LIZ BOULTON, PART II: OF GOLDEN PUPPIES & EASTER EGGS

[caption id="attachment_902" align="aligncenter" width="562"] A first glimpse of costume designer Terry Dresbach's wee puppy, Cuilean. Photo, Terry Dresbach[/caption]     CRITTER CAPERS & OUTLANDER SHENANIGANS For costume maker and embroidery whiz, Liz Boulton, her work on Outlander/Starz begins with Highlander--and puppy--kits and kilts, circles through 18th century wardrobes of France and returns to home turf in Scotland. “Well, mind, we started with six people in the workroom for Season 1. Terry Dresbach (@OutlanderCostum) had said to Ron D. Moore (Outlander’s…

MAGIC-MAKER: COSTUMES, ART & SO MANY CRITTERS – Part I

    [caption id="attachment_932" align="aligncenter" width="472"] A Lady's18th-century embroidery kit[/caption] OUTLANDER COSTUME MAKER: LIZ BOULTON Viewers adore the lush costumes in each episode of the Outlander_Starz series that enrich Diana Gabladon's epic story. And many wish they could work in the rooms where Terry Dresbach's costuming vision comes to life. Well, one artist does just that, from planting "Easter Eggs" within the costumes, to researching dread diseases of the 18th century, the talented Liz Boulton imbues Outlander/Starz costuming with a…

Bouton Barks, Cooklander & Helping Others

DOG DOCTORS, COOKBOOKS AND COMPASSION ... OH MY!   “…he looked vaguely like a cross between a poodle and a dachshund, with a rough, kinky coat whose fringes fluttered along the edges of a wide belly and stumpy bowed legs.” Dragonfly In Amber, Diana Gabaldon "Scamp" from Outlander Starz Season 2 looks to be a Border-Cairn terrier sort of mix. What kind of dog are you in real life @Bouton_Barks? Your age? Poodle mix. My mother was poodle but my…

Dr. Bouton, Calling Dr. Bouton!

BOUTON THE SUPER SNIFFER To Claire Fraser, Bouton, the extra-sensory dog/triage specialist in Diana Gabaldon's second book, Dragonfly In Amber, seems more a canine magician than scruffy pup. Still, after watching his gift for sniffing out illness and injury while working at the L'Hôpital des Anges, Claire comes to believe in his ability to hunt down hidden injuries and illnesses, and to even sense the hearts of humans. When reading Gabaldon's books 20-plus years ago, I had never heard of…

Clarence the Mule Is Only Half-ass, Part II

A MULIE IN WAITING* *EDITOR'S DISCLAIMER: Donas The Horse wrote the headlines and conducted this interview! 9. Peppermints or Studmuffins? PEPPERMINTS?!?  I crunch them between me teeth, then suck on me minty tongue till I feel a mulie happy-place wrap around me in misty pink fog. Clar's brain gets fuzzy thinking about all the sparkly minty colors--red, green, blue, yellow. Oh, the most beautiful rainbow in the world. Look ... Ooo the icy blue ones are so mintfully cool. Mountain…

So You Want to be an Outlander Extra?

Photo: Outlander Starz  Ponytail and grizzled beard anyone? (Goodwin second from right) RONNIE B. GOODWIN: MAD HORSE SKILLS, A GREAT FACE, AND ONE ITCHY WIG For bewhiskered Ronnie Goodwin, or "Dougal's Uncle" as some fans call him, becoming one of Outlander's four "heroic Highlander" extras might be seen as a boon from the faeries, the dumb luck of a keystroke, or perhaps a combination of both. "I was browsing Facebook and saw an ad pop up for 'Horsemen Wanted', so…

Do You Know the Horse People of Outlander?

WHO IS THIS MYSTERIOUS HORSEWOMAN? HINT: SHE KNEW THE ORIGINAL "LUCAS" THE FRIESIAN HORSE ... Meet  Barbara Schnell, decades-long friend of Outlander author Diana Gabaldon. Schnell is a world famous equine photographer/commentator - see her work at  http://www.bschnell.de/ - and is also the English-to-German translator of the Outlander book series. Barbara lives in Germany and currently owns four magnificent black Friesians, the breed featured in the Starz production of Outlander. Schnell began riding as a teenager, left the sport, then returned…

Welcome to Outlander Animals

Welcome to the barking, braying, mewing, and cooing world of the Outlander Animals crew from the bestselling Outlander book series by Diana Gabaldon. This happy space examines the rich “critter culture” that is so much a part of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander world, both in her books and the resulting Outlander Starz television series. As avid readers and viewers of the Outlander books and Starz series, we all know that “Dr. G”, as our assistant editor Clarence the Mule calls her,…