Thought it was about time I told you about my entry into WOW (world of wearable ART awards, ) for 2008.
I had started on a needlepointed concept for the childrens section. But half way through , I had a change of heart...of course! I think the design will be lost on a ballet tutu ,which is the requirement for the childrens section this year.We are expected to enter something that reinterprets the basic ballet TUTU shape and style. My needlepointed design looked lovely, but for all the work it entailed, It needs to be on a larger scale, to truly come to life on the stage.
I started thinking about kids..dancing...the shape of the TUTU and what else it reminded me of.
I brainstormed words like ..graceful, twirling, rules, round, structured, ordered, tight, balance,tempting, pretty, delicate, dance, music, song , tip toe , decadent. Then I got busy drawing ! The results were a lot of fun!
So. with only 4 weeks until it was due in, and not to mention major oral surgery scheduled in the middle of that...I got cracking!
I pulled out the words I needs to design 2 giant dinner plates and give the concept a name '' A song and Dance at dinnertime''. In New Zealand this terminology is used to mean 'making a fuss' at the dinner table, be it refusing to eat dinner or playing with the food! I decided it would be fun to have 2 contrasting plates, playing on stage.One would be anything but graceful..and the other very much so!
It seemed obvious after making the first plate ..that I needed a dessert plate to complete the concept.
To a child dessert is the one thing that MIGHT get them eating their dinner. For many the dream of dessert dances around in their head, and there is nothing that can make them eat dinner! For many parents it is the prize bribe, to get that broccoli down!
I therefore made a plate of spaghetti and meatballs still being served from a pot and a dessert you would expect only in a top restaurant or childs imagination...:)
I Pulled out my knitting needles and started making loads and loads of knitted cords,over 400 which had come from unravelled second hand cream jerseys.I then felted them up to 3 times each to get the 'spaghetti" texture required.
I dyed wool, knitted it, recycled it and manipulated it!
My teeth were pulled under general anaesthetic 2 weeks into the process, and believe me. .getting back to the task after developing a condition called dry socket was very very hard. It meant that I was slower and less focused, thanks to excruciating pain from the exposed bone and nerves. I was on 22 tablets a day at one time..panadein, morphine,= etc
The funny thing..without the costume making around the clock, I think I would have been FAR more grumpy about the pain and lack of feeling one one side of my face..(did I mention I ended up with major nerve damage and had an allergic reaction to the clove compress , which had to be removed..half of which I yanked out myself!..and got flu!) .
The wardrobe team were amazing at wow..they were very understanding and I guess believed my ordeal when I handed over half the costume with a swollen face and bruising all down my face and neck!
I loved making this years entry..it was fun! I had my daughter to try both pieces, and imagine them twirling around. spoons and forks part of the fun.spahetti rolling off the fork and plate..the dessert tempting the dinner !
I got my acceptance letter ....so roll on Septeber 26th when prizes are announced.I am up for 6 award categories.
hp planet..for using mostly recycled materials
childrens section...1st, 2nd and 3rd
wow supreme award
runner up to wow
so cross fingers and toes for me.
Feedback has been really positive this year. Wardrobe hinted that the judges really liked them and kids wearing them had a ball. Judges asked me to knit cream underwear for under the skirts..which I had requested if I got through..so I did and they looked very cute! To fit 9 year old girls.!
I will publish photos after Sept 26th..before then I can get disqualified if it is seen.
I will also talk more about the process.
NOTE..
I picked up last years entry. Was a little annoyed they kept it for 12 months and never showed it in the museum. Makes one wonder why they bother?
My question..what do you do with such a mammoth piece now??
1. recycle it into 2 new concepts?
2. exhibit them in a 'bent around the edges' show?
3.donate to a wool shop? lol
Oh..and before you ask about entries for 2009...already started!:) Much to my mother in laws disapproval, who thinks I should give it a rest.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Wearable arts 2007
Here is my inspiration and costume for 2007.
I called this piece ''Moving House.s this REALTY or is it just a dream?'' but the judges asked me to change it once it was accepted to be in the show.I took ages to think of a new name, as I felt the name was perfectly matched to the concept..and the fact it literally was a moving house!
The new name I decided on was ''Kiwi Quarter Acre- Is this REALTY or is it just a dream?''
This was a week before it was completed..giving you the basic idea....the pristene dream house ! All knitted and latch hooked.
This was the back view depicting the reality of realty trends in New Zealand..all the barriers in the way to reaching your dream house...excuse the model who was DEAD tired and far too short and skinny for this! The stairs are hiding under the skirt top. NOTE. the door was left open to show judges the entry point.It was closed with concealed knitted cords and rocks etc.
This is a terrible shot..but it gives a rough Idea of what it would look like on a model .The dress is for a size 12 figure, not a size 8 girl..hence the porch disappearing under the skirt top, even on tip toes!!
The front depicts the dream house we all grew up hoping for. The elusive kiwi quarter acre...perfect!
I started this concept after writing a brief inspiration/concept and drawing up a rough image, not far from what you see now..
(Don't laugh at my BAD drawing skills..I have never been taught to draw or shade..I get my ideas across to myself, so thats all that matters when creating with other materials.
I actually started the whole design from the backyard. I kept coming back to the thought , that no body seems to know each other anymore..it is rare to have your neighbours over for a bbq..I kept recalling my childhood years , so carefree and blissfully unaware of the difficulties to come when I dreamed of owning my own piece of NZ .. like my parents had...
This was the basic feeling, what drove my design in the early stages 3 years ago...
Moving House.
(Is this REALTY or is it a dream)
Inspiration.
style of dress was used to mirror my concept -difficulty moving around and not being able to control where you go or what you do.These dresses restricted where you could fit in So they mirror each other well, showing the restrictive cumbersome thing we carry around like it or not.
Moving house constantly creates new communites who find it harder to plant their roots down .Families are unravelling because of this.
NZ families are accepting this new way of life that is transient.Moving house all the time.
Transient ways of today mean our children are constantly moving house, missing out on a settled childhood . They seem to have lost their sense of belonging...because we uproot and replant then somewhere else all the time.Who really knows their neighbours anymore..do our families grow up together and look out for each other..are we doomed to this being a past trend?
Is it unravelling of the family unit/community./.
Are we paving a path for them..are we affecting our future generations??
When we move house we need to look past the lovely gardens and pretty facade.
Every family dreams of owning their own piece of land..their perfect house and picket fence.It is the ultimate kiwi dream.
Some are lucky enough to achieve this goal, while others have to dream.
You can rent a house, but you never feel like its your home.You can never settle down and truely make it your own.forced to move around when rents go up, landlords decide to have their house back etc..
Heartbreak watching your kids grow up moving from house to house,never being settled as you can never be sure how long you will be in any one place.Constantly being uprooted and unable to plant themselves anywhere long enough to establish their roots in the community...
Behind the facade is the real picture..unravelling families who can’t make this dream a reality.
Instead we are forced to watch other people do-up houses to make a quick dollar.Watch people who are always searching for the perfect house... All we want to do is have the opportunity to stay in one place and finally plant our roots down.
3 YEARS LATER.....this is what judges read.
CONCEPT
***********
The style of the dress was a crucial part of the design process for me.I needed a dress style that was going to show difficulty in movement.. These dresses restricted where you could fit. With renting there is a lack of control where you go and with what you can do.
I created my home...my moving house to express the transient society that has seemingly come to NZ. So much life spent moving from place to place, door to door. Neighbors who you wave to, but not really know...because you’re temporary, soon on to the next place. Maybe its a new job, or income...but its all the same. A moving house. a house you can’t embrace as this dress embraces the model, because its not yours...your soon to be gone.
The front of the dress shows the kiwi dream.One of home ownership..the perfect little house,quarter acre section with picket fence.,beautifully paved with a rose garden to die for! I grew up believing I would one day buy my own house, follow in the traditon of my grandparents and mother..owning my own slice of New Zealand.The path always looked so smooth, so easy to walk down.
(my favourite style of house..the victorian 2 story.I based this design on a house in Nelson, I dearly wanted to buy,but could not afford)This was a few weeks before i handed it over.
The back of the dress shows the reality of realty today!The house appears far less accessible.No windows to see into this house.A door too high to reach..the path to this house blocked by many obstacles.The path is a rocky one to achieve this dream, if at all.
I can plant a garden at my rental home, and watch roots take hold...but those are not my roots. They are not my tangible roots to a community. i watch moving vans and people come and go and know I’m not the only one. It’s everywhere...people moving here and there, never knowing the town they missed, the community they could foster and thrive in. To have common purpose, not moving house...or moving heart.
(these tree was unplanted with roots exposed,subtle, but I knew it was there!)..note this tree is not finished in this photo, it had tonnes of leaves at end)
My dream, our dream really, to have stability and to plant my tangible roots that hold us close and stable in a community. Transient living today means our children are constantly moving house, missing out on a settled childhood. They seem to have lost their sense of belonging, because we uproot and replant them somewhere else all the time. Who really knows their neighbors anymore? Do our families grow up together and look out for each other? Are we doomed to this being a realty trend? It is the unraveling of family, of community.
Every family dreams of owning their piece of land, their perfect house and picket fence. It is the ultimate Kiwi dream. Some are lucky enough to achieve this goal, while others have to dream. You can rent a house, but you never feel like its your home, and you can never settle fully and truly make it yours. Forced to move around when the economy dictates that rent goes up or landlords need to sell, or move back into the house you’re renting.
It is heartbreaking to watch your kids grow up with moving house to house, no foundation of home and community. Friends they have known since childhood and streets they know like the backs of their hands. We are constantly moving, uprooting and unable to plant ourselves anywhere long enough to establish roots and foundations in the community.
Behind the façade is the real picture, unraveling us, our families who can’t make this dream a reality. Instead, we are forced to watch contractors come in to refurbish a home for a quick dollar. Watch people who are always searching for the perfect house. All we want to do is have the opportunity to stay in one place and finnaly plant our roots down. Leave behind our moving house, leave behind the transient lifestyle and afford a home, embrace a community and wear that feeling with pride!
CONSTRUCTION
*****************
The dress is constructed much like a house would be.I built it from a foundation. I placed my dream house into this with recycled parts, like my recycled dream of owning a home, each time renewed with a new rental house...that feeling of i want my own! My own home, so i recycle my dream as i create this moving house.Being a knitwear designer,I really wanted to stretch my skills and have a challenge.Notrhing on this dress was from a pattern,I had to create everything,much like a builder has to with a real house.
The skirt was made by splicing knitwear with latch hooked grass panels.I then set out to plant a garden with knitted flowers and plants. All were handknitted as I believed strongly in the need to stick to the comfort and warmth of wool and the closeknit part being represented. The Latch hooking is something from my childhood that I wanted to incorporate. It is something you want to reach out and touch.Much like the dream house.
I created the grass using balls of NZ wool and wrapping them around a wooden stick to achive a simialar lenght.They were then cut to form approx 50 at a time.In total I used 65 balls of wool,totalling approx 57.000 latches in all.
The knitted parts were all knitted on very fine needles,5 sizes less than usual.I did this to show strength.
The roof and porches were close cell foam as i felt it would still be light enough to manipulate and wear with ease.
They were reinforced with coat hangers!
The pickets and weather boards used 23 balls of wool and were also knitted on fine needles by hand. I used recycled upholstery foam from a friends business..awesome using trim foam BUT boy were they dusty!!
The stained glass door was made using a crotcheted panel and tiny bits of knitwear sewn into the back.
The boulders were recycled foam from out of cars that were being relined etc.I ripped them into chunky pieces and sewed knitwear around them..
This was 3 days before it was due..I had NO sleep at all over the last week..walking Zombie!
The skirt is made from 2 recycled laundry hampers..garden hose on the ends to produce the rounded edges I hoped to achieve.I felt this was best as knitwear is never squared off.It always as a spongy soft look to it.
The frames and connectors were glued together ,before close cell foam was used to cover the frame. Once this was achieved I sewed on the shade cloth and latched onto it.
This garment was started 3 years ago.I have spent up to 20 hours a day doing this,esp for the knitting and the latching.in fact the weeks leading up to handing it in were up to 23 hours over the last month..many no sleep nights!
If i had to add up all the hours it would be equal to...working a fulltime job over a full year! Hope you enjoy!
Sadly. costume was not selected for any prizes in the end..But it did get seen by approx 30,000 people ! Plus I got to see it for a few seconds on the news,which claimed the ones they showed in the background were some of the best...so I was chuffed at that !
If you are not selected for a prize, you MUSt remind yourself of the huge achievement getting it accepted in the first place. Designers come from all over the world now, the calibre is very high, So all is not lost.
Now I have to wait to hear if WOW want to keep my costume for the wearable art museum or not...I'll post when I find out!
In case you are wondering...I have 4 ideas for next year!
I called this piece ''Moving House.s this REALTY or is it just a dream?'' but the judges asked me to change it once it was accepted to be in the show.I took ages to think of a new name, as I felt the name was perfectly matched to the concept..and the fact it literally was a moving house!
The new name I decided on was ''Kiwi Quarter Acre- Is this REALTY or is it just a dream?''
This was a week before it was completed..giving you the basic idea....the pristene dream house ! All knitted and latch hooked.
This was the back view depicting the reality of realty trends in New Zealand..all the barriers in the way to reaching your dream house...excuse the model who was DEAD tired and far too short and skinny for this! The stairs are hiding under the skirt top. NOTE. the door was left open to show judges the entry point.It was closed with concealed knitted cords and rocks etc.
This is a terrible shot..but it gives a rough Idea of what it would look like on a model .The dress is for a size 12 figure, not a size 8 girl..hence the porch disappearing under the skirt top, even on tip toes!!
The front depicts the dream house we all grew up hoping for. The elusive kiwi quarter acre...perfect!
I started this concept after writing a brief inspiration/concept and drawing up a rough image, not far from what you see now..
(Don't laugh at my BAD drawing skills..I have never been taught to draw or shade..I get my ideas across to myself, so thats all that matters when creating with other materials.
I actually started the whole design from the backyard. I kept coming back to the thought , that no body seems to know each other anymore..it is rare to have your neighbours over for a bbq..I kept recalling my childhood years , so carefree and blissfully unaware of the difficulties to come when I dreamed of owning my own piece of NZ .. like my parents had...
This was the basic feeling, what drove my design in the early stages 3 years ago...
Moving House.
(Is this REALTY or is it a dream)
Inspiration.
style of dress was used to mirror my concept -difficulty moving around and not being able to control where you go or what you do.These dresses restricted where you could fit in So they mirror each other well, showing the restrictive cumbersome thing we carry around like it or not.
Moving house constantly creates new communites who find it harder to plant their roots down .Families are unravelling because of this.
NZ families are accepting this new way of life that is transient.Moving house all the time.
Transient ways of today mean our children are constantly moving house, missing out on a settled childhood . They seem to have lost their sense of belonging...because we uproot and replant then somewhere else all the time.Who really knows their neighbours anymore..do our families grow up together and look out for each other..are we doomed to this being a past trend?
Is it unravelling of the family unit/community./.
Are we paving a path for them..are we affecting our future generations??
When we move house we need to look past the lovely gardens and pretty facade.
Every family dreams of owning their own piece of land..their perfect house and picket fence.It is the ultimate kiwi dream.
Some are lucky enough to achieve this goal, while others have to dream.
You can rent a house, but you never feel like its your home.You can never settle down and truely make it your own.forced to move around when rents go up, landlords decide to have their house back etc..
Heartbreak watching your kids grow up moving from house to house,never being settled as you can never be sure how long you will be in any one place.Constantly being uprooted and unable to plant themselves anywhere long enough to establish their roots in the community...
Behind the facade is the real picture..unravelling families who can’t make this dream a reality.
Instead we are forced to watch other people do-up houses to make a quick dollar.Watch people who are always searching for the perfect house... All we want to do is have the opportunity to stay in one place and finally plant our roots down.
3 YEARS LATER.....this is what judges read.
CONCEPT
***********
The style of the dress was a crucial part of the design process for me.I needed a dress style that was going to show difficulty in movement.. These dresses restricted where you could fit. With renting there is a lack of control where you go and with what you can do.
I created my home...my moving house to express the transient society that has seemingly come to NZ. So much life spent moving from place to place, door to door. Neighbors who you wave to, but not really know...because you’re temporary, soon on to the next place. Maybe its a new job, or income...but its all the same. A moving house. a house you can’t embrace as this dress embraces the model, because its not yours...your soon to be gone.
The front of the dress shows the kiwi dream.One of home ownership..the perfect little house,quarter acre section with picket fence.,beautifully paved with a rose garden to die for! I grew up believing I would one day buy my own house, follow in the traditon of my grandparents and mother..owning my own slice of New Zealand.The path always looked so smooth, so easy to walk down.
(my favourite style of house..the victorian 2 story.I based this design on a house in Nelson, I dearly wanted to buy,but could not afford)This was a few weeks before i handed it over.
The back of the dress shows the reality of realty today!The house appears far less accessible.No windows to see into this house.A door too high to reach..the path to this house blocked by many obstacles.The path is a rocky one to achieve this dream, if at all.
I can plant a garden at my rental home, and watch roots take hold...but those are not my roots. They are not my tangible roots to a community. i watch moving vans and people come and go and know I’m not the only one. It’s everywhere...people moving here and there, never knowing the town they missed, the community they could foster and thrive in. To have common purpose, not moving house...or moving heart.
(these tree was unplanted with roots exposed,subtle, but I knew it was there!)..note this tree is not finished in this photo, it had tonnes of leaves at end)
My dream, our dream really, to have stability and to plant my tangible roots that hold us close and stable in a community. Transient living today means our children are constantly moving house, missing out on a settled childhood. They seem to have lost their sense of belonging, because we uproot and replant them somewhere else all the time. Who really knows their neighbors anymore? Do our families grow up together and look out for each other? Are we doomed to this being a realty trend? It is the unraveling of family, of community.
Every family dreams of owning their piece of land, their perfect house and picket fence. It is the ultimate Kiwi dream. Some are lucky enough to achieve this goal, while others have to dream. You can rent a house, but you never feel like its your home, and you can never settle fully and truly make it yours. Forced to move around when the economy dictates that rent goes up or landlords need to sell, or move back into the house you’re renting.
It is heartbreaking to watch your kids grow up with moving house to house, no foundation of home and community. Friends they have known since childhood and streets they know like the backs of their hands. We are constantly moving, uprooting and unable to plant ourselves anywhere long enough to establish roots and foundations in the community.
Behind the façade is the real picture, unraveling us, our families who can’t make this dream a reality. Instead, we are forced to watch contractors come in to refurbish a home for a quick dollar. Watch people who are always searching for the perfect house. All we want to do is have the opportunity to stay in one place and finnaly plant our roots down. Leave behind our moving house, leave behind the transient lifestyle and afford a home, embrace a community and wear that feeling with pride!
CONSTRUCTION
*****************
The dress is constructed much like a house would be.I built it from a foundation. I placed my dream house into this with recycled parts, like my recycled dream of owning a home, each time renewed with a new rental house...that feeling of i want my own! My own home, so i recycle my dream as i create this moving house.Being a knitwear designer,I really wanted to stretch my skills and have a challenge.Notrhing on this dress was from a pattern,I had to create everything,much like a builder has to with a real house.
The skirt was made by splicing knitwear with latch hooked grass panels.I then set out to plant a garden with knitted flowers and plants. All were handknitted as I believed strongly in the need to stick to the comfort and warmth of wool and the closeknit part being represented. The Latch hooking is something from my childhood that I wanted to incorporate. It is something you want to reach out and touch.Much like the dream house.
I created the grass using balls of NZ wool and wrapping them around a wooden stick to achive a simialar lenght.They were then cut to form approx 50 at a time.In total I used 65 balls of wool,totalling approx 57.000 latches in all.
The knitted parts were all knitted on very fine needles,5 sizes less than usual.I did this to show strength.
The roof and porches were close cell foam as i felt it would still be light enough to manipulate and wear with ease.
They were reinforced with coat hangers!
The pickets and weather boards used 23 balls of wool and were also knitted on fine needles by hand. I used recycled upholstery foam from a friends business..awesome using trim foam BUT boy were they dusty!!
The stained glass door was made using a crotcheted panel and tiny bits of knitwear sewn into the back.
The boulders were recycled foam from out of cars that were being relined etc.I ripped them into chunky pieces and sewed knitwear around them..
This was 3 days before it was due..I had NO sleep at all over the last week..walking Zombie!
The skirt is made from 2 recycled laundry hampers..garden hose on the ends to produce the rounded edges I hoped to achieve.I felt this was best as knitwear is never squared off.It always as a spongy soft look to it.
The frames and connectors were glued together ,before close cell foam was used to cover the frame. Once this was achieved I sewed on the shade cloth and latched onto it.
This garment was started 3 years ago.I have spent up to 20 hours a day doing this,esp for the knitting and the latching.in fact the weeks leading up to handing it in were up to 23 hours over the last month..many no sleep nights!
If i had to add up all the hours it would be equal to...working a fulltime job over a full year! Hope you enjoy!
Sadly. costume was not selected for any prizes in the end..But it did get seen by approx 30,000 people ! Plus I got to see it for a few seconds on the news,which claimed the ones they showed in the background were some of the best...so I was chuffed at that !
If you are not selected for a prize, you MUSt remind yourself of the huge achievement getting it accepted in the first place. Designers come from all over the world now, the calibre is very high, So all is not lost.
Now I have to wait to hear if WOW want to keep my costume for the wearable art museum or not...I'll post when I find out!
In case you are wondering...I have 4 ideas for next year!
Monday, October 29, 2007
So what is WOW you ask??
here is a montage of the WORLD OF WEARABLE ARTS..hope this helps you to see what I do each year!
last years costume idea lost...
This years entry has been a roller coster of emotions for me.
I started this years entry 3 years ago, and was forced to put it on hold many times due to my grandfather passing away in the first year...RSI issue the next year...and sadly my nana passing away too.
The costume I entered in the last post was what I made at the last second, literally for 2006..as I was adamant I had to enter something! In hind site I should have used real horse hair, as they did not accept it saying that it was too much like fancy dress!! I beg to differ, based on others I have seen entered..it really comes down to the judges on the day.
I must admit I was gobsmacked to see a costume by a fellow Nelsonian..also with a horse saddle and bit etc..coincidence?
here is a photo..what do you think?
The chances of someone thinking up the same sort of thing, same town,same period of gown ,and use of saddle parts such as hat, bit and so on ..., the way the skirt part drape at the back under the saddle.like mine..leaves me a little worried to be honest. I am left wondering what happens to your design when it is not accepted.Do the other designs get told about your concept when they call and ask for inspiration or help with their costume concept? Maybe I'm being unnecessarily paranoid, but when I have family and up to 5 friends all calling or approaching me at school, after the awards show saying '' I thought they got the designers name wrong, I was sure it was yours'' and '' it was soooo like your idea, it was spooky'' it does make your mind wonder...:(
Why am I upset...because I was asked to take off the fake fur, cut it back and re enter.They loved the concept.So that was the plan.I was going to go back to only black fabric.have the lady with a riders crop, like this designer above. I removed the drawbridge.I even had drawn up new idea with no horse butt, just the saddle and stirrups in a simulated horse effect... with the fabric on the skirt as she had it.I had removed the entire under skirt so only the cream layer you now see, would be draped around the sadle like a bustle dress would from that era! sob..what are the odds!?!?!?! I can't help feeling like my design was pulled out from under me..I can no longer enter it with this concept.I would be accused of stealing HER idea..how ironic is that!
So now what can i do with it....recycle it into???hhm....SOB.
I started this years entry 3 years ago, and was forced to put it on hold many times due to my grandfather passing away in the first year...RSI issue the next year...and sadly my nana passing away too.
The costume I entered in the last post was what I made at the last second, literally for 2006..as I was adamant I had to enter something! In hind site I should have used real horse hair, as they did not accept it saying that it was too much like fancy dress!! I beg to differ, based on others I have seen entered..it really comes down to the judges on the day.
I must admit I was gobsmacked to see a costume by a fellow Nelsonian..also with a horse saddle and bit etc..coincidence?
here is a photo..what do you think?
The chances of someone thinking up the same sort of thing, same town,same period of gown ,and use of saddle parts such as hat, bit and so on ..., the way the skirt part drape at the back under the saddle.like mine..leaves me a little worried to be honest. I am left wondering what happens to your design when it is not accepted.Do the other designs get told about your concept when they call and ask for inspiration or help with their costume concept? Maybe I'm being unnecessarily paranoid, but when I have family and up to 5 friends all calling or approaching me at school, after the awards show saying '' I thought they got the designers name wrong, I was sure it was yours'' and '' it was soooo like your idea, it was spooky'' it does make your mind wonder...:(
Why am I upset...because I was asked to take off the fake fur, cut it back and re enter.They loved the concept.So that was the plan.I was going to go back to only black fabric.have the lady with a riders crop, like this designer above. I removed the drawbridge.I even had drawn up new idea with no horse butt, just the saddle and stirrups in a simulated horse effect... with the fabric on the skirt as she had it.I had removed the entire under skirt so only the cream layer you now see, would be draped around the sadle like a bustle dress would from that era! sob..what are the odds!?!?!?! I can't help feeling like my design was pulled out from under me..I can no longer enter it with this concept.I would be accused of stealing HER idea..how ironic is that!
So now what can i do with it....recycle it into???hhm....SOB.
costume entry 2006
Here is my 2006 entry for the wearable arts awards. The notes that follow were what the judges read.
I called this costume ''NO damsel in 'DIS' dress!
INSPIRATION
*************
Fairytales portrait 'fluffy' old fashioned beliefs.Some women still get rapped by the ideal fairytale, where being rescued by a prince on a prince on a white horse is the only happy ending. However,not every women wants to be a damsel in distress.Many prefer to rebel, leaving their castle walls and rescuing themselves.
A new fairytale....
Once upon a time there was a woman. She was not a princess and she did not want to be one. She had fallen asleep for a hundred years.More than one prince had tried to wake her with a kiss and take her away on their white horse, but the woman never woke.
Maybe the woman did not want to wake.Maybe the woman did not want to be rescued.Maybe the woman did not want to kiss a prince.Maybe the woman was gay. Maybe the woman did not want to be taken away on a horse to a place beyond her control and get married to a prince.Maybe she didnt believe in princes being heroes.Maybe she had a dream of her own in those hundred years of sleep.
So she decided to wake one day and found herself in a world where everyone was the same and society was dominated by a unidirectional,premade plan for every woman's life.Tha day she decided to just be herself.She decided to be her own white horse and rescue herself.
She broke from her walls of imprisonment and stood up against societies expectations which were stubborn and at times refusing to move ahead, even backtracking a little. Just like the horse she had to carry around with her forever from this day. The ever remaining imprint of the scarlet letter.She carried it...and she carried it with pride, because at least her story was real.
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MATERIALS used...
I'm very dedicated to recycling.So my costumes always have a large focus in this area.
I'm proud to say that this costume uses mainly recycled materials.
Examples of what I used and how are as follows.....
This garment was made using 3 vintage wedding dresses,one of which was my own wedding dress.
I recycled ,
vinyl handbags
christmas decorations
potato mashers
pieces of wood
chains
screw eyes
buttons
childs dress up bobby hat
pillow
halloween costume wig
dacron stuffing
mans suit jacket
mans vinyl motorcycle pants
50's womens skirt
faux fur
horse bit
velvet from bridesmaid dress
Methods i used included, sewing, wood carving, distressing, moulding vinyl, gluing and manipulating fabrics. Some felting.Boning.
This is a close up of the dress front to show you the felted skirt fabric used to simualte castle stone work ..sort of. The portculis is made from strips of a mans motorcycle trousers,and the chains were from a plumbing store, and the only new thing used!
I wanted to have a drawbridge to look like a way in to this woman's heart, but also show it as armour, like a cage as such..entrapment.
The riding hat was made by cutting off the brim on a childs english bobby hat.From here I manipulated and moulded vinyl from a handbag around it.Then sewed on handbag straps from 5 different bags to simulate reins.
The horse bit was meant to be higher up..the hat also fits better.This model just had a smaller head, possibly due to the bald head!!
I had hoped to use real horse hair in this costume, but as this was a last minute entry..( I struggled with the suggestion that I use a real horse skin from an abbatoir..being a vegetarian) I used faux fur to show the fluffy unreal part of fairytales we cling to. I made it into a cross between a horse main and a mowhawk..showing some defiance, being a bit of a fighter against tradition and I guess abit of an anarchist in some peoples eyes.
I called this costume ''NO damsel in 'DIS' dress!
INSPIRATION
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Fairytales portrait 'fluffy' old fashioned beliefs.Some women still get rapped by the ideal fairytale, where being rescued by a prince on a prince on a white horse is the only happy ending. However,not every women wants to be a damsel in distress.Many prefer to rebel, leaving their castle walls and rescuing themselves.
A new fairytale....
Once upon a time there was a woman. She was not a princess and she did not want to be one. She had fallen asleep for a hundred years.More than one prince had tried to wake her with a kiss and take her away on their white horse, but the woman never woke.
Maybe the woman did not want to wake.Maybe the woman did not want to be rescued.Maybe the woman did not want to kiss a prince.Maybe the woman was gay. Maybe the woman did not want to be taken away on a horse to a place beyond her control and get married to a prince.Maybe she didnt believe in princes being heroes.Maybe she had a dream of her own in those hundred years of sleep.
So she decided to wake one day and found herself in a world where everyone was the same and society was dominated by a unidirectional,premade plan for every woman's life.Tha day she decided to just be herself.She decided to be her own white horse and rescue herself.
She broke from her walls of imprisonment and stood up against societies expectations which were stubborn and at times refusing to move ahead, even backtracking a little. Just like the horse she had to carry around with her forever from this day. The ever remaining imprint of the scarlet letter.She carried it...and she carried it with pride, because at least her story was real.
****************************************************************************************
MATERIALS used...
I'm very dedicated to recycling.So my costumes always have a large focus in this area.
I'm proud to say that this costume uses mainly recycled materials.
Examples of what I used and how are as follows.....
This garment was made using 3 vintage wedding dresses,one of which was my own wedding dress.
I recycled ,
vinyl handbags
christmas decorations
potato mashers
pieces of wood
chains
screw eyes
buttons
childs dress up bobby hat
pillow
halloween costume wig
dacron stuffing
mans suit jacket
mans vinyl motorcycle pants
50's womens skirt
faux fur
horse bit
velvet from bridesmaid dress
Methods i used included, sewing, wood carving, distressing, moulding vinyl, gluing and manipulating fabrics. Some felting.Boning.
This is a close up of the dress front to show you the felted skirt fabric used to simualte castle stone work ..sort of. The portculis is made from strips of a mans motorcycle trousers,and the chains were from a plumbing store, and the only new thing used!
I wanted to have a drawbridge to look like a way in to this woman's heart, but also show it as armour, like a cage as such..entrapment.
The riding hat was made by cutting off the brim on a childs english bobby hat.From here I manipulated and moulded vinyl from a handbag around it.Then sewed on handbag straps from 5 different bags to simulate reins.
The horse bit was meant to be higher up..the hat also fits better.This model just had a smaller head, possibly due to the bald head!!
I had hoped to use real horse hair in this costume, but as this was a last minute entry..( I struggled with the suggestion that I use a real horse skin from an abbatoir..being a vegetarian) I used faux fur to show the fluffy unreal part of fairytales we cling to. I made it into a cross between a horse main and a mowhawk..showing some defiance, being a bit of a fighter against tradition and I guess abit of an anarchist in some peoples eyes.
Welcome...
Welcome to my costume blog.This is where you can see the costumes I design for the WORLD OF WEARABLE ARTS(wow) .I will list the last 2 I have done..and as I start the process for the next design, I will let you follow the trials and tribulations...enjoy!
Your comments are welcome:)
Your comments are welcome:)
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