Disko Disko!
by angeliska on June 12, 2009
It’s time for GADJO DISKO, babies!
I’m going to be up late tonight, working on my ensemble-
I’ve got to construct a skirt, since I couldn’t find a suitable one
anywhere- though I did experience a veritable shoe miracle!
I’ll relate the tale in full later- but for now, here’s a few of my favorite
images from the last disko, back in March:
I remember my mother painting details in her intricate collages with touches
of fluorescent tempera paint. She was incorporating bits of her psychedelic youth
in with lonesome cowboys, swirling supernovas, cactus flowers and lost highways.
I loved those colors, and swiped them to paint with every chance I got.
Imagine my delight when I discovered Kryolan’s UV reactive makeup!
It’s amazing to play with- I’ll definitely be experimenting with it more..
My beloved Faith Delphi! She is the cutest elf. She comes from the land
of wet trees and pyramids. She sings songs about her doppelgangers.
Seeing Golem play was so fantastic- I love them.
The singer, Annette, was very pregnant, and belting out songs wearing a sassy red dress.
I don’t know how she managed to play accordion-
but that baby’s going to be a good dancer, I can tell you that much!
They played my favorite Serbian folk dancing song,
which made my night- it’s the most fun ever.
Miss Adrienne, making a marvelous spectacle with the Minor Mishap Marching Band!
Alix Hawtpantz! Watch out for flying arrows! His hotpants say
“Lookin’ Cute – Feelin’ Cute” Yes, indeed- he is so beautiful
that everyone just stopped dancing and gazed! I love him.
Alright. Back to my trusty little singer featherweight machine,
heaps of ruffles and tulle, and too much green tea.
Hope your weekend is lovely- see you on the other side of the disko!
Scrapyard Honey
by angeliska on June 4, 2009
The other day we went out to the scrapyard.
When your sweetheart is a blacksmith, this is a pretty common
field trip. If you’re hunting for the perfect piece of metal junk
or odd machine parts, then it becomes a wonderland.
There are giant mounds of oddments, taller than my house.
The day we went, it was bright and dusty and smelled like
engine oil and the ozone tang of storms, though the sun beat down
through cotton fluffs to us. The fellas + forklift managed to get two
enormously heavy bookbinding machines from the 1800’s into the truck.
I read my encyclopedia of serial killers, and snapped pictures of rusty things.
As we were leaving, we noticed this very fancy turkey buzzard, proudly
displaying his resplendent plumage to yon prospective mate- who feigned
disinterest on a nearby pole. He stayed like that for the longest time,
looking like an eagle on a coin- except with a head that looked like skinned meat,
and a perfume to match! I love vultures. They are majestically scrappy birds.
These gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) butterflies have taken up residence in the bog.
They’ve found the dried pitchers to be ideal spots for chillaxin,
and showing off their silvery spots. For this, I forgive the caterpillars their
taste for my fuschia and passionflower vines. I watched one crysallize.
It was beyond belief. To turn from worm to horn to winged thing.
really is magic. How could I forget about that? Thanks for the reminder.
Believe it or not, I had to contort myself into a bizarre backbend, in the dying light,
carefully avoiding crushing the irises or becoming entangled in the sticky tendrils
of the sundews. I had to try, though- because they were all so chic, sipping
nepenthe dew at the Carnivore Cafe. Ooh la! Paparazzi! The trio took turns
preening and lazily flapping their wings as the sun sunk behind the projects.
You can see from the blur, that it was already really too late, but I had to capture
these venus flytrap seeds before they dispersed. Don’t they look exactly like caviar?
In our garden- everything is coming up bit by bit. Check out the crazy-thick kale stem!
Proud of what we grow, and ready for more. I want to pick it, not buy it.
Also, tomorrow evening I’ll be headed to this:
FINGERS – TENDER AND TRUE, NIMBLE AND MOBILE,
OUR HAND IS WIDE OPEN UP, WAITING FOR YOUR TOUCH ON OUR LIFE LINE.
THESE ROVING FINGERS ARE ANXIOUS TO TAKE YOU
TO THE BACK ROOM GAY VAUDEVILLE OF YESTERYEAR,
A VISION OF CAVES AND PARADISES WE HAVE IMAGINED INTO REALITY.
WE BRING YOU A NIGHT OF PERFORMANCES IN THE STRUGGLE
AND THE SPLENDOR OF QUEERTRANSFEMINIST BODIES,
A RAINBOW OF HALLUCINATED AHISTORICAL REENACTMENT.
OUR FINGERS ACT DEFTLY, SLIGHT OF HAND AND SLIGHT OF WEIGHT,
SHADOW GAMES, PALMISTRY AND CARPAL FEELINGS.
WE PRESENT A WHOLE SORDID SMORGASBORD
OF INTUITIVE MAGICAL PRACTICE:
TO YOU, FROM THESE FINGERS, A GIFT:
DIVINE EXTRAVAGANCE, SCENIC OVERLOOKING,
FARCE, FANTASY, FANCY FACADE,
CABARETS OF DECADENCE, CABINETS OF CURIOSITY,
PASTICHE, REVELRY, OASIS, MIRAGE.
You come, too.
Au Revoir Simone
by angeliska on May 31, 2009
My interview with the lovely ladies from Au Revoir Simone is up on Coilhouse! Hurrah!
I’m very excited to see them play here again next Saturday- join me, won’t you?
Annie, Heather and Erika in a hedgemaze at the French Legation during SXSW 2009
Interview with Au Revoir Simone for Coilhouse:
Still Night, Still Bright: Au Revoir Simone
Excesses + Torn Dresses
by angeliska on May 29, 2009
Hello Mister Bobcat! I love your face. It looks a bit like my face
when I’ve had my snoot to the grindstone for far too long,
and am yearnin’ to don some tattered finery and tear it up.
Oh, and didn’t I just? And how! This is how my face looks
when I realize that my silk velvet 1930’s gown won’t last the night.
Good thing I wore my unmentionables, eh? Oops, I just mentioned ’em!
I got to wear my magical hat from Mlle. Verhext before it gets too hot for it-
isn’t it just the best? It has hypnotizing powers, so watch out!
(Photo by Amelia Doublespeak, isn’t she lovely?)
We ventured out to Party Like It’s 1929– a new soiree at The Carousel Lounge,
one of my favorite spots for night-time carousing (even though it’s only open until midnight- how quaint!)
Much apricot brandy, honey whiskey and um, some absinthe was consumed throughout the course of the evening.
Dangerous! I threw caution to the wind, kicked up my heels and was very naughty indeed.
We were joined by the impossibly beautiful Ekaterina Konovalova,
who made us all swoon with her devastating hat and gloves.
I have lots of other photographs from the evening, a very few of which can be seen
on my flickr, and others which shall never see the light of day unless I one day
decide to blackmail my cohorts of the evening
(and by default, further incriminate myself!)
Honestly, I had been positively monastic (well, practically) for months,
and I just plain forgot my sense! Oh my stars did I ever pay for it the next day!
When I finally poked my tousled, bleary head out the door, the whole world was
spinning. I know you can relate (well, I truly hope you can anyhow!) because
I suppose if we never got the occasional bastard butcher of a brutal hangover,
we’d think it was perfectly alright to go around swigging apricot brandy and
destroying perfectly nice dresses all the time. Well, and some still do!
I felt like this guy all day. It was pretty pathetic. I learnt my lesson, though!
I can’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite stories by Dorothy Parker,
“You Were Perfectly Fine”, which describes the horror and humor of a nasty
hangover in equal doses. I highly recommend that you read it immediately,
and maybe afterwards, you’ll tell me a story about how you were
perfectly awful and how funny it was later, won’t you?
Black Velvet + Silver Filigree
by angeliska on May 21, 2009
I got a new hat today.
– velvet + silver filigree hat from Uncommon Objects
– metal twig earrings from Parts + Labor
– antler lady necklace, gift from Mlle. Verhext, made by Element Lux
– watch chains necklace from Lux Revival
– gold vest from Goodie Two Shoes
– disco top, thrifted
– grey jeans, thrifted
– black cowboy boots, Uncommon Objects
Just realized this outfit is nearly 100% found
(& photographed) on South Congress! Haha.
Photos by Don Weir.
We had fun trying to work with the strange light.
This one’s so pinky! I like it.
My hair is driving me very bonkers lately,
hence the hats, various head-scarves, mantillas, etc.
Getting a bit hot for all that though.
Very tempted to shave half my head.
Not to succumb to all the 1990’s hoo-ha,
but I’ve been feelin’ the urge to reach for
the clippers lately. A drastic change
that I will try to resist, as I know I’d be sick
of it quickly- but I like the idea of keeping
my long hair, and not. Best of both worlds?
Probably not, but I sure do like it on these ladies:
Naughty Miss Alice Dellal
The lovely Cassie.
Y’all talk me out of it now, okay?
Thanks in advance.
Blueberry Honey
by angeliska on May 17, 2009
Good things:
I received a surprise parcel this week from my long-lost friend Herr von der Goltz-
it contained a disc- Music of the Tatar People and a book from 1903,
German Wit and Humor. I love the nouveau cover! So sweet- I am cheered.
I can’t describe the joy I feel at wandering around the garden,
having a craving for blueberry- and then plucking them right off the bush!
They are perfect. If only I could wait until they’re fully ripe- a greedy Gretel am I!
Drosera kenneallyi from my sweetheart’s collection of carnivores.
I’ve trained this Aristolochia up on trellises on the porch for years,
but this is the first time I’ve ever seen it bloom! It truly took my breath away-
and the fragrance is so indescribable. Citrus, and earth and fireflies.
We also have an Aristolochia fimbriata that is wee, but smells much stronger-
like coffee, and rot and the devil’s sexy librarian mistress. Basically.
So, I think I’m developing a pretty serious obsession with these.
Can you see why they call it Calico Flower?
(aka. Aristolochia littoralis, sometimes called A. elegans)
Collectively known as birthworts, pipevines or Dutchman’s pipes-
these flowers are some of the strangest I’ve ever seen.
A really tantalizing collection of insane species can be found at
Sunshine Seeds– it’s taking all my willpower to not order most of them.
Between the Calico Flower Vines and the jasmine tangles, our bedroom windows
are nearly completely obscured. I love it- much better than curtains!
There’s a great article on Bitch Magazine about Fairuz-
the Legendary Chanteuse of Lebanon (aka. Ambassador to the Stars,
Neighbor to the Moon and the Poet of the Voice.)
Also, I just discovered that CBS has Twin Peaks archived for watching online!
Thank you Mlle. Lau for the tip- I’m a goner now that I know..
It’s owls, blue roses and cherry pie for the rest of the summer!
Corazones quebrados y perros ciegos
by angeliska on May 10, 2009
Oh my stars, what a week it’s been-
and if only it were just the stars and other
mischievous celestial bodies to blame for
all this sadness and trouble. Certainly, though
they’ve played their part- that hazy yellow pearl
of a full moon in Scorpio seemed to be laughing
at us foolish mortals with our tragedies and terrors.
Don’t even get me started about Mercury Retrograde.
I’ve been dwelling on the recent deaths of two
talented and beautiful young men I knew- Sasha and Steve.
They didn’t know each other-
and maybe I didn’t really know either of them.
They both left too soon, and I’m not sure what
it is that I feel- but my heart hurts.
Furthering the fissures in the cracked tea-cup of my heart-
we made the terrible discovery that our beloved dog-friend
has suddenly become totally blind. Detached retinas.
We’ll hopefully soon find out which of the multitude of
possible causes is responsible- and there’s a chance
that they could re-attach. I’m going to try and be hopeful,
but it’s hard to see him like this- and to think that he may
never get to chase squirrels or sticks again.
We’ll have to be his seeing-eye people!
It’s heartbreaking to see him bump into things-
and to have only his blank, questioning stare
when he used gaze into our eyes so soulfully.
(Photo by Chip Warren)
So please light a candle for our pup
Thelonious, for the traveling souls of those fine fellows,
and for your mama- wherever she may be.
(Bywater Church- I can’t recall who took it.. Perhaps Jose Fernandes?)
I don’t have a lot of words right now, and the ones I do have
I’m sending over phone lines to far-flung dear ones-
so instead, a series of images to illustrate a black mood,
meditations on death and love and all.
Oh yes, and happy Mother’s Day (no, really!)
to all the mamas. Thank you for all you do.
Soon I will have more flowers to festoon,
but in the meantime- I give you from the bee-log archive:
thoughts from Mother’s Days past:
Mother’s Day
and
Todo Sobre Mi Madre
No idea where the following are from,
so if you know- do enlighten me!
Lately, I’ve been feeling an awful lot like this:
Or this:
Also this:
Photograph by Alison Scarpulla
So aware all the time lately of the circle.
Sowing, reaping, birthing, dying
and over and over.
It is hard and it is good
Krewe of Eris – The Feast of the Appetites!
by angeliska on May 4, 2009
I look forward to the Krewe of Eris parade every year- it usually happens
on the weekend before Mardi Gras, and this year (it occurred back in February, mind)
it was quite chilly indeed. Luckily we were all able to augment our ensembles
to accommodate both the theme and the weather! Last year we all dressed
as giant insects for Release the Swarm!– which I adored.
The bug theme got everyone super-inspired, and I so curious to see what
people would come up with for this year’s theme: The Feast of the Appetites!
Of course everyone went all out- mostly food inspired, but I did see a telephone!
We were the Cupcake Brigade!
Of course confectionary won over in our circle, and ingenious cupcake lanterns
were constructed from umbrellas, chiffon and buckram! It was so magical
to see them illuminating the procession through the streets- I wish I could storm
the alleys of the Vieux Carre with my gang of sugar-crazed cupcakes every night!
I was a minty bonbon cupcake- with pink cake inside, my favorite!
(I really did ask for a strawberry birthday cake with mint icing one year!
Pandora made it for me, and it was bizarrely delicious- if a little toothpasty..)
I made my costume that day- the glue on the bonbon fascinator and epaulette
was still not dry even as we were rushing out the door! I was terrified I was
going to lose all my candy in the shuffle- but a Mardi Gras miracle occurred!
I think I lost maybe one? After a night of dancing in the streets? Amazing.
My teeth are black because I ate too much candy! That’s what happens, kids!
Isn’t Miss Angie’s wedding cake costume mindblowing? I wanted to eat her up.
Lester was the cutest damn cake- if only you could have seen this incredibly
tall man bouncing through the parade- he was happiest cake in the whole world!
Miss Raven was a whipped cream cupcake- too delicious, ooh la la!
Sansa Asylum was the Pineapple Princess! She plays accordion
and sings songs with The Yard Dogs Road Show, and has super-human powers.
Seriously. I licked her eyeball when we first met and it was salty. Naturally.
Renee Angelica (aka. Stella Lithe)
her maquillage was truly hypnotic.
I wish I had gotten better pictures of all the fantastic floats and things-
alas, they were moving to fast- and I was dancing! The crazy hungry mouth
above was a receptacle for hundreds of tiny golden goblets that were filled
with homebrewed apple cider. The cider spewed from a spigot on the side
of an enormous gilded apple! There was also a dinner table and chairs
set for a fancy meal of.. poop! Well, chocolate and dates and things that
looked like poop, anyhow. All served on fine silver with white lace tablecloths.
Two ghostly ladies with blackened teeth (Megan + Claire)
were joyfully handing out coprophage-friendly snacks!
It was beautiful and gross all at the same time. I love my friends.
Nina, Lester and Betsy frolicking- footloose and oh so fancy!
The Krewe of Eris was named for the Goddess of Chaos–
She who flung the golden apple. Harbinger of change,
androgynous troublemaker, the all wise mischievous girl-child,
perpetually defiant, protector of insurgents, patron of miscreants,
spinsters, seers, tipplers, dandies, tomboys, vagrants, vandals, and spies.
Pandora was a Devil’s Food Cupcake- is this making you hungry yet?
Pea + Alix, in a moment of hysterical laughter- which there was much of,
despite a few frustrating encounters with the police- Eris prevailed! Hail, Eris!
La Reine Masquée de Mai
by angeliska on May 1, 2009
A belated May day wish is better than none-
I wished so much today to be dancing around
a Maypole, garlanded in roses and festooned with flowers!
Perhaps tomorrow?
I wouldn’t mind swinging in the forest in frills and very high heels, neither.
Or to be crowned the Queen of May, just for a month (or even a day..)
ca. 1926 – Two models posed amid trees and flowers,
wearing masks by the Polish illustrator and painter, W.T. Benda:
Marion Morehouse, left, seated on the ground,
wearing a bouffant dress in white organdy and chiffon;
Helen Lyons, standing with parasol in hand,
wearing a long sleeve dress in printed chiffon by Kargere.
This is one of my favorite images- and I have long loved
the illustration and mask-making of Mr. Wladyslaw Theodor Benda.
Awhile ago I came across the shoot that Tim Walker
did for Vogue Italia entitled Fairy Time that was inspired
by Benda’s work, and the strange concept of having
incredibly beautiful models transformed into living
mannequins by these eerily perfect and utterly immobile masks.
I’ve always been captivated by the original images,
and I like what Walker’s done with the idea-
the evil queens and princesses turned to stone.
You can see the whole spread at Foto Decadent–
be sure to peer at the first two there, with the lopped heads
and apple trees! Obviously, they are my favorites.
I’m not sure where this one came from- but I adore it.
[UPDATE! – photo by Umbo (Otto Umbehr) Thank you, April!]
Look at them kissing! So tender, for wax and plaster.
I am always wishing to stumble upon one of these 1920’s
heads to hang my hats on. I always imagine the abandoned
department stores after the war full of them, glassy eyed
and smiling. So many just tossed in the garbage- I mourn
for them as if they lived! I seem to recall seeing a short film
a while back, about a family of those mannequins living
in a ruined building- it was made using stop-motion animation..
Is that ringing any bells? I’d love to see it again.
Witchness
by angeliska on April 22, 2009
Up late, feelin’ witchy.
It’s very black out-
I can hear tree frogs outside,
the waterfall running into the pond
and something that sounds like a tea kettle whistling.
I didn’t put any water on, though.
Little flittering things are wingy and biting me!
Avaunt, ye beasties! I’ll turn them into seahorses,
and ride away into the sunrise.
(A still from HAXAN- from Mlle. Rebecca’s title card stash)
(from Funambula)
This and the next I love so much- they are shot by Terry Richardson
for Paris Vogue. Found on Hammer of the Witches,
which is one of my new favorite. Always wonderfulness
to be found there, go have a look!
Love love love it! Maybe this is my new look-
eyewhites and rainbow face-paint pentagram.
Only if I can have a wee goatie to tote around!
Satanism as haute couture- certainement!
No idea where this came from,
but isn’t it just the best?
Anybody know, perchance?
(You’ve got to pick up every stitch!)
