Costume design for Mustang Hobo

After finishing up with Nice Day Designs it took me a long time to figure out my relationship with my own art. I was burnt out, dry of ideas and no longer sure if I ever wanted to pick up a sewing needle ever again. I tentatively made a few pieces for myself and friends over the couple of years, but waited a long time before embracing a large project again. I only wanted to do it if I loved it, I needed a real passion project to get me going again. One that I have been working on lately is being the costume designer for the music videos for Mustang Hobo, a funk/jazz band based in Scarriff.

The bassist is my partner, so naturally we've been talking at length about the creative process, his ideas for his band, and what artistic direction they want to take their videos. It seemed like a natural evolution of both our relationship and our conversations that I would work on them with him. I like how his crazy brain works, and he likes that I can somehow make his ideas a reality.

The most recent one that I worked on was the song 'So You Think I'm Crazy', which shows the curious journey of a man into the afterlife, which is populated by craven woodland fairies, of which I am one. My direction was pretty specific, he wanted fairies but not the glittery pretty kind; something rugged, textured, and hairy. As is the case with all bands there was pretty much no budget, so this lack of funds informed my decision to collage different fabrics together to make woodland pixie hoods. I used these pieces to accessories a cast of extras all dressed in browns and earth tones.

That's us just as we shot the last scene

The couple of days that I was on the shoot, there were seven in total, were loads of fun, I got to style all of the extras, and it was great to see ideas go from paper, to creation, then to final cut. When I saw the final edit I was pretty blown away with what the Niall Coley, the director of photography, came up with, I didn't expect it to be so beautiful and lush. We'll be making more, and the ideas have gotten even bigger and crazier. I've already started working on the next one, but it's all hush hush, I have to say though, it's pretty darned cute!

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Keep up to date on all my regular posts with my RSS Feed or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Bloglovin'.

Pin It

Polyvore: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by nicedaydesigns featuring canvas boots

I'm quite excited by the trailers for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I loved the books and I own all the original Swedish films on DVD, it looks like David Fincher has kept pretty close to the text, but to be honest I don't know if the new Lisbeth Salander can be as good as Noomi Repace(although I'm mightily impressed by the creepy lack of eyebrows).

Anyhow I made up this Polyvore board in homage to this amazing heroine.

Pin It

Delirious About My New Projector

So I'm probably the only person ever to be delighted when the tv broke, as regular readers will know I don't have a tv in the conventional sense, just a tv set used to watch DVDs on, which in Ireland means you still have to pay for a tv license, even though it's not actually connected to anything that will show tv! I'll explain this for non-Irish readers, in Ireland you have to pay the government €160 per year, per tv(in theory, but nobody buys multiple ones) for owning a working television. I've been using my parents old tv for years to watch movies under the mistaken understanding that I did not need a licence for this. But eventually I 'got caught' last year(we have endless shameful ads to reminds us to pay the tv license using the 'what will the neighbours think' to guilt the nation into coughing up). I made some phone calls and it turned out that I had to pay the €160, this was early last year and I knew it was going to expire soon, but I was totally unwilling to pay it again. Hence my delight when my tv broke over Christmas.

But I hate watching films on my computer, not only is the screen too small but it's just not cozy enough, and I like to watch lots of films. I used thes deceased tv as an excuse to buy myself a projector, I figure between the cost of buying a new tv plus the cost of a tv licence I could pick up a projector instead. Not only do you get the loveliness of a large, the cinema experience at home, but also it meant that I could get rid of the butt ugly tv in the corner. On top of that because it's not a tv I don't need a tv licence!

After some research online I came up with this option on Projectorsite, I wasn't 100% sure of all the factors I should be looking at but the main decider was price as I'm pretty strapped for cash. This supports HD, Bluray, PC, Wii, PS3, DVD, and it comes with a 30,000 bulb life(approx 20 yrs!), all of which seemed to be the best in it's price range. It's small enough, about the size of a shoe box, and once the movie is playing you can't hear the fan at all. If any of you decide to go for this model you will need to get external speakers as the internal ones are rotten, but that is to be expected. I'd say in a few weeks I might get a cinema sound system, nothing too posh, but I should pick something up for less than €100. After some tweaking with the brightness and contrast the picture quality came up great. What I'm doing at the moment is running a dvd on the laptop and using the external speakers to get a better sound quality. As the opening credits of Inception started I got a 'I can't believe I really own this' feeling, it was very exciting.

Ps: The screen in the picture above looks very bright as we had to turn on the light so you could see my delirious expression.
Pin It

More Movie Reviews...

I've been doing lots of brooch sewing lately, one of the nice things about this is that once they're prepped and cut/co-ordinated I can sit down on front of a movie and sew to my hearts content. That way I get to catch up on my brooches and have some chill out time too. My local rental shop Moviedrome does a great deal that you get 6 old movies for €10 for a week. If you're from Limerick and you haven't liked their business page go do so now over here, Paul posts lots of fun film tit-bits regularly. You can also see the nifty new profile picture I made for him last week too. Here are some of the film I rented.

Crazy Heart: John wanted to rent this ages ago,but in one of my grumpy mood I said no. I used up one of my 6 rentals to 'get something for John' to be nice to him. But I was thrilled by how much I loved this film. It's a story of a drunken washed up country singer played perfectly by Jeff Bridges. He meets a young journalist, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and a relationship grows between them. The music alone is fantastic, a surprisingly genuine and believable performance from Bridges, who has a wonky whiskey voice perfect for country music. Add to that a good slowly building story and honest performances from all and it makes for a great film. I think I'll be adding this to my collection at some point soon.

The Special Relationship: The film portrays the relationship between Bill Clinton and Tony Blair during the initial few years of Blairs term. There were solid performances all round but ultimately it's a bit of a forgettable film. It was interesting to watch it as I was quite young when all this was happening but I still remembered snippets of it coming back to me while watching the film.

Remember Me: I'm not sure why I left it so long to watch this. I think I overheard a friend saying it was crap, and it just put me off. Sadly I mentioned to my housemate Cecily that I rented it and she let slip the ending before I watched it!! Even knowing the outcome I still really enjoyed this picture. I has predictably delicious Robert Patinson in it, which is always a bonus I wont lie. It show the burgeoning love between a couple and both of their difficult relationships with their fathers. After typing that I realise how trite it sounds, but trust me it's good. Strong and believable performances from both leads add depth to it.

All the King's Men: Sometimes I have a moment while watching a film I'm really not enjoying and I think 'why bother?'. I had that moment while trying to enduring the pained over acting of Sean Penn..and I just thought life is too short. I switched it off after about 45mins. Maybe I watched it on a bad day, or in the wrong mood, but the whole thing came across as clunky. I was seeing Sean Penn shouting on a stage, not believing a character, I was thinking about the dull script and not believing the story. I turned it off and had a chit chat with Cecily while doing my sewing, a far nicer way to spend an evening.

Conversations With Other Women: I absolutely loved this film! It's an interesting take a the portrayal of a failed relationship. It stars Helena Bonham Carter(in my opinion one of the most beautiful women ever) and Aaron Eckhart. The entire film is shot in a dual screen which means you can see both actors at the same time, this is totally engrossing as you can watch all the tiny nuances between this couple as the negotiate their way through this meeting. The performance from Bonham Carter is one of her best, and she captures beautifully the inner tension between guilt, desire, and loss. You could watch this again and again and see new things every time.

Hotty But Notty: Jay Baruchel

Hotty But Notty (Part 13): Jay Baruchel

There is actually no reason for Jay Baruchel to be in this Notty section, as he is plainly smokin' hot. But my confusion comes after watching the film She's Out of My League, a film about a 5/10 looking guy getting a 10/10 girl. But it was totally ridiculous because they didn't cast somebody who was in any way unattractive. At one point we meet the 'hot' ex-boyfriend, who is just a tall muscle head, I'm not sure if it was done on purpose to hire someone so blandly 'hot', but there was really no comparison. Having said all that it was a pretty entertaining film, in a throwaway rom-com Hollywood way. What kept it going was the charming performance of Baruchel.

You've probably seen Baruchel in films like Knocked Up, and Tropic Thunder, and apparently he was in Million Dollar Baby but I don't remember him being in it. I first noticed him in Knocked Up, as the guy who gets pinkeye and has a maple leaf tattooed on his chest. My friends thought it was like shooting fish in a barrell when I said I thought he was pretty hot.

I really don't understand the Hollywood obsession that if a guy is skinny and wears glasses he is automatically unattractive...huh? Here is a clearly handsome, talented and funny actor who keeps getting cast as the weedy geeky/funny friend.

Hotty But Notty: Mark Kermode

Hotty But Notty(Part 12): Mark Kermode

To any of you not living in the UK or Ireland you might not have heard of Mark Kermode, he is a film and culture critic for the BBC, and also writes for the Observer among other publications. He also does a fantastic radio film review show, which I watch all the time on Youtube (I know it's sounds strange to watch a radio program, but they film it, so people can watch it online). Myself and John watch it all the time, it's great to see him rip diabolical Hollywood films to shreds (Marley and Me) and also interesting to hear him analyzing films that you would suspect that he would hate (Twilight).

I know he really does not fit into my normal box of skinny geeky looking guy, he looks more like Tommy Lee Jones with bad Elvis hair who happens to be a big fan of Morrissey. But I kinda love it. I was intrigued by him even as a teenager, when I was really young I used to mix him up with Mark Lamarr for ages, until I figured out that Kermode was way cooler/smarter. 

It's simply a joy to watch/read someone who has a brain, who isn't pandering to the agenda that the publication/station that they work for. I got so sick of reading the Culture Magazine in the Sunday Times for this very reason, every article read like an editorial that had been paid for. Whereas Kermode vents exactly what he is thinking without any ulterior agenda.

You have to watch him to understand his attraction...then you will stop thinking that I'm insane. Also if all those brains didn't make him attractive enough he plays double bass in a rockabilly band The Dodge Brothers.

Ps: A mention should go to John for reminding me that I fancy him, we were watching one of his radio shows the other day and he asked, 'So is he one of your Hotty or Nottys(please add sarcastic tone here)?'. Although I think he approves, Mr.Kermode has lots of cool kudos in his book.

More Mini Reviews

Due to my wisdom teeth's insistence in growing, regardless of the fact that there is clearly no room in my mouth, I currently look like this charming picture above, just less glamorous, and with a swollen jaw.

With the fact of the horrid pain in mind you can understand my lack of will to live, let alone sew and make pretty things. Add on top of that I've developed an abscess cos of my growing wisdom teeth, which means I haven't eaten solid food in two days. I'm really bored of soup, and porridge.

So I watched films. What else is there to do in a crisis like that??

The Runaways

This tells the story of Joan Jett and Cherrie Curry, and their huge rise to fame in their teens with the band The Runaways. I rented this out of curiosity of the background of Joan Jett. I also vaguely remember reading a review saying that this was going to be Dakota Fanning breakthrough role into playing more adult characters. It's a typical document of the perils of rock n roll, and all it entails. It's the stunning performances from the two female leads that saves this film from being just another rock biography.

The Social Network

I'm sure everyone at this stage know that this film is about the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, the worlds youngest billionaire. Since I knew nothing about him, and the start up story to the site I found this fascinating. It's hard to tell where reality ends and fiction starts though. It seems like a very neat parable to show a man with no friends who creates the largest tool for social interaction. Although I really enjoyed this film, it suffers from the fact that it was made while he Mark is still very young. It felt like a narrative half told.

Winter's Bone

This is another film that has a really strong female lead. It shows a young girls fight to keep her family together while looking for her drug dealing father who has skipped out on bail. The above description doesn't do it justice as it is a far more layered and subtle piece than that. Weaving seamlessly from the underground criminal world, into rural hicksville America.

Glengarry Glen ross

Short But Sweet Movie Reviews

I've been doing some brooch sewing this week while watching some dvds. Firstly can I just say 6 old movies for €10 from Moviedrome on Henry Street is quite the deal! On top of that you get great service and advice unlike in evil Xtravision. It's also an added bonus as I don't have tv, so if I decide I want to veg out it's either: rent a film, or faff online.

This week I watched:

Thank You for Smoking:

This is about a lobbyist who works for the tobacco companies in the US, and all the moral grey areas and acrobatics that would go along with this job. A film I should have liked but I was a little bored to be honest. There was nothing wrong with the performances or script, but it was just a little flat. Maybe it was a case it was a better book than film.

Savage Grace:

Wow that was a ...em...well interesting! I only rented it because it has Julianne Moore, who is a fantastic actress who never fails to deliver. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but prepared to be a little shocked. Aside from the shocker, I thought it was a stunningly shot film, with beautiful and subtle performances. It was quite evocative of it's era, with all it's money and privilege. I was quite surprised when I looked on rotten tomatoes to read the reviews, it got a very low percentage, it was like people didn't really get it.

Julie & Julia:

Even though my housemate said she wasn't made about this film I really enjoyed it. It's about a food blogger taking on the challenge of cooking a crazy amount of complicated dishes in one year. Maybe I liked the familiarity of watching a film about a blogger, I don't know. I thought the performances from Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, were really believable.

The Night listener:

This was another shot in the dark, just renting it having never heard of it. It's the story of a radio hosts relationship over the phone with a young boy with AIDS. There is a turn half way into the film that changes the film into a mystery. I enjoyed the later half of the film, but in the end it's kind of forgettable. Interesting to know it's a true story though.

Transsiberian:

This is another film that I looked up on rotten tomatoes, it got an amazing review, which I'm not entirely convinced it deserved. It's a really enjoyable thrilling chase film, with good casting, but I wouldn't mark it down as my favourite film any time soon. Think Russian cops, drugs, a train, tourists and you get the idea of where the film is going.

Tenderness:

I found this film one of the more interesting out my selection. It set around a guy in his late teens who has been released from prison after committing murder. It shows a journey he takes with a young girl, all the while being followed by a cop played by Russell Crowe. This film raised interesting questions, in a story that could have otherwise been flat. I enjoyed the tone and performances especially from Sophie Traub.

Guilty Pleasure: Twilight Eclipse

Last night I dragged John to see Twilight Eclipse, it's my first of the series that I got to see in the cinema and I was quite excited to see it. I really shouldn't have gone on opening night but I really wanted to go to the cinema, and I didn't want to wait a couple of weeks until I had a free night again. Let me first preface all this by explaining why on earth, at the age of 28, I like these films. About a year ago the curiosity got the better of me and I listened to them on audiobook, because I had bought so many books the guy threw in the Twilight series for free. I think this was around the time of the second film coming out and I had to know what all the mounting hysteria was about. I listened to them and simultaneously loved and hated them, they are written really badly with cringe worthy moments in them. But the 16 year old goth version of me loved them, and the insanely over the top unapologetic romanticism is quite enjoyable. I didn't expect to like the films, but they had that same attraction; awful but really enjoyable at the same time. At this point I must note that I thought the acting in the first film was tragically wooden, thank god it has improved somewhat.

There is much more humour in this film than in the others, which I think was needed. Particularly the 'virgin' scene with Bella's dad, and the 'tent' scene with 'hot' jacob and cold Bella. Thankfully they realised how corny it is that Jacob walks around for half the film with barely any clothes, and they took the piss out of it. I think they made a good stab of making a film from a bad book where nothing really happens. It's the worst of the series, and even in the book it felt like filler to get between the love story and the grand finale. When we got out of the cinema John was baffled at how they could spend two hours doing basically nothing. Having said that the fans will enjoy it, there is enough muscley bicep bits of Jacob, soft focus swarthy shots of Edward, and drippy moody ponderings of Bella to keep them all happy.

On the down side, I have to agree with Nuvonova about the performance of Dakota Fanning, in the second film I thought she was great and I was looking forward to how she would expand on this, but I thought her character (pardon the pun) was dead and flat. Which is really disappointing as she is such an intriguing side character in the book. As always the performance of the guy who plays Charlie was impeccable, he really is one of the best things about the film, so funny and dry.

No doubt I will watch it again on dvd and be just as excited by the next two films(yes they are splitting the last book into two movies), it's a guilty pleasure I know. But one that half of the female population of the world seems to share in. Next time I won't bring John though, I think it was too much of a cruel and unusual punishment for him.

Ps:on a side note I really want the patchwork blanket Bella mother gives to her, so cute!!

Sofa Day

I've been really busy with lots of different projects over the past few months so I decided to take it easy this week, well relatively. I made more brooches yesterday, they are the kind of thing I can make while I sit on the sofa and watch a movie (since we don't have tv). The general rules are I can't watch anything with subtitles as I can't sew and read at the same time. I tend not to watch really good films as I miss most of it. That mostly leaves rom-coms and stuff I've seen a million times. Yesterday for my veg out sewing marathon I watched
The Lady in the Water: A terrible M.Night Shyamalan movie, that is weirdly entertaining because of some very good performances. But at it's core it's trite. The subtly and charm of the small bit of magic in his other films is totally over blown in this one.
Love Actually: I know this is an awful film, it makes me cringe for half of it, but for some bizarre feel good fuzzy reason I like it. I watched it with the commentary so I didn't have to suffer through the awful bits with the kid in it.
About a Boy: A really sweet Nick Hornby story about how no man is an island. Also watched with the commentary on.
District 9: When John was home we watched this, a really great film, but it makes me feel queezy with the grossness. This broke my rule of watching something good while working. If you haven't seen it go rent it! It's a sci-fi movie set in the slums of Johannesburg shot in a documentary style.

Star Trekin'

I have an admission to make...I'm a big Trekie, not the custume wearing, Klingon speaking type, but still a fairly big fan. Ever since I was a kid I was completely addicted to Next Generation, I am that person that Sky One was playing all those re-runs for. So it's no surprise to you then that I went to see Star Trek last night, and I loved it. There are obviously moments that you have to suspend belief but that's the whole point. I thought the characterisation was great, and it was really entertaining, a good balance of plot, action and special effects. John grumbled and moaned about having to go see it, and balked at the idea that I might wear my Star Trek t-shirt. To anyone that's a trekie, go see it, to anyone who is not it's a really good action flick. I must say I'm very tempted to buy the box set in HMV of all the original Star Trek Movies...would that be too nerdy??

Tv or not Tv

Due to our recent move we do not have our tv reception sorted out, and to be honest I don't even know if there is any cable wired in. It's nealy a month that we are in our lovely abode and it's been nice not to have the reliable fallback of tv. I found I was watching way too much of it, even when there was nothing on I still watched it, it was a horrible time and energy sucker. I find I'm going to bed at a more normal hour now and waking up without a big grumpy head on me (this is quite helpful as we have 4 skylights in our bedroom so sleeping late is very difficult).

But let me clarify I'm not a complete saint who sits and listens to the wireless and does needle point by candle light. We do have a dvd player and I have been watching lots of films over the past 4 weeks. I somehow see this as less wasteful than sitting down and watching back to back 'house doctor' and 'property ladder' though. I'm really proud of John for sticking with it, he was a complete tv addict, but now he seems quite content not to have it, fingers crossed it will last. I had no tv for 3 years when I was in college so I didn't find it that much of a shock to the system. Our joint compulsion to hoard dvds has come in useful though and I've been rewatching all those films I've been saving for a rainy evening.Here are a few highlights

Casino
Keep The Aspidistra Flying
Howards End
The Land Girls
Juno
The Holy Grail
Conan The Barbarian