"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!

My Dream of Jeannie

The subtitle of my blog is "Thoughts on fabric art, eco-fashion and more," but I haven't written much on my fabric art.  In fact I haven't written much at all in the past month, because I have been pushing on an installation project that has been simmering on a back burner for a while.  I have been building my version of the bottle set from the I Dream of Jeannie show, and making Jeannie/Major Nelson costumes.  This is not as frivolous as it sounds.  Check out my Kickstarter project page to learn my thinking on this one.  If it piques your interest, please donate.  I am especially eager to get some $15 donors who will offer a rewrite of the story for my e-book.  I have two already.  And the set looked awesome at the metal fabricators' last week!  Off in a puff of pink smoke....

Holly Bass on Vintage

I had the good fortune to have lunch with Holly Bass at Mark's Kitchen recently to ask her about  vintage dressing in DC.  For those of you who do not know Holly, she was voted “Best Performance Artist” in 2012 by the Washington City Paper.  She is also the founder of The Seersucker Social, which happens every year in June at the Hillwood Mansion.  In addition, she's a dancer, a poet and a journalist, and a very warm, thoughtful and humorous person with a great sense of style.  So  who better to talk about vintage with?

Katy: I noticed in the transfixing video you did with Gregory Porter for his song "Be Good"  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HvpIgHBSdo)  that you wore a lovely vintage outfit.  Why did you choose that look? 

Holly: I wanted it to be classic and timeless and not specific to 2012.  Also the skirt needed to flow.  It needed twirlability.  I also find it easier to find what I'm looking for at thrift stores and on E-bay, so it's largely for lack of time.

K: How did the Tweed Ride and Seersucker Social start? 

H: Eric Brewer organized the first Tweed Ride in 2009 after hearing about a similar event in London, and I think it created a fashion shift here.  It reminded me how pleasurable it is to walk around looking put-together or wearing a hat.  It harks back to another era with different rules of etiquette.  I had an older gentleman hail me a cab once when I was wearing a vintage outfit.

The Tweed Ride was such a success that it seemed a shame to have to wait a whole year for another one, so I said, "How about seersucker in summer?"  Eric was thinking the same thing so the Seersucker Social was born.  Hillwood Mansion seemed like the perfect site, and they were very welcoming of the event.  That first year, we put the whole thing together in three weeks.  Now we start 6 months in advance.

K: I have been struck that the people who come seem relaxed,  joyful and improvisational in their dressing.  It isn't stuffy at all to my thinking.

H:  There is a similar event on Governor's Island in New York where they are more precise and historically accurate, but I think we have higher attendance numbers.

K:  Where do you like to shop for vintage clothing?

H:  There are lots of great vintage stores in town.  I love the sale they have at Polly Sue's where you get to fill up a paper bag.  Sometimes I go to pop-up shops like those put together by Butler + Claypool.  I liked the store Annie Creamcheese, but it's closed.

K: And on-line?

H:  I enjoy the blog, The President Wears Prada, and I like Modcloth.  I also like to browse on E-bay for certain timeless designers like Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenberg and Givenchy.

K: Do you make your costumes for your performance pieces?  Tell me a bit about your process.

 H: Well, I tend to have an idea of what I want.  First I go to my costume box and work with what I have.  I have four under-the-bed storage boxes full of stuff.  Then I look on-line and in thrift stores for other things I need.  For the Money Maker piece at the Corcoran I wanted a 70's polyester pantsuit.  I worked with artist Sarada Conaway to bedazzle the belt and get that James Brown look.  And I added the gold booty balls. 

 

For the recent piece, "Girls in White Dresses"  I used curtain panels, a slip and a dress that I had.  I worked with Lisa Markuson on that costume.

K: Tell me about the super-high platforms you wore in that:

H: A friend gave me the shoes and I looked on-line for how to make platforms.  You use foam core insulation because it's hard and light.  I cut it to the shape I wanted with a steak knife and sanded it.  There was duck tape involved too.

K:  What's up next for you?  I see on your website that you're hosting  the Wednesday Open Mic Night February 6 at the 5th & K Busboys and Poets.  And I know you're working on a video of a performance piece called  "Race: Talc and Ash"....

H: I'll be doing a new work at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art on Saturday March 9th, in honor of International Women's Day. That show is free to the public. And I'll be presenting Keepin It Moving at the Reston CenterStage on April 13th.

K:  Well, I love what you do and can't wait to see what you have in store for us in 2013.

Holiday Bounty

The holidays often entail lots of stuff.  Toward the end of the winter break, I finally asked my kids to put away their presents, and the 13-year-old whined, "What's with all the housework?!"  Suck it up, little man.  No one said being upper middle class was going to be easy! 

I gave my Mom a fridge magnet stocking stuffer (SOoo necessary) a few years back that says, "She believed that the holidays were no time to show restraint."  Actually my parents do not get me a lot of stuff.  Despite all physical signs to the contrary, they seem to think I am still a teen, and they give me money-- which I enjoy spending on my favorite eco-friendly/fabric art finds.  Here's what I splurged on this year: 

This from Baltimore fabric artist Lauren Hinds.  This padded laptop holder looks like a manila folder down to its closure and silk-screened postage.

 

I first came across her work at the Vis ArtsCenter in Rockville.  Lauren's Etsy shop shows some of her smaller items, but she also does fanciful chair refashioning work that is tremendous.

This next goodie was no splurge at a wildly inexpensive $10.  Sorry, I got the only one of these:

 

But there are many other great upcycled finds at Etsy's Rehashed Fashion:

 

Looking for something a little more office-friendly?  Check out the tremendous fair-trade African fabric peplums at fashion-conscience.com.  The company Fair+True makes them-- plus peplum skirts, plus lots of other great clothing-- in all different patterns,.  I got the orange and blue top on the far left.

 

Speaking of fashion-conscience.com, I have a very stylish friend Leslie Zucker, who came across the brand "Skunkfunk" on a recent trip in Spain.  She suggested I check them out; then there they were comprising a bunch of the bestsellers on fashion-conscience: 

 

 

Good synchronicity, huh? I can vouch for their stuff because it looked great on Leslie!  By the way she's a life coach, if you're looking to make a new start in 2013.  Happy New Year, fabulous people!

 

So Charmed!

I always love to see what Jodi Bloom is up to.  Her current flights of fancy include some of the best refashioned ties I've seen:

From the "Boredroom" Series

Some gorgeous clothing items in a variety of styles:

 

This from Howlpop and...

 

....this from London in the 60's?

Plus some of her off-the-chain jewelry.  (Just stop trying to put her on the chain already!)

 

 Bones and Candy Necklace

Do stop by her "So_Charmed" world.  She's local, so you might be able to snag a last-minute-but-favorite-Christmas-gift-ever.  Ciao, bellas!

Have to Kvetch about Beloved Google

I am very unhappy to see Google changing its culture and INCONVENIENCING ME.  They are making it more and more difficult for me to share my blogposts directly to facebook.  Instead "sharing" gives me all sorts of "opportunities" to share on Google + with my Google circles.  I don't want to create a parallel facebook world.  For them to make a profit off of.  I like facebook and the current level of complexity in my life.  Cut it out google!  There.  I told them.

Hello? Are there campaigns about this?  Can I join?  Can I jam up their phones or something delightfully retro like that?  Occupy google!  Turn back the tide!

Ugli Tie Wallhanging

I have just finished a couple of fun commissions.  They seemed to me a bit like Project Runway challenges-- in each case someone came to me with a box of unconventional materials and said, "Can you make something from this on a deadline?" Fortunately the deadline was much more than 24 hours, and the clients much more helpful than Heidi Klum.  I'll share the interesting challenge of one of these today:  The Ugli Tie challenge.  (I'll show off the TYVEK ruffle wedding pillow another time....)  

A woman who had seen my Artomatic installation thought I might be just the person to make something from her husband's ugly tie collection.  Her husband gets a kick out of outlandish ties and had a box of well over 100 labeled UGLY TIES.  He had collected them over many years from thrift stores and helpful friends.  It was an exquisite collection.   

One person's ugly is, of course, another person's FABULOUS, which is why I have changed the word to "ugli."  There were some skinny silk 50's ties, wide polyester 70's ties, Oleg Cassini luxury looks and heartfelt but ill-advised crafty projects.  They were each wonderful in their own way.

The task was to create a large (3-foot wide by 4-foot high) piece to hang above the stairs to the 2nd floor, where it would be seen when someone descended.  I was instructed not to make anything too "Kountry Kraft" in spirit and to be more 2-dimensional than 3-dimensional.  We also agreed to keep some "Tieness" rather then cut all into tiny pieces. Here's the finished wallhanging.

The problem that presented itself was how to make something that was not just a dizzying swim of patterns and colors.  I took some of the more outlandish and detailed prints and put them in a lower corner where they could be viewed at closer range.   

Then to give the eye places to rest I introduced a few plain ties.  From the MANY remaining ties, I chose a grouping that repeated blues, browns, oranges and whites and also stripes and polka dots.  My hope was to use these repeating themes to give the eye a way to travel around and make connections.  

I did most of the sewing by hand, affixing all to a stretched painter's canvas, which served as a huge embroidery hoop.  Then I covered the back, finished the edges and added a rod pocket.  I enjoyed working with the ties and was able to finish the gift in time for the couple's anniversary.  Happy 20th Gina and Kevin!

Reuse AND Recyle

Just a quick post:  I like REUSEIT.com.  Not only do they have lots of handy products like purse-size shopping bags, reusable lunch sacks and the like, but many of the products are made from recycled plastic.  And the prices are good.  And they have a simple website and speedy service.  S'all good.  I buy a couple of their lunch bags every school year.  These are only $6.97 each now on sale:

It is really much earlier than I want to be thinking about back to school, but I thought you should know about their summer sale.  See coupon code below.



That's all.  Stay cool!

Bill Cunningham of Beijing

I'm in Beijing.  I have seen a lot of wonderful clothes.  From the Chinese designers in the Beijing editions of Vogue and Harpers to the stunning silk updates of classic Chinese silhouettes in the 798 art district.  Today I had lunch with two very sophisticated international women who were wearing gorgeous outfits.  Here's Xu Ting in Etro  (http://www.etro.com/ )

and Miao Lu in a lovely crimped silk dress. 

I am particularly taken by the street fashion, however.  Bless the Chinese;  they started the ball rolling by randomly asking my husband to pose for photos with them in front of the Forbidden City.  This let me know that anyone who caught my fancy was fair game as well.  I could thoroughly enjoy a life as the Bill Cunningham of Beijing.  (If you have not seen the documentary about this NYTimes street fashion photographer, I highly recommend it.  http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/billcunninghamnewyork/)  The clothing in this free-wheeling Asian capital is far more whimsical and daring than in DC.  Start with the parasol, for example.  I think it takes some feminine chutzpah to carry a parasol.  And women here carry them ruffled, spangled and otherwise thoroughly embellished.  This modern day Jackie O carried an understated one especially well.

This outfit may have been my favorite, but it's hard to choose.  Please feel free to weigh in.

The orange ruched blouse, fluffy leopard skirt, blue tights and mustard shoes seemed an inspired combo.

As did this one on the right with the pink cropped top over striped dress over jeans shorts with tights and turquoise platforms.  She must get her love of clothing from her Mom.  I'll bet that Mao jacket never quite suited her.

This woman, from one of the southern minorities, was wearing a lovely and modest green dress with a raw silk striped apron. Really one can hardly notice the clothes for her smile.

The young woman in the pink capri suit with the touristy hat was utterly adorable.



and speaking of cute.

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The prize for the best-dressed man goes to this gentleman from a foreign delegation.  I was unable to ask where he was from, as speaking Chinese entirely pushed the French out of my head.  If you can tell from the fabric, please help.


When I was teaching in China in the 80's one of my students, after seeing my slides of DC, asked, "Why are all the buildings white?"  Surely we do not have quite the Chinese love of bold color and pattern mixing.  I must say I have been influenced by the Chinese, though.  Below is the upcycled peacock cheong sam/qi pao I made for an Oscar party:

But I was also influenced by the Icelandic/Macedonian singer/designer team of Bjork and
Marjan Pejoski:

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world no?  Katy Kincade signing off from Beijing.