Blog: Christiane Cegavske

Christiane Cegavske, based in Elkton/Oregon, is an exeptional artist. She calls herself creator of many things, and indeed she is: filmmaker, animator, painter, writer, seamstress and sculptor.

Her first handmade stop motion animated film is a fairy tale for adults: Blood Tea and Red String, finished after 13 years of production in 2006. It appears to stand in the tradition of the great works of the czech surrealists such as filmmaker Jan Svankmajer.

Filmstil from Blood Tea and Red String © Christiane Cegavske

“The dialogue free film tells the tale of the struggle between the aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak over the doll of their heart’s desire. The Mice commission the Oak Dwellers to create a beautiful doll for them. When she is complete, the Creatures fall in love with her and refuse to give her up. Resorting to thievery the Mice abscond with her in the middle of the night. The Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak journey through a mystical land to reclaim their love.” This amazing film with its poetic yet humorous story was the first film in an upcoming trilogy.

The second film will be called Seed in The Sand.

“Though this film takes place in the same world, it is in a distant time and place from the land where Blood Tea and Red String took place. The creatures here are similar but of another race. Seed in the Sand opens where Blood Tea and Red String ends, in the live action world inhabited by the masked woman. She is in a burned and lifeless forest, dressed in a red coat carrying a red bag. After digging a small hole she reaches into the red bag, pulls out the large golden gem and plants it in the ground. When she has departed, small white creatures with long pointy ears and red beaks emerge from their nests to watch the spot until one day a sprout emerges. This sprout grows into a large bush with leaves of book pages and a white cloth pod sewn up with red stitching. After dreaming of an island shrine, one of the white creatures plucks the precious pod and goes away with it across the sea of sand in a boat made of a discarded map, abandoning his mate and their egg.”

The movie is still in production we can only wait patiently for this exiting movie to be finished. Keep updated about the making of Seed in The Sand on its Facebook Page.