Saturday, June 30, 2012

Flight Of The Valkyrie + Sewing Area To-Do

Whew!
After at least one all-night rhinestone session, the burlesque costume for my new Valkyrie act is complete. The performance was a success, and it looked amazing on stage from what I heard. Photos are slowly trickling in from last night's "Heaven and Hell" show with The Hubba Hubba Review. Here's one image so far, thanks to the talented Rj Johnson:


In a way, I'm glad it's over! Not the performance aspect, I can't wait to do this one again, but the crazed (and somewhat last minute) costume engineering that has taken over the household for the last 3 weeks. We DO NOT have the space for this, lol! Yet somehow I still manage to create some pretty fabulous stuff. While I built the actual antlers using Celluclay over a wire frame, the final antler headdress would not have been possible without his help and insane abilities in the use of Bondo as a costuming aid.
If I had tried mixing this two-part coating myself, we would have had an epic, sticky, antler fail mess on our hands. But now I know how ;-)

Much ado about creative space...

Noting the subject of the lack of space; I'm also finally able to do the big sewing area switch.
Currently, the sewing area is in a rather busy pathway in the house, and shoved into a corner.
I often...well, always find myself tearing apart and digging through all the stuff, no matter how organized, just to get to one item I might need. Tool and material accessibility is very low.
It also seems as though it's dark no matter what time of day it is. There is only one window, the sliding door to the backyard, and the light truly sucks.
More of this space could be utilized, but due to this busy pathway, that can never be. It is traversed by an excitable dog, is the path to the backyard, is near the dining area, and is the first thing people see and end up congregating in, instead of the living room area, when they enter the house :-\ It's usually a bit messy, if not at full apocalyptic levels like this last week.
Not only do I not want this to be the first thing people see when they drop by, I no longer want some project I'm working on at the mercy of food, drink, freshly bathed or dirtied dog, etc.
Especially if I'm about to be working on the 18th century ensembles involving lots of rare or rather high end silks and cottons I have collected over the years

However; the living area is adjacent to this. It has three (3!) surrounding windows and is about the same size in volume to the current sewing area but is it's own, more contained, space with more room to spread out...giving us absolute access to materials etc.
I actually fantasize about simply walking up to my fabric shelf or drawers of trim, taking what I need, and going back to my sewing. Instead, it's nearly an all-day affair of rearranging that half of the house to get a scrap of fabric or even a bit of millinery wire.
Plus, the lighting is 100% better, both natural from the windows and and from installed fixtures.

After taking a bunch of measurements, I discovered that everything in the living room could fit on the other side, and in effect, turn that whole half of the house into a much more welcoming environment. Plus, by trading areas, it would create a protected and exclusive area for sewing that is a little more low profile within the actual 'living area'.
In essence, it would keep the monster contained.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Wow...That Actually Worked!

Dyeing is no easy process, especially when dealing with lots of fabric.
My past experience with using dye to color fabrics has been on a much smaller scale, so I was a bit intimidated at first. Not for the solid color pieces, but the two-tone effect I was after on the largest piece. This process is also known as Ombré.

Luckily for this newbie, I was just using one color; a lovely blood red onto the hem of a white silk 'cape'.
During the process, it looked as though I'd just prepared the neighbors for dinner..muwaha.
(Don't worry, those are just mannequin arms in the background. Part of an old Halloween zombie prop of Anders').

I had discovered there was a tiny hole in my glove. Oops.

Really, it's not what it looks like.

Success! So far.

If you're curious, the red hem is supposed to be as if it were dragged through a battlefield, so I wasn't going for a perfect gradient to the color.
The surprising ease in which the projects of the day transpired, also involved my search for some fake hair for the headdress portion of this costume. I ended up finding a great local place, just minutes form my house. I found exactly what I needed and fast. A rare thing for a last minute adventure on a Saturday evening, let alone finding the closest shade of blonde I need.

Super long, and each pack was only $5

As for the headdress, more to come on that subject soon ;-)


Sunday, June 17, 2012

So Much Silk; The Tribute With A Twist.

The current burlesque costume endeavor, thus far...

Sunday, June 10, 2012

What I Am Currently Creating; A Tribute

It will have my own twist on it, of course, but this is an act that has been in the making for nearly 4 years. Finally, from the back burner to the finishing stages.

Here is the incomparable artist herself, Loie Fuller....

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

A Must Watch...

How on earth did I miss this?!

A trip back in time for a glimpse into life in England, during the reign of King George III.

At Home with the Georgians, Prof. Amanda Vickery from Matchlight on Vimeo.



I'll post links to the full episodes when I find them...

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Almost There...

After nearly a year's worth of catch up and layers of commission work, after this one last burlesque project I can finally leap with both feet back into the 18th century projects.
To those of you here that have stuck with me through the non-rococo/sewing related drivel; I thank you.

I will post about this current project here as well, since I still think most of you will find it intriguing. It's not your typical burlesque costume; it's rooted in ancient Scandinavian lore...yet still quite sparkly ;-)