He’s getting a little tired of everyone squeezing his butt!
Year: 2009
APAK in Seattle and Tina Berning in NYC
How cute is this painting by APAK!
They’re opening a new show called “Tiny Adventures” at Schmancy in Seattle this Friday, so if you’re in the area, check it out! (Every other post on my blog lately seems to involve Schmancy, I know… They’re just always up to something interesting!)
Gosh they are the cutest.
Also, tomorrow (9/10) gallery hanahou in NYC (where I work when I’m not knitting) reopens with a solo show of works by Tina Berning. Tina’s paintings and drawings are simply amazing (I have a piece by her hanging on the wall next to me right now, in fact) and must be seen in person. Join us for the opening reception of “The Passengers” tomorrow, 6-9 pm, or come hear the artist talk about her work on Saturday (9/12) at 2 pm. (RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com for either event.)
Tina Berning: THE PASSENGERS III, 32 x 23.5 cm, Ink and Gouache on paper, 2009
Plush You Preview
I sent off my one-of-a-kind toys last month for this year’s Plush You show in Seattle. I’m especially excited about what I made this year!
Here’s a little preview—it’s a quick photo I took back over the July 4th weekend as I was working on the first of three toys for the show at my in-laws’.
Any guesses what kind of creature this is? If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you might have an idea.
I’ll show the finished toys soon. Plush You 2009 opens at Schmancy in Seattle on October 9th!
Tiny Elephant
He would like to eat a peanut, if only he weren’t peanut-sized himself!
Thea suggested a tiny elephant back in July, so she gets a free pattern. Thanks, Thea!
2009 Photo Contest Update
Are you ready for the 2009 Mochimochi Photo Contest? It’s coming soon!
The official announcement with full details and dates will come next month, but you can start entering right now by uploading your photos of Mochimochi Land toys to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr. All photos uploaded since August 1st of 2008 will be considered for this year’s contest.
Here’s a glimpse at some of the photos that are already entered!
Like the past two years, first prize will be a big boxful of cute and crafty goodies straight from Japan! John will procure them later this month, so I’ll post sneak peeks at what’s in store for the winner next month.
If you missed the Mochimochi Photo Contests in 2007 and 2008, check out the contest details from last year (this year’s details will probably differ a little) and the amazing winners from last year.
Just Some Glue
This big basket o’ glue at Staples made me happy.
Think of all the things you could glue with that much glue! I don’t remember the last time I glued anything. Glue glue glue.
John Poses with Luvgun
About a year ago, I suffered an epic hard drive crash that made me lose tons of files. Among those lost were some good photos of Luvgun. Sad! John recently agreed to a quick photo shoot with everyone’s favorite knitted gun to replace the lost files, and I ended up liking the new photos much better than the originals!
Here are some of my favorite shots. They go from James Bondian to… something else entirely.
Thank you for modeling, John!
August 09 Movies
August turned out to be a big movie-watching month for me. Here are the movies I saw and what I thought upon seeing.
In the theater
The rave reviews that this “quirky” film from Denmark received seemed too good to be true, and it was indeed pretty unpleasant! I will never enjoy the tuba again. And the vignettes! No more “vignette” movies for a while.
Meryl Streep as Julia was delightful and amazing. As much as I love Amy Adams, though (and I do), Julie could have choked on a duck bone for all I cared about her story. But then the movie would never have been made, I guess. It was a pretty good movie.
On DVD
This is the 2007 French animated movie about a girl growing up in Iran. The animation was great, the Iran stuff was interesting, the main character (and her English voice acting) was just-OK/bordering-on-annoying. I recommend it.
The perfect economic downturn movie! Everyone should see this before the year is up and the recovery is official. It opens with showgirls decked out in “sexy” costumes made of coins and singing “We’re in the Money.” Classic Busby Berkley, with musical numbers that are both brilliant and very odd. The plot is stupid, of course.
This is Peter Jackson’s movie about two girls who murdered one of their mothers in New Zealand in the 1950s, starring Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey (pictured). The fantasy sequences reminded me of the kinds of movies that I watched over and over again as a kid, like Labyrinth and The Princess Bride. The film’s commitment to getting into the girls’ lively imaginations made the murder all the more disturbing, and I probably liked Kate Winslet in this more than in anything else I’ve seen her in.
On TV
Nothing needs to be said about this classic, only that the OETA Movie Club is awesome.