"Fabric Artist Wanted...."

I was looking on Baltimore Craigslist for apartments close to MICA, when I noticed there was an Art/Design category in the Jobs section.  Hmmmm.  Click.  One of the newest listings was headlined "Fabric Artist Wanted,"  a phrase I had never seen before.  How wonderful!  Thus began a very interesting collaboration with Todd Broadwater, a talented artist who designs video games and action figures.  He wanted a prototype of a 32" cloth doll of Slender Man-- the internet meme that has taken on an eerie life of its own.  Now he's got it up on Kickstarter, where you can purchase your own for $50.  Here is his daughter with the doll:

 

I worked from Todd's great drawings:

 (As I checked the scale, I kept thinking of the segment from Spinal Tap in which the set designer makes the Stone Henge gate 18 inches instead of 18 feet. Love that tiny stone gate being lowered dramatically from above the stage!)  Here's how it looked in process:
 

 

Somehow I remembered how my Raggedy Ann doll's butt was

hinged for sitting.

 

Here are the pattern pieces for his little suit:

 

And here's the final product:

Now he's loose in the world.  Do visit Todd's Kickstarter page and order your very own Slender Man doll today.  He is also offering some limited edition illustrations that are strange and wonderful.

Sweet dreams!

Fashion Can Be Truly Beautiful... and Hateful



Dress by Mark Jacobs

The last time I was in NYC I picked up a "W" magazine and was blown away by some of the fresh, smart and creative looks I saw.

Dress by Akris

 

Dress by Alexander Wang

 



The prices, of course, are astronomical, but I enjoy looking the same way I enjoy viewing great paintings at a museum that I don't expect to have hanging on my walls in the near future.  And how about these shoes? 

 

 
 
 

Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere

 

Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci

                           

Aldo Shoes

 

"W" magazine even has organic cosmetics reviews to throw a bone to people like me.  But then there is the scandalously awful side of fashion that encourages people to think they have to spend a boatload, or brandish labels or do masochistic things to their bodies to look alright.  No plus-sized models, older people or even many brown-skinned ones held up as beautiful either.  In 2013!  I have since seen "W" cover stories with titles like "What to Inject Where."  ?!  I was particularly hit upside the head by the blasé article titled "Aid to the Pore."  I came across this the same night my son was writing a paper for his English class about  the moral theorist Peter Singer, who posits that anyone living on more than $30,000 is taking from the mouths of the poor.  (All education is subversive, but some of Simon's teachers-- Montgomery County public schools-- are particularly so.  Rock on, Mr. Horn.)  I am a material woman, aesthete, and student of fashion, but I am turned off by the status-conscious, self-annihilating aspects of so much of what I see.  Perhaps the ugly side of fashion is unavoidable.  Clothing is so much about signaling to other homo sapiens, and what some people want to signal with their clothes is their power, wealth or sexual charm.  What do I want to signal?  I am working it out every day.  Stop whining and pick up an issue of BustMagazine, Katy.  Ciao, bellas!

Hello, Feet!

Barefoot Crochet Sandals by AkBro on Etsy

 

I am on a something of a blogging hiatus while I work on separating my life from my husband's.  (Figuring out what parts to separate and what parts to keep intact while we transition to the nesting model of childcare takes a lot of care and emotional energy.)   Meanwhile, I have also put off  the seasonal ritual of treating my feet to a lovely pedicure and letting them see the sun through sandals once again.  I was determined this time to seek out an eco-friendly spa that would not use the many toxic chemicals used in nail polish and polish remover (especially toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and formaldehyde ).  So my feet continue to wait.  Then today I came across this terrific blog post  in a lovely blog called Gratitude 2013 about a spot nearby in Silver Spring.  (Thank you, Universe!)
 

 

 

It's called The Emerald Door.  Let's visit. 
 
If you know of other eco-friendly spas in the DC area, please add them in the comment section.  I will not likely be able to do a big research project in the short term. 
 

Peep-Toe Shoes from Etsy Shop Masa & John

 

Hello, shy feet!  No pedicure is fine too!