Turn of the 20th Century Gems in Paris
Musee D’Orsay Clock
I was mining my old photos for my portfolio and I ran across this beautiful clock window from the Musee D’Orsay in Paris. The Louvre is great, but you can’t beat the architecture of this transformed train station. If you look closely the Sacre Couer is in the background.
Musee D’Orsay, this converted train station was inaugurated as part of the 1900 Worlds Fair in Paris
Here are a few more gems from the steam era. I absolutely love arte nouveau like the Metro gate below. I got to see a lot of it and modernisme while studying abroad in Spain.
Metro gate, Paris, built 1900
Eiffel tower, built 1887
Steampunk Meets the Surreal in Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidocq
Poster for Vidoqc (French version of Dark Portals: Chronicles of Vidoqc)
Vidoqc and the Alchemist
Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidoqc is the English title of a French film called simply Vidoqc. Gerard Depardieu plays the title role of Eugene Francois Vidoqc (the father of criminology and a real-life French figure of note), who is an occult detective on the grimy streets of Paris in 1830. He is on the trail of a masked serial killer, the Alchemist, but falls to his supernatural enemy within the first minutes of the film. Amidst the tumult of the outbreak of the Second French Revolution (also known as the July Revolution), Vidoqc’s biographer Etienne (played by French heartthrob Guillaume Canet) tracks down witnesses to fill in the blanks in Vidoqc’s investigation and mysterious disappearance. Meanwhile the Alchemist is still on the prowl and no one is safe from his mysterious powers.
Paris in Vidoqc
This is a very stylized and disturbing movie, but I would definitely recommend it to fans of the Steampunk gestalt. If you are willing to deal with the subtitles, the special effects and unrepentant window into poverty make for a stunning and surreal adventure which definitely earns it’s R rating.
While watching it I was struck by how foreign it felt, which shouldn’t really surprise me seeing as how it is a foreign film, but it definitely is not a Hollywood movie. First off, the hero is a middle-aged man with a bulbous nose and a thick middle (though he still kicks some serious Alchemist ass when they meet in the flashbacks that make up Etienne’s investigation). The extreme camera angles highlight derelict victims of the streets (think Les Miserables with more underage workers and filth) which is enhanced by jerky motion and makes the enclosed spaces like the glassworks feel downright suffocating. The interior spaces all feel as though they are lit by gaslight, which makes the occasional burst of color really stand out.
Steampunk-inspired Assemblage Clocks by Yours Truly
Irene Adler clock
I started making Steampunk-inspired clocks about a month ago using mixed metals, fabric and scrapbook paper. This one is definitely my favorite so far and the only one I have kept for myself. The rose in the center of the clock mechanism acts as the second hand and rotates as the clock ticks. (You can see my posts about Steampunk scrapbook paper by Graphic 45 and Die Cuts with a View by clicking on the links.)
This clock was a gift for my sister-in-law because she collects vintage maps and loves to travel. (Please forgive the image quality. I’ve been messing with the camera settings for a while and I can’t get it to cooperate, but it is high time I got to post some of my own art!)
Around the World in 80 Days Clock
This last and most recent clock was a wedding gift for a friend.
Time Stands Still Clock by ForWhomTheGearTurns
Any feedback or questions are very welcome, feel free to leave me a comment below.
Steampunk Fashion from Blueberry Hill
I found this nice little online shop called Blueberry Hill today. Most of the inventory is Rockabilly, but they also have a nice selection of full length Steampunk skirts and cool jackets. Check em out below.
Peter Pan Gets a Steamy Makeover in Neverland (2011)
Neverland poster
Charlie Rowe as Peter Pan
My favorite Peter Pan has to be the one who has been terrorizing the citizens of Storybrooke on Once Upon a Time this season, but I think as a whole the 2011 mini-series Neverland is the most interesting (re)interpretation of J. M. Barrie’s classic story that I have come across. Or rather, this story is of what came before Wendy and the Darling boys made their sojourn to the third star on the right.
Jimmy and the Lost Boys
In this two-part miniseries, Peter and the Lost Boys are pickpockets on the tough streets of London. Their convivial though crooked caretaker, Jimmy Hook, has rescued the orphans from a life on the the street and his protege, Peter (played by Charlie Rowe, whom I recognized as Billy Costa in The Golden Compass) feels a deep gratitude for the life they now lead. So it is no surprise that when Jimmy tells the boys about a potentially lucrative burglary Peter jumps at the chance to prove himself to his mentor. In the end, Jimmy says it is too dangerous for the band of boys to help him with the caper and tells Peter to forget the whole thing, but Peter is in such a hurry to grow up and take his place as Jimmy’s equal he lies to the other boys and tells them they are supposed to commit the crime without Jimmy to guide them.
Upon discovering their empty beds, Jimmy heads to the antique shop and catches them in the act. The jewels are all well and good, but there is something far more valuable and mysterious waiting for them and it was this artifact that Jimmy was hired to retrieve. While Peter is in the other room looking for something to use to pick a lock, the object is triggered and seemingly disintegrates Peter’s whole crew, leaving a glowing orb behind. As Peter soon learns, the orb is a gateway to another planet: Neverland.
Peter follows his comrades to Neverland, a place of surreal and wintry beauty. The cast of characters you expect are all there, pirates, Indians, and giant crocodiles, but this looks nothing like the Disney movie. For one thing, the crocodiles have 8 legs. But, my favorite twist is that the dreaded captain of the Jolly Roger is a beautiful woman so the character of Captain Hook is more or less split between Captain Bonny and Jimmy. (Or perhaps more accurately Bonny is the shape of things to come in Hook’s life)
When Peter arrives Cpt. Bonny has taken Jimmy and the Lost Boys captive, though Jimmy is less of a prisoner and more of a willing participant in the cruel beauty’s schemes. Peter attempts a rescue but Jimmy’s hesitation leads to the death of one of the boys at the hands of a trigger happy pirate. The boys become allied to the Indians (whose motifs loosely resemble Pacific Northwest tribes rather than the iconic plains folk) and must help them to protect their mountain stronghold and the “tree spirits” (ie fairies) who take refuge there from the dastardly pirates. The fairies control a mineral that has volatile but intriguing set of side effects, including the ability to fly. Peter and the chief’s daughter, Tiger Lily, set off in search of a way home and stumble upon an alchemist who reveals the secret of the mysterious orb that transported them and the unique position of Neverland in the universe that keeps time standing still.
The shape of the universe
You can check out the trailer below.
Wheels Whir and Away You Go!
There is no end to the creative ways cars, bikes, motorcycles and everything in between can be re-imagined in the Steampunk aesthetic. I created this gallery of steamy vehicles via pinterest, and when possible I listed the artist’s name. If you see something without a credit but you know the source please leave me a comment below. Also, if you have a steamy vehicle you created or have drawn please send me a pic at ForWhomTheGearTurns <at> gmail.com.
Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
There are also tons of awesome Steampunk vehicles that were part of the 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony, the Festival of Flame. Check out the video below or my gallery of images here.
I’m Somebody’s Sunshine!
Thanks a lot to Bia Helvetti for nominating my blog for a Sunshine Award. I am very new to the blogosphere (just hit 1,000 views yesterday!) and Bia was one of my very first followers. Her blog is all about story-telling and I’ve been enjoying her stories and our dialog so far. Check out her blog, Child of the Island, here!
So the way the Sunshine Award works is that now that I displayed the logo and gave a shout out to the person who nominated me, it is my job to tell you 10 fun things about myself and then share the love with 10 other blogs I enjoy. So here goes!
First, a few things about me.
1. I think puns are the highest form of comedy and a clever play on words will keep can keep me giggling for days. For instance, my toy poodle is named Gadget (because he’s a toy, get it?)
2. I buy movies based on what I call its rewatchability rating. I am not interested in keeping movies around unless I plan to watch them at least 5 times.
3. A spoonful of sweetened condensed milk in a cup of rich black coffee is pretty much like heaven. (By the way, if you are ever confronted with a yuckily bitter cup of coffee you can add a little shake of salt to it and the bitterness disappears and leaves just the coffee flavor behind.)
4. When I want to try cooking a new food I read at least 4 different recipes and follow none of them. I prefer to combine the best parts of each and make something new and uniquely mine.
5. I used to work in a lending library in a science museum and it was my job to hang around and wait for people to ask me questions about natural history. My favorite encounter was with an 8-year-old who was afraid of werewolves and his mom wanted me to provide a scientific explanation for why werewolves aren’t real.
6. I originally planned to be an art major in college but I ultimately went for Cultural Anthropology. I am very grateful for that education and the way it has broadened my perspective and understanding of the people, past and present, who populate our world.
7. When in my teens I thought I was going to be an artist or writer, but I changed trajectory in college. Now I am really enjoying a return to wordsmithing on this blog and I am working on a novel as well. I am not sure exactly what to call the genre I am writing in because it is one part science and one part magic, because after all, magic is what we call things we don’t yet understand. So for brevity’s sake I just call it Steampunk.
8. I really enjoy making crafts, not just the finished product but creating craft projects for others. In my museum work I have created/adapted several crafts to go along with programming themes and special events. I am looking forward to doing more of that for the blog so stay tuned for more tutorials like my Christmas ornaments.
9. My dad says that my mother and I must both have buttons in our butts because every time we sit down to play cards or a game we start to sing.
10. I am going on an archaeological dig in Greece this summer as an object photographer.
Now, 10 more blogs that add a little sunshine to my life (in no particular order):
1. Andrew Knighton Writes– Andrew is an author who writes insightful posts about writing, reading and life. I mostly read his posts via my wordpress reader but I also really like the theme for his site.
2. Hovercraftdoggy– “Art, architecture, design and photography blog- for your daily dose of inspiration, creativity and beauty.” Whenever one of these posts shows up in my blogroll I know I am in store for some interesting images. Recently there was a really interesting gallery of cosplayers in costume but in their own homes. Very cool.
3. History with a twist– David Lawlor is a journalist who enjoys writing about obscure figures in history. I ran across his entertaining blog when I was looking for information about Emperor Norton (America’s one and only monarch), but ended up reading lots of short articles about things like the transvestite in Custer’s army and covert military sniper trees.
4. Live to write – Write to live– This is a nice blog about writing for writers based out of New Hampshire.
5. Michael Bradley Time Traveler– This is a super fun blog under the “humor and observations” umbrella. I seldom see a preview of a post without looking at the whole thing. Two highlights of this week was an article about how cow farts are destroying the environment and Chinese character tattoo fails. He does not write all the content himself but I like the articles he brings together.
6. MUSE-aholic– all things surreal, psychedelic and quirky in visual art. This site is devoted to art in the extreme. I was mesmerized by the recent conceptual photography post.
7. STEAMED! A steampunk writing blog. I really enjoyed Twas the Night Before Christmas with airship pirates this week.
8. ILLUSTRATION AGE– I am a very visual person so blogs with lots of images always appeal to me. This one features work by many different illustrators.
9. Traveler’s Steampunk Blog– This steamy blog has fun pictures of cosplay and podcasts about the Steampunk scene.
10. Old Design Shop– free vintage images to inspire and add to your creations.
Who adds sunshine to your day?
For Whom the Gear Turns 