"Kordian"

Another one of my favorite lines, taken from Polish playwright Juliusz Slowacki's play, Kordian.

The original goes:

Hundred desires within me,
Hundred of thoughts,
Hundred of wilted leaves.

And Jiang's version is:

Thousand desires within me,
Thousand of thoughts,
Thousand of wilted leaves.

Every beginning, after all...

This is one of my favorite lines of all times:

"Every beginning, after all,
Is nothing but a sequel.
And the book of events,
Is always open in the middle."

Taken from the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska's poem, "Love at First Sight".

Daydreaming

Edward Phelan

This is how I imagine Edward Phelan (a character from While England Sleeps) to look like. A quick drawing for now, more elaborate illustration of him will be coming soon...

Art Deco Galliano

An attempt in a different style of drawing - Art Deco. The dress is by John Galliano, from spring 2008 collection.

Truth of Lies

Another excerpt from While England Sleeps, by David Leavitt.

Here, Brian commits adultery and entangles in his own lies. Edward is denied his rights to truth, and falls deeper and deeper into the endless despair.

I have read the book twice in three days. (Yes, it is very moving.) More entries and actual illustrations to follow.

Words of Love and Lust

This excerpt is taken from David Leavitt's novel, While England Sleeps, which takes place in the years right before and during World War II. Here, Nigel flees Berlin to Paris with his lover, Fritz, and wrote this letter to his friend Brian Botzford in London.

"...It is true that our days are full of bickering and anxiety; by night, however, we go on prolonged excursions into a different country, a country that exists only between lovers. How wonderful to explore its corners and intricacies, this place I have until now known only fleetingly! ... Kissing him opens the door to that other country to which I wish we could emigrate forever, but of course you cannot buy passports to places like that. So I dream up a house with a few small rooms and warped, painted floors, perched on a cliff high over the crashing sea, in a city of tilting houses, a city that is safe and distant from war..."

*** Note, this entry here is very censored. The original letter is, ahem, much juicier ;) ***

Elephant Valentine

Now, this is for a certain special someone!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Secret Compartment Book that I recently made for a special someone (nothing related to Valentine's Day at all) whom I admire. Got an old book from Strand's for a dollar, and after some hours of razor blades, hot glue guns (a revelation, works like a dream!!!), and Elmer's, here it is! The process is actually rather fun, the trick is to be meticulous while cutting out all these pages and really, really weigh down the book as it is drying to prevent the curling of pages due to wet glue. At the center, a rose is printed on a piece of muslin and sewn onto leather backing, along with ostrich feather and chains.

Oh, the scent of all these dried rosettes mixed with the stale smell of an old book is actually quite... intoxicating!

Confusion and Uncertainty

This is entry is for dear Dana (and myself), after the conversation we had today.

The drawing is taken from the book, A Chance of Sunshine (as it is officially translated in the English edition), by Jimmy. It is a wonderful book, and I especially love his style of illustration and use of subtle metaphors. Here, the character is facing the emptiness of despair, weakness, and confusion.

Alexander McQueen, R.I.P.

Alexander McQueen (16 March 1969 – 11 February 2010), one of the most original designers of the times. The fashion world will miss his unconventional vision of beauty and theater.

Here is a link to one of his moments of brilliance, with supermodel Shalom Harlow in a white dress which is then spray-painted by two robots, from his spring/summer 1999 show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reK0A1XIjKA

And another clip, from his fall/winter 2006 show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p6N_Ow5xRg&feature=related

"Inside an empty glass pyramid, a mysterious puff of white smoke appeared from nowhere and spun in midair, slowly resolving itself into the moving, twisting shape of a woman enveloped in the billowing folds of a white dress. It was Kate Moss, her blonde hair and pale arms trailing in a dream-like apparition of fragility and beauty that danced for a few seconds, then shrank and dematerialized into the ether." (source: style.com)

R.I.P.

Ann Demeulemeester Fall/Winter 2010

A light illustration of the look from Ann Demeulemeester's fall/winter 2010 show. The words are from the Belgian band, dEUS' song, "Nothing Really Ends".