Film Friday: Meeting princesses at Fantasy Faire!

Just me and some gorgeous gals at Fantasy Faire :)

Woman Crush Wednesday!: Kickass Concept Artist Mary Blair

In general, the Disney Studios in the 1950s were not a place where women excelled. Although they did work for the studio, they rarely received the opportunity to use their creativity, being relegated instead to meticulous and tedious work in the ink and paint department.

There was, however, a handful of exceptional women who flourished against the odds, my favorite of which is Mary Blair. Known for her highly evolved intuition for color, her influence is obvious in the backgrounds of such beloved classics as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and my most favorite of all time, Peter Pan.

Below is some of Blair's concept art for Peter Pan that beautifully illustrate her distinctive style, which I find to be child-like and charming without loosing any tightness. I think they are all just lovely, but my affinity for pink-ness and mermaids makes the last my favorite. Please enjoy!

'Disney and mid-century Feminine Stereotypes' or 'Daisy Duck used to be Pink'

Recently, whilst combing throughout the vast labyrinth of imagery on tumblr, I came across an image of Daisy that struck me as both odd and awesome. It was a still from a 1954 short called Donald's Diary that chronicles Daisy and Donald's courtship and subsequent marriage. Unfortunately the short revolves around somewhat unsavory stereotypes related to women and dating. In the cartoon, Daisy is seen spraying on scents labeled Bothered, Bewitched, and Bewildered, reading a book called How to Catch a Man, and it is insinuated that she let herself go after she and Donald got hitched.

After watching the short, it struck me that the cartoon might be offensive to some. For me, not so much. I accept that different periods of time will produce art, media, music and culture, and that popular perception of those things will change across history. No, what struck me about this image had nothing to do with my somewhat latent feminist self…

It had to do with the fact that Daisy Duck was PINK!:

WHAT? And she is clearly pink. Check out this image of her and Donald, who is clearly white:

I generally enjoy things more when they are pink, and ducks are no exception. Paired with those killer bangs and little red number, I think I may have found a new style icon. I'll take this Daisy over the current iteration any day.

Film Friday: Me and Woody, Woody and me :)

For Film Friday, I thought I would share this photo of Woody and I in honor of the announcement that Pixar is going to be making Toy Story 4:

I also wanted to include these photos that Woody's handler took on my phone. I'm sure at least some of you have experienced a botched photo session, but this gal totally got it, and the result was just *too cute*:

Animation Academy at California Adventure!

One of my favorite things about Disney Parks is that no matter how many times you go, there will always be new things to discover that may suddenly become your new favorite thing! On this past trip, the Animation Academy was that for Ryan, my travel partner in crime, and I.

In this experience, guests are given the opportunity to learn how to sketch different Disney and Pixar characters in short (about 15 minutes or so) lessons taught by a Disney cast member. Lessons are taught in a college-style lecture hall decorated to look like an animators office:

Our cast member was Kylie, who was sooo cool.

As the cast member draws at the desk, their movements are filmed and played on the white projection screen to the right (in the style of How to Draw with Mark Kistler). Apparently, there is a rotating roster of characters that can be taught. Ryan and I had such a good times drawing Minnie that we came back for Piglet, Sully, and Olaf! These were my attempts:

What was really cool was that as I peaked around at other people's drawings, everyone's was different even though we were all drawing the same characters. A lot of people threw theirs away on the way out and I would love to grab them out of the trash can next time like a creep and check out all the different interpretations!

Anyway, this attraction reminded me that sometimes the best way to experience the parks is without a map and agenda, going with the flow and generally exploring.

Have you ever experienced any hidden gems at the parks? Tell me about it in the comments or on the Facebook page!

Gorgeous Princess Toile at Johann's Fabric

First off, I want to apologize for being somewhat light in the posting area over the past week. I've been in the middle of moving and starting a new job, so things have been somewhat hectic. Hopefully the craziness has subsided somewhat and I can settle back into a routine :)

As a creative person, I find myself drawn to pattern. Repetition is curiously alluring, both when it is discernible and (even more so) when it is not. I was once told that if anything is repeated enough times, it will become beautiful.

Thus, I relish the experience of browsing for fabric! This week I found myself in Johann's Fabrics, shopping for work, and couldn't help but check out the Disney section (I mean, duh). Normally, I am disappointed by generic and somewhat tacky options, but this trip left me pleasantly surprised!

Although there were several attractive designs, the one that stood out to me was this gorgeous pink princess toile!:

The pattern features four of the princesses, Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, and Aurora, each depicted in front of their unique castles:

Toile, which often depicts floral or pastoral scenery, first saw popularity in mid-18th century Europe. For most, this pattern style elicits mental associations with European countries, thus the choice of princesses is spot on (I'm glad they didn't try to shoehorn in Jasmine or Elsa). It is so authentic-looking at first glance that you could almost miss that it is a Disney print! Clearly, I'm obsessed and need a cooking apron out of this immediately :)

There were some other winners which I will share in a future post, and check out this old post I did on vintage Disney Parks Fabrics!

Have you come across any Disney patterns that you just love? Let me know in the comments section or on the Facebook page!