Alice in Wonderland-Jan Svankmajer-A Little Quirky

Tim Burton did a magical film of Alice in Wonderland. I remember when I heard he was making it and found out who the stars were going to be, I was darn excited. Johnny Depp was perfect for the roll of the Mad Hatter and did not let anyone down, most assuredly not me as I loved him in it. This lens is about the different creations of Alice, different views on the same story. With that exploration I came across the work of Jan Svankmajer and found it so amazing that I decided to focus on it as well.

Imagination Alive. Svankmajer is a master at quirk. Yay!

OSCAR PETERSON "ALICE IN WONDERLAND"

CHAPTER I

Down the Rabbit-Hole

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, `Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.

It was all very well to say `Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. `No, I'll look first,' she said, `and see whether it's marked "poison" or not'; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked `poison,' it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.

However, this bottle was not marked `poison,' so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.

Wear a bit of fantasy w/this steampunk pocket watch. Don't be late for your next tea party!!

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Great story telling takes IMAGINATION!

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited"

~Albert Einstein

Do you agree with that? Why or why not?

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Is imagination more important than knowledge?

One of the great Czech filmmakers, JAN SVANKMAJER was born in 1934 in Prague where he still lives. He trained at the Institute of Applied Arts from 1950 to 1954 and then at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts (Department of Puppetry). He soon became involved in the Theatre of Masks and the famous Black Theatre, before entering the Laterna Magika Puppet Theatre where he first encountered film. In 1970 he met his wife, the surrealist painter Eva Svankmajerova, and the late Vratislav Effenberger, the leading theoretician of the Czech Surrealist Group, which Svankmajer joined and of which he still remains a member.

Svankmajer made his first film in 1964 and for over thirty years has made some of the most memorable...

read more at: http://www.jansvankmajer.com/bio.htm

LIVE LINK POSTED IN LINK LIST TOWARDS THE BOTTOM.. BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT!

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I adore tea parties, the little cakes, fancy bone china tea cups and saucers, special sandwiches.. so fun.

Here is just an excerpt from a great article I came across. Be sure to read the rest on the link shared.

"How to Plan Your Next Tea Party" by Mayoor Patel

These are not simply parties that can be thrown together on a whim, but they take careful planning and possibly reservations weeks in advance depending on how fancy and beautiful you decide to make them. Hard work and planning will pay off in the end...

Make it a tea party about fashion or gardening or home dcor to really create an amazing mood. Finally, be sure that you send out a fashionable invitation to all of your guests at least a couple of weeks before the date of the party.

Mayoor Patel is the writer for the website http://www.tea-party.tea-universe.com/. Please visit for information on all things concerned with Tea Party

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mayoor_Patel

PLEASE NOTE: MAYOOR PATEL'S LIVE LINK IS AT THE BOTTOM WITHIN ALICE'S LINKS. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THAT SITE.

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Create a tea party adventure! Pack up some brewed tea and carefully packed porcelain tea cups or maybe a lovely bottle of wine with cheese, and head on out to your favorite trail, beach or lake setting.

A Poem by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen

And so it seems quite fitting to me to post this poem.. drat that Queen of Hearts.. smile.

Faery Dragons Roar For Prisoners of Lost Youth & Thus They Cried For a Beautiful Queens Passing

Faery dragons

roar for prisoners of beauty

when they are caught

in-between

the seasons.

It's true.

Yet more to this tale

of a dragon's queen

seasoned forever

blue.

Victims of time

that age doth ultimately meet

ignoring any setting suns

or romantic affairs

a hero doth meet.

Their set plans

despite anyone's time-line

destiny is of a certainty

pursued.

Protecting herself from the glass

a queen glanced shyly into a mirror.

Ohh, "If only"

was her lament.

If only a different circumstance

age had greeted

a youthful repose

and yet..

No.

Disbelieving strangers

as they said it was not true

a narcissistic queen

left the hallway

and walked into her own

lonely

gloom.

Perhaps it was a fairy dragon

needing her at a dawning midnight

to enhance the queens beauty

and find here forever youthfully

for him

groomed.

Spirits of the dead

sounding off with their whistles

reaching whatever vibrations

a dragon once slain

might recall.

There will thus

always be

gentle souls

who circle round a babies laughter

tending to the scents in the air.

Babies breath

bringing the lovely sound of flowers

to cradle every infants gateway

in a bed of roses

and whisper of loving

care.

So beware

to those who seek a youthful view

for the queen did pass

once she left the dragons room.

Slipping into a trance

of a sparkle

on a lake

that let the moon shine through.

Into a destiny

nebulous swoon

for after the queen met a babies laughter

the fairy dragon sadly

knew...

His queen

mortal be

slipped past eternity

and into the galaxy

of a wilting flowers bloom.

ABOUT Kathy Ostman-Magnusen: I am an artist, represented by Monkdogz Urban Art, New York. ORIGINAL ART may be purchased through Monkdogz: http://www.monkdogz.com/chelseagallery/artistart/M... FREE ART GIFTS,suitable for children plus prints, giclees, cards, available on my website: http://www.kathysart.com

The imagae is of my sculpture, "Bleeding Wings 5"

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IMAGE is of a little watercolor sketch of mine.