Blog Guru Shout Out Part II

If you're looking for a one-stop site about tweaking your Blogger template then look no further than Blog Bulk.

In addition to a visually pleasing/ colour coded layout, you'll find tutorials on:

• how to make each post a different colour,
• how to add icons to your post title, 
• how to make the first letter of your post larger than the rest of your post, newspaper style!
• how to temporarily hide the Blogger Nav Bar, peekaboo style - most sites just tell you how to remove it!

Thanks, Blog Bulk! You rock!

Motion Painting from David Ellis and Blu

I am in utter awe of these urban artists.  I love their bold vision, their zaniness, the soundtrack, their ability to go with the flow, the temporary nature of the art and the artists' confidence to paint over something in transition.  It's gritty and beautiful, a match made in time-lapse heaven.  OK, if I try to describe it further I'll end up sounding pretentious.  Just watch and swoon!

Christina Ricci's Body Double

"I am Christina Ricci's body double."

I never thought I'd say these words, because, at over 6' tall, I am almost a foot taller than she is!  But, here's how it happened...  I was randomly searching for acting/ voice over gigs on Craigslist, and saw the following ad: 

I need to find a caucasian model in her 20-30's that is extremely skinny. This is a visual fx shoot. We are transforming a major indie/hollywood actress into a corpse for one of the scenes and need to composite a boney chest plate on top of her... You would be credited in the film as a body double/model.

And I thought to myself, "Special FX are cool!  And I've spent almost three hours in mud and make up to play a pirate demon serial killer, so I'm down with a bit of CGI...  Just as long as they're not looking for someone who is skinny in an anorexic sort of way, I might be in with a chance..."

And an hour and a half later, I found myself in a post-production facility in Chelsea whereupon the FX dudes apologised for the real live dead ox tongue in the corner (they explained that slashed cattle tongues make for realistic looking wounds in special effects) and told me that this was for a movie called After.Life and the Hollywood actress in question is Christina Ricci. 

So there I was, in a little studio being photographed in my jeans and a bikini top, sucking in my stomach, jutting out my ribs and arching my back to give 'em a good outline of my bones so they can superimpose my torso on Christina Ricci's. Wot larx!

This is what I love about my life right now: every day is different!

Cecily's Fund Necklace Donation

I just finished making a necklace and wanted to share its story.

I lovingly hand-wrought three sterling silver discs which are connected to sterling silver chain and clasp. This sweet necklace is embellished with six Swarovski crystals and, at approximately 18" long, hits just below the collarbone.

I've donated it to the Cecily's Fund / Crazy for You evening, and it will be one of several raffle prizes that you can win on October 17th in London.  Raffle tickets are only £5, so  if you are in the U.K. please consider buying one for your chance to win as well as supporting such a worthy cause!

Cecily's Fund is a non-profit organisation which raises money to educate Zambian orphans and other impoverished children.  It was founded in memory of Cecily Eastwood, a school friend of mine who was tragically killed in a Zambian road accident the year before she was to start university. 

Etsy Treasury Dramatic Beauty

I'm so excited, so forgive the shameless boasting:  my Wire Lace Bouquet Pendant designs made it into an Etsy Treasury!  Talk about a feather in my cap!

Etsy Treasuries are like temporary art exhibitions, curated by artists on Etsy.  Each has a different theme, and BySaraLynn chose my Bouquet Pendants as part of her Dramatic Beauty Treasury.  How fabulous!

It's wonderful to get such recognition for my designs, so thank you BySaraLynn!

Henri Salvador Juanita Banana

I love Henri Salvador.  Singer, song-writer, visual artist, avant-garde, before his time....

I discovered him through his enchanting song Vagabond, and then learned that he has this incredibly goofy side. (He even did his own cover of that "Mah Na Mah Na" Muppet song under the title  Mais Non Mais Non.) I'll probably blog more about him another time, but for now check out this little vignette, Juanita Banana. Although it was filmed in the 1960s, it's still really fresh - it's not just another man in drag singing in falsetto!  It's so tongue-in-cheek you don't have to speak French to really understand the story. 

My Little Sister and Our Music

This morning I was sent a track by my little sister, Bubs, who simply said that I should check it out because it reminded her of the music I listen to:

Paul Kalkbrenner - Aaron

So I checked it out. And she inspired me to write this blog post.

Bubs and I sadly only see each other on average once a year - she's in Spain; I'm in NYC. It's hard. You learn to savour the little things. Like, we already have 'Our Song' - Wake Me Up When September Ends, by Green Day. But something tells me Aaron, by Paul Kalkbrenner might become another one of Our Songs...

Because in New York, a city of constant confrontation based on sometimes cultural / sometimes cutthroat misunderstandings, she really cheered me up by sending me this piece of music.

Not just for the usual "Saw This and Thought of You" or "Wish You Were Here" reasons, but because, despite our almost-14-year age gap, she really 'gets' who I am. She's so cool.