WTD?: Breeze

The word that came out of the random word generator this week for What the Doodle? was Breeze. Here's what we came up with.


Tami Wicinas



Renee Kurilla



Taryn Johnson



Bob Flynn



John Lechner



Hannah O'Neal


Be sure to check back in a couple weeks for the next word.

WTD?: Daylight

The word that came out of the random word generator this week for What the Doodle? was Daylight. Here's what the FableVision crew came up with.


Renee Kurilla



John Lechner



Keith Zulawnik



Hannah O'Neal



Tami Wicinas



Peter H. Reynolds


Check back soon for the next word.

What the Doodle!? FV's Ocean Art Show

This winter, in lieu of our biweekly What the Doodle! challenge, the FV team took a few months to complete artwork based on a theme. Collaboratively, we chose the theme: OCEAN!

Scroll down to see some imaginative, brilliant, and resourceful art made by the FableVision team!

And look forward to the return of our biweekly WTD postings! 

All images above display the making of the collaborative META MAKI Sushi Showstopper. Brian Grossman, fearless leader and creative mastermind teaches some FableVisionaries how to roll sushi!

 It might have started as a joke, but James Murphy's installation piece turned into quite the group project!

above artwork by: Taryn Johnson

above artwork by: John Lechner

above artwork by: Brice Norton

above artwork by: Tami Wicinas

 above artwork by: Bob Flynn

above artwork by: Keith Zulawnik

above artwork by: Renee Kurilla 

*My work was originally done for the Ripple Project headed by Kelly Light. (and a little James cameo in this photo as well!)

Thanks to Keith for taking all these oh-so-magical photos!

The Nutcracker - retelling a classic tale

The Nutcracker is an unlikely classic that has taken many forms. It began as a dark tale by E.T.A. Hoffman, was sweetened by Alexandre Dumas, and turned into a ballet by Tchaikovsky and choreographers Petipa and Ivanov. Even then it wasn’t an instant success, and it took years for the ballet to become the beloved Christmas tradition it is today. (Check out this video to learn more about the ballet’s history.)

So why is it so popular? The ballet itself retains barely a hint of the original story, but enough to make an impression. The story seems to strike a chord the way the best fairy tales do, using fantastical situations to draw out our childhood dreams (a land of sweets) and fears (a wicked mouse king.)

Many artists have been inspired to reinterpret the story in books and films. Just this month saw the release of The Nutcracker in 3D, a steampunk adventure loosely inspired by the original story. The film has been unanimously panned by critics (it got a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes!) Other film versions have been more successful, but it isn’t easy to reinterpret a story that everyone thinks they know, as you end up trying to please all parties.

Book adaptations have fared somewhat better, perhaps because a single author or illustrator can bring more artistic focus to the retelling, as opposed to the layers of committee that steer large films. Here are just a few of the Nutcracker books that have been published over the years. It’s interesting to see the variety of interpretation, yet there are consistencies too, which is important in retelling a familiar tale. As the new movie version shows, a radical reinterpretation of a classic is indeed possible, but it's a hard nut to crack.

Illustrated by Gennady Spirin
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Illustrated by Maurice Sendak
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Illustrated by Susan Jeffers
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Retold by Deborah Hautzig, Illustrated by Diane Goode
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Retold by Stephanie Spinner, Illustrated by Peter Malone
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Illustrated by Warren Chappell
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Retold by John Cech, illustrated by Eric Puybaret
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Illustrated by Julie Paschkis
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Retold by Karen Kain, illustrated by Rajka Kupesic
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Illustrated by Allison Jay
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Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
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WTD?: Ricochet

After a few months off, we're back! The word that came out of the random word generator this week for What the Doodle? was RICOCHET. Here's what the FableVision crew came up with.


John Lechner



Bob Flynn



Renee Kurilla



Hannah O'Neal



Taryn Johnson

Stop by in another few weeks for a new word!

Tasty Pizzamation!

I stumbled upon this tasty tidbit on my search for global creativity... Why am I not surprised that the Japanese cooked this up? Imagine if your pizza toppings were actually weird living things? Wouldn't that make you hungry to devour a few slices? Well, here it is - a hot and tasty a slice of surreal Japanese pizza!

There Once Was a Dog

There Once Was a Dog is an award-winning Russian animated film by Eduard Nazarov - made in 1983. Great piece of storytelling - very funny and touching.