Purpose of this Blog...

You may have noticed that not all books are equal in capturing children's imaginations and in cultivating those innocent, tender souls. My goal is to help you find the ones that do!
(Painting by Mary Cassatt: "Mrs Cassatt Reading to her Grandchildren" -1888)




Tuesday, May 10, 2011

INTRODUCING..."FEATHERDUSTER"

I have a new acquisition: an Ostrich named "Featherduster". My oldest son gave her to me for Mother's Day. Not to worry: she's not a real ostrich, but rather the star of one of David's many film projects.  My son attends CalArts and is majoring in experimental stop-motion animation.  Featherduster is very sweet and I think she feels quite at home, perched atop our piano.



What does this have to do with children's books?  Well, David hopes to do some children's book film adaptations in his future career. As a child, he was intrigued by John Clark Matthews' excellent FROG AND TOAD and THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE stop-motion films.  After watching the "Behind the Scenes" segment extras, David decided to try his hand at stop-motion.  Using our little old video camera, he created many humorous movies for us with his Star Wars figures, Legos, and clay.


At CalArts Showcase of Experimental Animation with David, our daughter, Mary,
 and one of David's recent stop motion puppet creations, a mad scientist.


You can view John Clark Matthews' stop-motion animated films (including those mentioned above) here on his website.  


Below I've embedded my son's film project, "Feather Duster", starring my new friend.


David Braun, Animal Locomotion Class, CalArts, Fall 2010 from animations by my students on Vimeo.
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5 comments:

  1. Brian SibleyWednesday, May 11, 2011

    Well done for taking ownership of Featherduster and sincere congratulations to David for his talented animation in such a wide variety of media and styles.

    Ask David if he's ever come across a book called Creating 3-D Animation by Peter Lord and Yours-Truly? He is, I think, way beyond any use he would get from its pages, but it is, if nothing else, a calling card to confirm that I know what I am saying, when I say "Bravo!"

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  2. WendyLady@GoodBooksWednesday, May 11, 2011

    Thank you, Brian. I'll ask him about your book. And thanks for the "Bravo"!

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  3. MarthaWednesday, May 11, 2011

    He's scrawny and doesn't look too healthy...like he's losing some feathers. Then, ah ha, I learn he is not from "here" but another planet. I love artsy things like that film your son created...reminds me of the days when I was in art school.

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  4. David BraunThursday, May 12, 2011

    Haha, Mom, you gave me that book for Christmas the year I got into CalArts! It's a great one, I use it for reference all the time... thanks for posting Featherduster!

    David

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  5. WendyLady@GoodBooksThursday, May 12, 2011

    Well, there you go! I officially have Alzheimers! I knew I'd seen it, but forgot I'd given it to you.

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