Hare-Brained Bunnies

Here for Easter is a magazine page of artwork by John R. Neill - The Hare-Brained Bunnies' Easter Party. These wonderful vignettes are a great collection of the Neill rabbits of this period!

This piece was published in Pictorial Review magazine in April, 1918. The original artwork for the top drawing of the rabbit band (or Pussyfoot Chorus), is still in the Neill family (see image below), and was featured in Illustration magazine in 2006. At that point it was listed as an unknown magazine illustration, but we can see how it was used. It's a pity that the Pictorial Review page wasn't printed in full color!

These drawings are closely related to Neill's cover of Pictorial Review magazine from 1916, and the series of bunny musician postcards that seem to date from the early 1920's.

In the 1922 Oz book, Kabumpo in Oz, one of the main characters is a rabbit named Wag, who could have stepped out of this series. I don't think I've run across any of these bunnies after that point in the early 1920's, which is too bad - they're great little characters!




I'm particularly fond
of The Egg Dance!

New Oz Art

One of the results of a new Oz movie opening, has been several gallery shows of Oz-inspired artwork. It's always fun to see different perceptions of familiar characters and stories!






There are two shows running currently that I am aware of. One is Not in Kansas Anymore: A Tribute to The Wizard of Oz at Nucleus, a gallery in Alhambra, CA. If you click on this link, you can visit their website and view the pieces that are on display and for sale.

Another exhibit called Visions of Oz: A Celebration of Art from Over the Rainbow is being held in Los Angeles, at the Heritage Square Museum. There doesn't seem to be an online gallery to view for this show, but a number of pieces from the exhibit are being run through eBay, by Creature Features. These can be seen by clicking on this link, and clicking the eBay auction link at the top of the web page.

I couldn't resist adding this small set of the four friends, as painted by artist Tony Lombardo, to my collection. They look like they stopped in at a photo booth while visiting the Emerald City!

These particular images were also used in the advertising for the show. Love those green glasses!

Great & Powerful

The first new major Oz movie in a generation opened this past weekend, to good box office and varying reviews. I avoided as much of the pre-publicity and hype as I could, in order to approach the film without too many preconceptions. I saw it this past week and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!

I'll admit my expectations were not high, and the story certainly pays greater homage to the 1939 film than the book series. L. Frank Baum created a back story for Oz in his early books - key points include the arrival of the Wizard by balloon, a confrontation with the Witch of the West in her own part of the land, the usurpation of the throne and kidnapping of Princess Ozma, and the building of the Emerald City before retiring into seclusion. Of course, Baum also contradicted himself on a regular basis - did the Wizard build the Emerald City, or were the rulers of Oz already living there when he arrived? Was Ozma kidnapped by the Wizard or the witch Mombi? These many little mysteries and inconsistencies are part of what I enjoy in the original Oz books.

Disney didn't make much use of Baum's own history of the land, but did come up with a splashy story that doesn't ask to be taken too seriously - something Oz fans are often too prone to do!

Ruby Slippers 2

Here's the finished pair of ruby slippers. This has been an interesting project that I don't think I'm anxious to repeat any time soon!

For those interested in some details - the shoes are vintage 1930's size 5 1/2, and there are around 2500 sequins sewn on silk overlays attached to each shoe. The bows each contains 46 rhinestones, 3 central glass stones and varying numbers of bugle beads. The sequins are metallic 5mm flat sequins, which have been aged ( I didn't age them myself and don't know the process). There are some details that I haven't done - adding an Innes Shoe Co. label inside the right shoe, gluing felt on the soles or adding Judy Garland's name inside the shoe. I still may do some of this.

There is debate over whether the original shoes used metallic or transparent sequins. Here's a link to an interesting article concerning the sequins on the slippers - Why do they look like that?

Here's a fascinating blog covering one slipper maker's process - The Ruby Slippers Project. I took a different route, but there are still a number of good reference points.

Another interesting site is The Ruby Slipper Fan Club . Here you can find more information on the various original shoes, see other reproductions and view a helpful blueprint containing a number of useful measurements.

I found Etsy to be a very useful site for finding supplies - particularly the Dreamer of Oz shop, which has had various helpful things.

So, if you're feeling inspired, why not give it a shot? It's certainly a project you'll remember!

Ruby Slippers

Although I'm a fan, I'm not a great collector of the 1939 MGM film version of The Wizard of Oz. But there is something fascinating about the ruby slippers! The last pair offered at auction sold for 2 million dollars (Correction - the shoes did not actually sell at auction, the reserve was not met - check the comments below for further info on this), and they are one of the most readily recognized Hollywood props. Four original pairs are known to exist, but the fate of one pair is unknown, since it was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum several years ago.

This year I've been working on replicating the slippers in order to have a pair in my collection. Creating slipper replicas is a popular hobby among Oz collectors, and people approach the project in a variety of ways. Methods and materials can be hotly debated, as to what is most accurate to the original shoes, but in each case the end result is a shining pair of ruby slippers.


My goal was to try making the shoes along the same lines as the originals. This means creating silk overlays which are hand sequined and then attached to the shoes. I'm no stranger to time consuming projects, but I have to say that I've found this to be one of the harder things I've tried - I just don't seem to be naturally compatible with sequins!

The most important part in my mind is finding an appropriate pair of shoes. It's possible to have a custom pair of shoes made for this purpose, complete with an outer lining of fabric for sewing on sequins, but I wanted the look of an actual vintage shoe. It's surprisingly difficult to come up with the right heel height and style of shoe, but I finally did run across a pair that is almost perfect. The original shoes vary a bit from one to the next, and range from size 5 to size 6. I'm using a pair of size 5 1/2 silk pumps, from the time period of the movie. After removing the shoe clips, they were ready to be colored red and turned into a pair of the most famous shoes in history!

 

Now I just have to finish the other shoe....

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year! Of course we're well into 2013 by now, but I've been on a break from blogging so I have some catching up to do!

 Here's a fun item I received this past Christmas. At our stained glass studio, we carry the work of a few potters, including one who is local friend. He came up with this Tik-Tok pot, and did a fine job of capturing the copper man's character. Tik-Tok's hat is a lid and is removeable, making him a very useful fellow! The Denslow seahorse pot seen in the top photo was an earlier piece by the same artist.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

I'm afraid I've been neglecting my blog for the past few months, but we'll see what the new year brings!

Happy Halloween!

Earlier this year I spent a good deal of time creating centerpieces for the National Oz Convention, in the form of candy containers based on the corn mansion of the Scarecrow. While I was working on  them, I kept thinking that Jack Pumpkinhead's house would also work well in the same style. In fact, I considered making both for the convention but decided, in the interest of sanity, to stick to one design that I had already figured out and knew how to do!

Anyway, once that was over, I began to think about Jack again, and this is the result. I've based the piece on John R. Neill's wonderful illustration showing Jack's house in the 1909 book, The Road to Oz. Once again, this is a candy container - the pumpkin lifts off to reveal a central core for hiding sweets.

 Here you can see the door open, with Jack at home ready for visitors. The process started with an artificial foam pumpkin, which I carved and embellished before making a mold and casting in paper mache. There are still a few details I want to adjust, but the general scheme is finished. There are a number of similarities to the Scarecrow's house, but as Jack designed both, that shouldn't be too surprising!

Crossing the Desert

There are certain Oz illustrations that I find iconic - John R. Neill's illustration for Ozma of Oz, of Ozma crossing the deadly desert with her army, is one of these. Unfortunately, the original artwork by Neill seems to have vanished into the mists of time, like so many other original Oz illustrations. I would love to have been able to see this piece!




 I was fortunate several years ago to acquire Michael Herring's version of the same scene, painted for the cover of the DelRey paperback in 1978. This was closely based on the Neill illustration, with some minor changes. In this case the scene was considered memorable enough to represent the entire book!






 I've just picked up another version, Skottie Young's drawing for the Marvel comic of Ozma of Oz. I've been enjoying the Marvel editions, scripted by Eric Shanower and drawn by Young. I'm not really a comic collector, and I haven't been picking up the individual comic books. Instead, I've been buying the hardcover compilations, so seeing the entire story in a fresh light is a pleasant surprise. In my view, Marvel has managed to do something that Reilly & Lee was always half-heartedly attempting - produce an updated version of the Oz books in a format to appeal to today's young readers!

John R. Neill Poster

John R. Neill created a wide variety of artwork for various uses - story illustration, advertising, magazine covers, etc. I've also seen artwork created for posters, but until recently I had never run across an actual example of a Neill-designed poster.

I still haven't seen one in person, but Michael Hearn drew my attention to this piece. It was designed by Neill in 1919, as part of a series of posters created by various artists for the Methodist Centenary. This was a movement by the Methodist Episcopal church to raise $100,000,000 for "world up-building" and missionary work.

An article in Printers Ink from early 1919 states that 200,000 posters in 20 different designs would be produced - one design to be posted each week for 20 consecutive weeks. The head of the poster department was E.W. Willing, who apparently started the Sunday department of the Philadelphia North American newspaper - which also employed Neill on different occasions. Perhaps that connection helps explain how Neill was selected for one of the 20 artists!

I haven't managed to lay my hands on one of these yet, but I'll keep watching!

(I should mention, after thinking about it, that I'm aware of 2 posters created by Neill for the Oz series, one for Marvelous Land and one for Ozma. I believe these were found in the Baum family scrapbooks, and both have been reprinted in The Oz Scrapbook.)

Off to the Brandywine

This week an art transport company stopped by, and picked up a piece of artwork by John R. Neill to take to the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, PA. An exhibition is opening on September 8th called Picturing Poe, and it will feature works by various illustrators for the writings of Edgar Allen Poe. The show will run until November 15. My piece is from the Reilly Britton edition of The Raven and Other Poems, published in 1910.

The Brandywine is always worth a visit, and it's encouraging to see Neill included in a museum show featuring a number of his contemporaries, as well as more recent artists. I'm afraid his talents tend to be overlooked!

Other artists mentioned in the exhibit include Arthur Rackham, Harry Clarke, Aubrey Beardsley and Barry Moser. Further information can be found on the museum exhibitions page (here).

Convention Centerpieces

Late last year I agreed to take on a project for this year's National Convention. This consisted of making a dozen table centerpieces for the Friday night dinner. The idea began when co-chairperson Jane Albright ran across a large styrofoam ear of corn last fall. After she mentioned the idea that it could be a good start for a centerpiece, based on the corncob mansion of the Scarecrow, I was inspired and offered to take on the project.

My inspiration was the color plate by John R. Neill, found in The Emerald City of Oz. I did make some changes in the arrangement of the windows and the top of the house, but otherwise attempted to stay true to Neill's concept.

I had the idea of creating something along the lines of an old fashioned German candy container - a paper mache piece that would open to reveal a surprise inside. Starting with the styrofoam corn, I carved windows and doors then added window frames and shutters. This was then used to create a rubber mold, as I needed to make a dozen finished pieces.

The base, bottom of the corn and topper were also cast in paper. Stairs were created from balsa, and all parts were painted and glittered to add sparkle. I discovered metallic crepe paper online, which made excellent husks, and a couple garlands of artificial flowers were pulled apart, painted and glittered to add more color and interest to the base.

The final touch was to add Oz characters, taken from the Oz Toy Book, reduced in size and glittered. Add a bag of candy to the interior of each one and voila! A centerpiece!

Convention!

I've finally attended an Oz convention - This past weekend was the National Convention for the International Wizard of Oz Club, held in Holland, Michigan. It was a fun weekend of presentations, food, and entertainment. There were tributes to both Judy Garland and Ray Bolger, as well as an appearance by Margaret Pellegrini - one of only three Munchkins from the MGM film who is still with us. There was the traditional auction, presenting opportunities to add to collections, and a dramatization of Tamawaca Folks, a lesser known work by L.Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum's summer home, The Sign of the Goose, was located nearby on Lake Macatawa. The Baum family spent several summers there, until Baum's bankruptcy forced the sale of the house. Unfortunately the home is long gone, but early conventioneers had a chance to visit the site where the house once stood.

Additional presentations covered a trip through various castles of Oz, Baum's time in Macatawa, and a biography of Matilda Gage - Baum's mother-in-law, and one of the leading lights for women's suffrage. Robert Baum shared anecdotes relating to the various homes where his great-grandfather lived, and there were tributes to both Sky Island (Baum's book for 1912) and Denslow Island (W. W. Denslow's Bermuda retreat).

There was a sing-along, a show & tell, and several vendors had tables offering Oz wares. Craft tables offered convention-goers the opportunity to create their own souvenirs of the weekend - like this decoupage ornament featuring the Hammerheads from The Wizard of Oz! All in all, everyone appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Next year the National Convention is merging with the Winkie Convention - it should be quite a time!

S2 Atelier Poster

This is an interesting idea - a reconstruction of one of the original posters for the 1903 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz. This was done in 1998 by the S2 Atelier, based in New York at that time and now in Las Vegas.

The process consisted of an artist re-drawing the original image on lithographic plates - so the end result is a true lithograph print, as the original poster would have been. This means a much sharper, crisper image than is seen in a digital print.

The poster is an impressive 27 x 43, and quite striking - I have a feeling the chances of my finding an original one are slim, so this makes a nice substitute!

Uplifters

This is another fun little item with a slight Oz connection - sometimes these things are hard to resist!

This is a creamer from the Uplifters social club. The Uplifters was founded by a group of businessmen in the Los Angeles area. L. Frank Baum was one of the original members and was quite active in the group, writing several plays for the members to perform and contributing a few poems and pieces that were published in Songs of Spring, a compilation of poetry from some of the early club dinners. The Oz Film Manufacturing Company had financial backing from some of the prominent club members. The first Uplifters dinner was held in 1913.

The club name has been engraved or stamped on the side of the creamer. I don't know a specific date for this piece, but the lack of a date code indicates that it's earlier than 1928. That was the year Reed & Barton began to use date codes on their silver-plate. It could easily be from the early 1920's, when the group built a clubhouse in Rustic Canyon. The club continued, with many well known members, until it disbanded in 1947.

This particular creamer may well date from after Baum's involvement with the club as he died in 1919 - but there's always a chance it might be from some of the earlier dinners!

Richardson's Book

Here's an unusual book that doesn't turn up very often - this is a copy of  Book of Drawings by Fred Richardson from 1899. It's a lovely collection of artwork done by Frederick Richardson for the Chicago Daily News newspaper. Richardson was the illustrator for L. Frank Baum's Queen Zixi of Ix, and the original printing of A Kidnapped Santa Claus, as well as many other children's classics.

This seems to be his earliest book - it's a compilation of newspaper drawings  and features a range of artwork from editorial cartoon to lovely fantasy images. Just like W.W. Denslow and John R. Neill, Richardson started as a newspaper artist - it seems to be a common beginning for many of the great illustrators of the period!

Always Looking...

A couple weeks ago was the 22nd annual Twin Cities Book Fair. I've managed to hit every one, as I'm a firm believer in getting out to look for interesting items in person, when the opportunity arises - over the years I've picked up a number of good pieces. This year just helped to confirm that it pays to keep your eyes open at book fairs and antique stores, as well as on the internet - the prize was a Reilly & Britton dust jacket for The Patchwork Girl of Oz, from 1913!

Conventions

Happy 4th of July!

Once again, it's the time of year for Oz conventions! In California, the Winkie Convention is being held July 27 - 29 in Pacific Grove. This year's theme is Sky Island, celebrating its 100th birthday, as well as the 121st birthday of Ruth Plumly Thompson. More information can be found here, and a Winkie Con tribute page can be seen here.

This year I'll be attending the National Convention being held August 17 - 19 in Holland, Michigan. I've been working on a project for the convention over the past several months, and will actually make it to the event! More info on the National Convention can be found here - celebrating Oz-related islands, castles and homes.