Friday, June 17, 2011

Exclusive Jessica Rabbit Artist Interview - Wendy Gell



When looking at the jewelry created by Wendy Gell, I feel that Disney certainly became inspired by her work in more recent years – as proof with their own pavé crystal pins becoming a staple in their Holiday Princess series. Wendy’s sculpted pins were quite different from the flat cloisonné pins we know today, but she was the first to use crystals on Disney character pins – and the first to create a Jessica Rabbit series. She also pioneered the movement of putting characters in different costumes – something that is now very common with modern day pins. What was her experience like working at Disney? Which real-life Princess received a Jessica Rabbit pin? What was Disney’s opinion of the Jessica character? Find out!




Through the Seventies and on into the Eighties, Wendy Gell's designs were on the cover of Vogue and in thousands of editorials in magazines all over the world. Wendy created sequined Disney characters such as Roger and Jessica Rabbit, Wizard of Oz jewelry, and masks from The Phantom of the Opera. She designed special pieces for Bill Blass, Oscar de laRenta, and Louis Dell'Olio. Her company specialized in a "different" look that is very whimsical and unique. Many of the fabulous large cuff bracelets were one-of-a-kind or part of a limited edition.



Her worldwide client list includes celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Isabella Rossilini, and Cher. Wendy Gell jewelry can also be found in the private collections of: Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Hillary Clinton, the late Andy Warhol and Princess Diana.

Now Wendy is back designing not only jewelry but paintings and various gifts as well. She creatively adorns mirrors, dolls, goblets and more with the same pop art style she is known for.


I was honored to have a phone interview with Wendy Gell, and she shed so much light on the beginnings of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and gave details about one of the very first Jessica Rabbit collectibles ever – her amazing and highly sought after pins.


ImNotBad:
Your merchandise was among the very first Jessica Rabbit items to ever be released. Even in the early days of the Disney Store, they had your work sold in there quite often.

Wendy Gell:
Yes. It was great. The pins were sold at the parks also.



INB:
How did you start working for Disney?

Wendy:
I was at the Prêt-à-Porter I think, a trade show in New York. I had my line out there. A lady came by and asked if I’d be interested in having a Disney license. I was just so excited. Time went by and we signed the contract. We didn’t know how extensive it would be at first.



INB:
Do you remember the first pins you created for Disney?

Wendy:
There was a series of Mickey and Minnie. There was a bigger five inch pavé pin of Mickey and also pavé earrings that were about two inches. We had the characters in unusual situations. I had Minnie as The Statue of Liberty and Daisy Duck as Marilyn Monroe. I also created Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.



INB:
Over the years, Disney began to utilize different materials on their pins, like pavé crystals. I can’t help but think that your work somehow influenced that.

Wendy:
Oh yes. Before that, Mickey Mouse never really had rhinestones on him.



INB:
What was your experience like working at Disney?

Wendy:
When I was working on a Fantasia product, we worked with really cool artists at Disney. We were originally supposed to design a scarf but it was made into a poster. I worked with a woman and she talked about what worked in design. She said, “big, little, big, little.” She was drawing the hippo and ostrich. I thought it was so funny. Then I designed where I wanted things to go and the border. It was really an honor to work with these people. I knew a lot of the old guys from Disney, the animators. We’d meet them at the conventions. A couple of them drew pictures for me and signed them. It was so much fun.




INB:
How did Disney approach you about creating Roger Rabbit merchandise?

Wendy:
Disney came to the licensees and presented a program. It was really fun to watch Disney at work. They were so professional. It was so fun and interesting. They presented a package, with folders of ideas, the colors used in the movie, different character poses. When I heard Disney and Warner Brothers were going to be working together for the first time I was excited at the idea of the marriage of the characters. Of course I signed on.



INB:
Did you begin to have ideas of what kinds of pins you wanted to create of the characters?

Wendy:
Yes, they gave us material too, and promotional video tapes with scenes and preproduction art from the movie. That was exciting. We flew to LA for a presentation with all the licensees of Disney from different divisions. Steven Spielberg was there. Michael Eisner was there. It was a fabulous party with this amazing buffet. Every event I went to that the Disney Company put on was just so fabulous. They are really good at that. It was great. I was going to meet Steven Spielberg at the cocktail party after, but that was the terrible Black Monday when the stock market crashed – the day of the Roger Rabbit meeting. Steven Spielberg disappeared; everybody disappeared to check with their brokers.



INB:
When you saw Jessica Rabbit, were you surprised by her sexy look?


Wendy:
Oh yeah, it was really sexy. Well, Betty Boop was sexy but there weren’t many sexy cartoon characters. There was Betty and Veronica, but Jessica was really the first one who was so sexy and glamorous. The voice was fantastic, and the artwork was mind-blowing. I immediately thought of a brooch, and that she would be in a dramatic, glamorous pose.




INB:
Can you explain a little about how the pins were created?

Wendy:
We had to have the Disney artist do the drawing for us so it would be perfect. We had a Disney model-maker create it in wax, as big as the pin was going to be. You could imagine how hard it was to get the face right being so small. Then it was cast in metal, they spin them around and the metal goes in to six different areas where it’s poured into the Jessica Rabbit mold. After that they sand it, they plate it - then we painted it and added pavé crystals. It’s a really expensive and lengthy process. They were probably $150 back in 1988.



INB:
Did you find that Roger and Jessica were popular characters?

Wendy:
I have no Roger Rabbit stuff left at all. I tried to keep one of each thing, but it just didn’t happen. People would beg me for them and I sold my last one – like the Roger Rabbit face with the big ears. Boy, do I wish I had one of those. There were plain metal and plain painted pins. The best were the ones that were pavé and enamel.



INB:
What do you think Disney’s opinion of the Jessica Rabbit character was? Were they afraid she was too sexy or shapely?

Wedny:
Jessica Rabbit was like the million-dollar babe. I thought they just adored her. I never heard anything negative. We went to a lot of parties and I never got anything that she was too sexy or they weren’t happy with her. Disney themselves gave Princess Diana a Jessica Rabbit pin and she absolutely loved it. Disney gave it at the premiere. So I would say that Disney was not afraid of Jessica Rabbit.




INB:
How was the Disney line you created received by people?

Wendy:
When I started my line, Disney was starting to do really creative stuff. When it hit it was just bonkers. Every city I went to I went on television. I was Oprah’s favorite jewelry designer. She had 37 pairs of my earrings. I was scheduled to go on her show. I just came back from a tour of the California Disney Stores and was so tired and didn’t know if I could do it. Her producers called and said, “Please, Oprah just loves your stuff and wants to have you on.” I said ok and she was just terrific. She said to her audience, “Because I love Wendy Gell so much, I wanted to share her with you.”




INB:
There are many celebrities that love your work. Do you have any stories you can share with us about celebrities and your Disney line?

Wendy:
Steven Spielberg’s office called my office and said they wanted to buy 12 champagne glasses or flutes. Each one was going to be decorated with a character from Roger Rabbit and he was going to have a party. I’m sure people at the party got to take them home. I imagine people like Kathleen Turner and everyone from the inner circle could have been there.

Bernadette Peters also has a Jessica pin I gave her when we were at The Outsider Art Show in New York. I ran into her and she was telling me how much she liked my jewelry, so I took my Jessica Rabbit pin off my jacket and gave it to her. Instead of pinning it on her dress she stuck in between her bosoms with Jessica sticking out - close to her heart.

I was actually supposed to meet Michael Jackson one time when I was doing a show at the Disney Store. He collected my stuff. He liked to collect the pavé and painted pins. We wound up going to different stores, so I didn’t get to meet him. But, I got a really nice picture of him written in big magic marker saying, “Wendy, Love you. Thanks, Michael Jackson.”

I also heard that Princess Diana became interested in my work after she got the Jessica Rabbit pin.



INB:
What are some of the more rare Disney items in your collection?

Wendy:
I have a Jessica Rabbit corduroy jacket Disney gave to licensees. It was a limited edition. There is a Jessica Rabbit scarf I designed. I also made a Jessica Rabbit silk shirt out of the scarves. There’s only one in the world. We also made gloves. I had appliqués made of beads – Jessica was sewn on one hand and Roger on the other. I think I still have a few left. I have a really rare one we did from Dick Tracy. It’s Mickey Mouse wearing the Dick Tracy hat. I have some Dick Tracy jewelry still. I have the radio watches that are pavé and enamel. We also made the little yellow hats. Someone from Disney bought a set I made that was Snow White and all the Seven Dwarfs on a goblet. That’s a real collector’s piece.




INB:
They have talked about a Roger Rabbit sequel for so long. Do you have any knowledge on it?

Wendy:
Disney wanted something so utterly different than the first Roger Rabbit movie. I have a script that was never made. [Roger Rabbit creator] Gary Wolfe collects my stuff. We know each other. He liked the Jessica pins a lot. He wrote a script that had my name in it. One of the characters was named Wendy, a wannabe actress who was Jessica Rabbit’s roommate. I thought that was cool.



INB:
Were there any items you had in mind that never got produced?

Wendy:
I had large pins made of plastic I wanted to sell on the mass market for about $25. I did that with Baby Herman and also Jessica Rabbit. I did a four inch Jessica Rabbit pin in a different pose that didn’t go into production. Some Baby Herman’s did get made but they are super rare.




INB:
Of all the character jewelry you created, who is the most popular?

Wendy:
The two best selling characters of all time were Jessica Rabbit and The Tin Man. I did many characters. Dorothy, Cinderella – but Jessica was pretty much number one, next to Tin Man.




INB:
Jessica Rabbit had her own store. Did you ever get a chance to visit it?

Wendy:
Yes my stuff was in there. We headed to Disney World for an event and I saw that store.

Those were some of the most fun days – when doing Roger Rabbit.


To Learn More About Wendy Gell - Please Visit Her Site