Curio: A Peek Inside the Orson Welles Centennial in Woodstock, IL

Happy Orson Welles Centennial! - Don't Miss Best Shot tonight

Alexa here. I was honored recently when one of my collage pieces was chosen to be a part of the Orson Welles Centennial celebrations in Woodstock, IL.  For those that don't know their Welles history, here are some facts: Welles attended the progressive Todd School in Woodstock from 1926 to 1931, after his parents' divorce and his mother's death.  It was there where Welles met his lifelong mentor Roger Hill, the headmaster of the school; Hill essentially developed a curriculum to nurture Welles' interests in art and theater. It was in Woodstock that Welles directed his first play and made his first film.  In interviews later in his life, he said that Woodstock was the closest place he had to a real home.

Welles, circled, during his time in Woodstock

Located about 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Woodstock is holding 3 weekends of centennial celebrations to honor Welles' 100th birthday. Of course there will be screenings: of Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, and Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles, a new documentary directed by Chuck Workman.  There will also be stagings of "Rosebud: The Lives of Orson Welles," a one-man play by Erik Van Beuzekom, and a staging of "War of the Worlds." Oja Kodar, Welles' former girlfriend, is also set to speak, along with many others.  

Coinciding with these events will be an exhibit that will include original art and a private collection of memorabilia. I was lucky enough to have festival co-chairman Greg Gantner give me a peek at a few of the items that will be on exhibit before the show opens on the 8th.  The Welles nerd in me was very excited and snapped some pictures...  

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Curio: Dog Correspondence

Alexa here. Recently, Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles held a show called Postcard Correspondence that featured more than 100 artists creating postcards inspired by pop culture.  Many created location-themed cards (like this Aurora, IL print for Wayne's World) or character-themed cards (especially loved this Satine postcard by Nan Lawson) but one set really caught my eye for its originality: letterpress dog portrait postcards by Evan Yarbrough.

Evan created a series of canine letterpress-printed portraits from movies and television, like this lovable Einstein portrait celebrating Back to the Future below.  For those dog lovers out there, after the jump see more Evan's designs...  

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Curio: 75 Years of Pacino

Alexa here with your weekly arts and crafts.  This weekend Al Pacino celebrates his 75th birthday.  The actor is such a mainstay in our cinematic subconscious (mine especially, due to his resemblance to my father) that his age might be his least surprising feature.  His horizon continues to be limitless, and may include his first pairing with Scorsese (The Irishman, is it happening?) and possibility being directed by Harmony Korine (The Trap).

 For now, let's celebrate his cinematic past with curios that show the many faces of Al after the jump... 

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Curio: Movie Amigurumi

Alexa here with some film craftiness. Amigurumi, those Japanese, uber-cute, anthropomorphic crochet dolls have been popular now for long enough that I thought they'd be jumping the shark already.  But damn if I don't find some interesting ones that catch my eye: I geek out on a frequent basis and make plans to buy movie-themed ones, or decide I will learn to crochet to make my own.  Then I promptly forget about it.  

Available for purchase here.

Maybe they have jumped the shark: this Exorcist pea-soup scene amigurumi set might have reached maximum amigurumi. In any case, after the jump you can see my favorite film-themed amigurumi, in case some of you are inspired to go gift shopping, or take up the crochet needles yourself...

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Curio: Cry Baby, 25 Years Later

Alexa here with your weekly film curio cabinet. 25 years ago this week John Waters' Cry Baby was released to the sound of a collective box office yawn.  But of course the whole pageant was engineered by Waters to become a cult favorite of the future. All the pieces were there: Johnny Depp licked his way out of the teen heartthrob hole he dug himself on 21 Jump Street, Traci Lords made getting vaccinations sexy, Iggy Pop took a bath, and Kim McGuire bravely put on her Hatchetface after Divine left this word for a better one.  In honor of its anniversary, here are some handmade goods celebrating the film that launched a thousand lonely tear drops.

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