Minka Svarcs

Minka Svarcs is a Melbourne based artist, which I thought was fitting due to my recent move. To quote directly from her website, she's "putting the world living inside and around [her] down on paper."

Here's a few of my favourites from her site,

 Maybe now I'm living in Melbourne I'll be able to go to some of my fave Melbournian artists' exhibitions.

Getting into Apps

OK so the post title may indicate that I'm monumentally behind the times. This may or may not be true. I use apps, I have a tablet, but until now I've only used them in the most basic of ways. I'm making this post on my tablet via the blogger app  and earlier today I practised using the pinterest  app. Why have I made this step up in the world? Well I'm thinking of making a Samsung Note II my next phone and I want to make sure it's not wasted on me.
Let's give this thing a good old try....
I don't know how to integrate the photos  but I did try, maybe I'll have to post online rather than through the app. Any advice is much appreciated.
The pictures are of the wood grain contact I bought for my dollhouse project (With me moving to Melbourne in two days do not expect an end to this project), and the cover of my Inside HBO's Game of Thrones book which I was given for Christmas.
Have a good day and let all your apping go better than mine :-)

Restoration: Dollhouse Part 2

Part 1
Things aren't looking good.

I thought I'd rip up the carpets to' get rid of 'dust catchers' but really I thought I was taking the easy way out. Rip them up paint over the top easy as pie, right? Wrong.

It left a huge mess behind that I can really get rid of and tore up patched of the woods surface as well. As it turns out the doll house is made out of chipboard which puckers and roughs up if you excessively wet it like I did trying to get the remnants off. I think I've found a solution though. I'm going to scrap it down to as smooth as possible, seal the exposed wood and then cover the lot in coloured contact like the original 'bathroom' and 'kitchen' were. I'm hoping to find some wood grain contact, I think they sell it at Ikea but I really only have time to go to Big W so fingers crossed.

Restoration: Dollhouse to Bookshelf

I don't think I told you, but I'm moving out. Yep, I'm leaving my parents big comfy house in Brisbane and high tailing it to Melbourne, or there abouts, to live with cousin. It's all very exciting and nerve racking and a whole plethora of emotions I hardly new existed, and seeing as there's only nine days until I leave I though I'd take on a project. Makes sense doesn't it.

 This my dollhouse. My Papa (grandpa) made it for me when I was around 3 or 4. I adored it. As you can see it's been through a bit. I stuck stickers on the inside walls as artwork for my barbies, when I was ten I got a free stamp with a magazine, tried it out and got bored halfway through, and it's spent the last decade or so living in the garage. Not anymore! Over the next few days, lets say six, I'm going fix it up The Block style. When I'm done it will be ready to come to Melbourne and serve as my cute a quirky bookshelf.

Lets survey the damage.

All in all it's not so bad, it just need a good clean and a lick of paint. The hinges aren't even rusted.

Now it's back to work, packing, organising and the usual moving interstate things.

Part 2

Costume Design Guild Awards Part 2

Part 1 of my Costume Design Guild Awards features pictures and my two cents on all the nominees for the film categories, excellence in contemporary film, excellence in period film, and excellence in fantasy film.
This post will feature the nominees for the television categories, and here they are...

For Outstanding Contemporary Television Series

Girls – Jennifer Rogien

Nashville – Susie DeSanto

Revenge – Jill Ohanneson

Smash – Molly Maginnis

Treme – Alonzo Wilson, Costume Designer. Ann Walters, co-Costume Designer

 I watch Girls and have watched Revenge and Smash. My personal preference for the show may be clouding my judgement but I'm gonna go with Girls. It's stylish in a way that not just about draping the actors in up to the minute fashions. It's quirky and perfectly articulates who the characters are.

For Outstanding Fantasy/Period Television Series

Boardwalk Empire – John Dunn, Lisa Padovani

Game of Thrones – Michele Clapton

Downton Abbey – Caroline McCall

 This one is clear for me, it's Game of Thrones of course. This has nothing to do with me being a mad GoT fan (maybe a little), or not having seen the others (yet). GoT has such variety and depth that it needs to encompass in it's costumes and Michele Clapton pulls it off magnificently.

For Outstanding Made for TV Movie or Miniseries

American Horror Story: Asylum, Season 2 – Lou Eyrich

Hemingway & Gellhorn – Ruth Myers

Hatfields & McCoys – Karri Hutchinson

 I can't pass judgement on this category as I haven't seen any of the contenders but I'm going to go for Hatfields & McCoys just for fun.

For Excellence in Commercial Costume Design

No great pictures for these but here are the links to the videos.

Capital One: Couture – Roseanne Fiedler

Captain Morgan Black – Judianna Makovsky

Dos Equis: Most Interesting Man in the World – Julie Vogel

The costume design seems  to be top notch on all of these but I most enjoyed the Dos Equis ad.

So there it is. I believe the winners will be announced on the 19th of February.

Costume Design Guild Awards Part 1

The Nominees for this years Costume Design Guild Awards have been announced, they were announced last month but I was never known for my punctuality.

And the nominees are...

For Excellence in Contemporary Film

Beasts of the Southern Wild -Stephani Lewis

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Louise Stjernsward

Silver Linings Playbook - Mark Bridges

Skyfall - Jany Temime

Zero Dark Thirty – George L. Little

 I have only seen Silver Linings Playbook and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel out of these five and I desperately want to see Beasts of the Southern Wild. So based on my limited knowledge I'd back Silver Linings. I think it's harder for costume design to get recognised when it doesn't have some kind of hook (E.g. Bond glamour, or an exotic location) but Mark Bridges did an amazing job, so much so that my friend and I left the film talking about the costumes.

For Excellence in Period Film

Lincoln - Joanna Johnston

Les Misérables – Paco Delgado

Anothe Les Mis 'cause why not

Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran

Argo – Jacqueline West

Moonrise Kingdom – Kasia Walicka-Maimone

This one's tough. I haven't seen Argo and this picture is making me wonder why not. I also haven't seen Anna Karenina yet but to be fair it's not out in Australia for a few more weeks. I haven't seen Lincoln either so it seems once again I've only done two out of five. Even though Les Mis may be my favourite film of 2012 costume wise I find myself coming down on the side of Moonrise Kingdom, the detail, the quirkiness... it's won me.

For Excellence in Fantasy Film

Cloud Atlas – Kym Barrett, Pierre-Yves Gayraud

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor, Bob Buck

The Hunger Games – Judianna Makovsky

Mirror Mirror – Eiko Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman – Colleen Atwood

Can you believe it, four out of five, I think we've found my genre. Cloud Atlas is the only film on this list I haven't seen and I don't think it's out in Australia yet. In this category I've found it hard to separate my feelings for the film from my feelings for the costumes. I love Hunger Games, love it to pieces. When I couldn't find a photo for it that captured why I love it so much I had to compensate with two photos. On the other end of the scale I have such aversion to Snow White and the Huntsmen I find it hard to admit how bad-ass Charlise Theron looks in those evil queen outfits. And sitting somewhere in the middle (Middle Earth that is, tee hee hee) is the Hobbit. While I believe it to be an over long, self indulgent enterprise, I'll confess, the costumes, in particular the dwarf design, is remarkable. So, taking it from left field, my vote goes to Mirror Mirror. One of the first things I said when I saw this films was , "Man I love those costumes."

I will post the nominees for the Television awards (Contemporary, Period/Fantasy, Made for TV Movie or Miniseries, and Commercial Costume Design) in my next post.