylvania Dutch community. Many of the pieces created were used as decorative blessings or certificates of baptism, marriage and the like.

 

The illlustrated borders for the text are very appealing to my eye, and I can see that they influenced Hyman's work. I think I would like to go see some of this work in person, especially because a lot of it is from nearby Buck's County, Pennsylvania. Perhaps an adventure for this summer is in the making!

(images of Fraktur in this post come from this  gallery)

Mischievous Meg

I recently discovered "Mischievous Meg" which I must have missed out on as a child. It's written by Astrid Lindgren  who also wrote "Pippi Longstocking" and "The Children of Noisy Village" which I loved. Her books always seems so summery to me, even though they cover the whole year.

 

At one point Meg jumps off a roof while holding an umbrella.

 

The illustrations are by Janina Domanska. I think they capture the story perfectly, and I really like the simplicity of the line drawings. And look at the striped socks! Meg is apparently a girl after my own heart. 

I just checked out Opal Whiteley's diary, which I've been curious about for some time. Has anyone read it? It's the diary of a young girl who wrote about living in the forest with her family. I think some people believe it's fake, but I'm still interested in reading it. It sounds like a wonderful summer read.

wearing a book around my neck

As I mentioned in my last post, I got a beautiful necklace as a birthday/M.A gift from my friends. (Thank you again, Sarah, Johanna and Beth!)

I have seldom owned such an incredible piece of jewelry. What makes it even better, is that it is hand-made by the talented Margaux of The Black Spot Books.

 

It is a miniature black leather book hung on a copper chain. The note which Margaux included with the necklace says that the leather came from an antique chair from Holland in the 1800s.

This totally blows my mind. I'm wearing something around my neck which is almost 200 years old.

I just love this necklace. Within the first 24 hours of owning it, I was complimented by a girl in a local pizzeria. We ended up having a conversation about Etsy and the importance of supporting local artists which was just delightful!

 

I love books and jewelry - so this is a perfect combination for me. I will treasure this gift!

The Black Spot Books shop has other equally lovely offerings, including more book necklaces. But the full size journals and art prints look lovely as well.