I don't really do written posts here, but friend Ana created a post here about starting the year out with a list of creative stylistic inspirations, and I like lists so I made one too! (nor have I really taken the time to sit down and create a concrete visual about what it is that I like) I thought it would end up being a really scattered list, but it turned out surprisingly...cohesive.

In no particular order:

Cirque du soleil
I've never seen a cirque show, but i think the costumes are super cool. They have this ability to transform a human into a creature.  

 

Erte

I came across an enormous and heavy erte book when I was snooping around the risd library during some "downtime". Erte was a costume illustrator/designer who designed for performances, ballets, and movies.  I really like how his costumes range from elegantly beautiful to ridiculously weird and hilarious.

Sandra Backlund
I found sandra backlund on a design blog during my freshman year. I think what attracts me to her work is the strange mix of detail, organic shape, and repetition that ultimately reads as rigid despite the fact that she works with soft materials.

Miyazaki's totori no totoro + Miyazaki's tenku no shiro rapyuta
Unlike most of my art school friends who are obsessed with spirited away and princess mononoke, I kind of like totoro and castle in the sky more. these were some of the first films I saw ever.  I mean, I saw them in Chinese which I barely even understand anymore. I like them because of the fantastical world that envelops me as I watch them.

Jean Pierre Jeunet's Le fabuleux destin d'amelie poulain
 Watched this for the first time in middle school, have been watching this several times a year since.

Guillermo del toro's El laberinto del fauno

Watched this for the first time in high school, probably my second most watched film after Amelie. I think I like both these films because, in my opinion, they intertwine style and story/myth together in which the film would fall apart without one or the other. Tarsem Singh's, The Fall is similar, but for some reason doesn't captivate me in terms of story.

 

Lastly, the Lord of the Rings (books)

I first attempted to read these at the tender age of 11 and failed wildly at understanding most, if not all, of it. I reread in middle school, and again in high school. This book cover is the actual book that my brother owns although it is battered from all the rereading he does; it's being held together by yellowed scotch tape. I put this on the list because i really loved the old covers and hate the new 'movie-ified' covers...why would you slap movie posters on top of books? If you saw the movies first, and then you decided to read the books, would you really not be able to identify them until you saw Orlando Bloom on it?

Well, this will definitely helpful to have down. Congrats to you, stranger, if you actually read all that.