"Art is why I get up in the morning but my definition ends there. You know it doesn't seem fair that I'm living for something I can't even define."
-Ani DiFranco

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Le Dernier Jour

A 2004 film starring Gaspard Ulliel and Melanie Laurent.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Just Another Love Story (2007)

This is the only one of the bunch that is not french, but danish.

Fabulous.

That's all I can say.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Innocence

Innocence(2004) is a look inside an unusual boarding school for girls. I adored this one. My favourite part is the system of coloured ribbons (you'll have to watch it for more of an explanation).

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

French Cinema

I have recently watched some amazing movies most of which were French. I was going to write a post with a list of all of them but I am realizing that, because some of them are now among my favourite movies, they each deserve their own post.

They have a lot of the same actors in them and I now have some new favourites in that category as well. I already liked Marion Cotillard(on the right), Eva Green(for some reason I never realized she is french), and Gaspard Ulliel. I have now added Melanie Laurent(on the left), Louis Garrel, and Lea Seydoux.

I will start off with Jeux d'Enfants (Love Me If You Dare) from 2003.

Monday, April 19, 2010

If you could see music...


let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

My Last Class!

Today is my last day of class! I can't believe the year is over. Here are a couple shots of my final design project that I will be presenting today.


It snowed most of yesterday and there were some of the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen. As big as the palm of my hand!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Spring 2010 Playlist

Coin Laundry - Lisa Mitchell
Black Balloon - The Kills
Daydream in Blue - I Monster
When I Grow Up - Fever Ray
Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
Master's Hands - Charlotte Gainsbourg
Sprout and the Bean - Joanna Newsom
Whispering Wind - Moby
I Can See Clearly Now - Holly Cole Trio
Faded From the Winter - Iron & Wine
Comme des Enfants - Coeur de Pirate
Blindsided - Bon Iver
Coming Home - City and Colour

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

creativeLIVE

I recently discovered this online creative classroom. I wanted to wait to post about it until I had actually experienced one of the classes.
The way it works is that different artists will teach a course or workshop and you are able to watch the classes live, for free. If you miss the class, you can download it after but in that case you have to pay for it.
The class that I took had around 1500 students. There are frequent Q&A sessions throughout the class where the teacher answers questions from the live audience, the class chat, and Twitter.
There are not a lot of courses at the moment but this is something that is just getting going and I am sure the selection will expand.
If you enroll in a class you are sent a reminder email an hour before the class begins. I have enrolled in Fundamentals of Digital Photography, The Creative Eye with Art Wolfe, and Watercolour 101. I am particularly looking forward to the weekend workshop on DSLR Cinema which was how I found out about it in the first place.
I think this is an amazing opportunity and it is wonderful that they can provide these classes for free.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Ondine

This looks like it has the potential to be really good.

In theaters June 4th.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Children's Books

I love children's books with beautiful illustrations. I don't think I could ever grow out of them. There are many that I have seen recently and loved but I wanted to make a list of the ones from my childhood that have stuck with me.

Catkin
My all time favourite. I was heartbroken when I lost my copy and I finally decided to buy a new one this year.

More on PJ Lynch to come in one of my "Artists Who Inspire Me" posts.

The Balloon Tree
I don't even remember the story of this one but it has a special place in my heart because I had a dress that was just like the princess's dress so I called it my balloon tree princess dress.


The Twelve Dancing Princesses
How could you not love these illustrations? So magical.


Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Final Drawing


This was my last drawing. There were a few different choices for the assignment. I chose the one where we could draw absolutely anything but we had to do it very very well.
I am happy with it and it was well received by the class and teacher.

Intolerance

These are stills from Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the Ages. It is a silent film from 1916. It follows four different love stories from different time periods. They take place in Babylon, Judea, 1572 Paris, and modern day(1916). It is incredibly epic and is two hours and fifty seven minutes long. Not an easy watch but intriguing and with some beautiful imagery.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Ponyo

Hayao Miyazaki is a magician. I have seen five of his films and loved them all. His latest is Ponyo from 2008 and it's a gem.