Fabric Quest...

This post really is not really complete, and shan't be until I find the booty that is the perfect fabric for my Candour Gown. Now I'm all for fabric shopping, and the time it takes before you find that perfect specimen to use for a garment you are creating. the rush is quite intoxicating and part of the creative fun. But honestly the quest for this project is not at all the experience I wanted. I'm a picky person, so when sketching up my design I had the ideal thought for my fabric, a stiffer Silk Taffeta with possible embroidered Flowers that were gargantuan, in a bright yellow as backdrop and darker red for the flowers. Seems simple right? Well clearly fabric weavers, don't think so, because every fabric I found was either too gold, or too beige, or had the effect I dreaded, the inverse, where red was the FLASH colour, while he flowers were embroidered in an almost tarnished gold. To be honest, its coming down the wire hear, the semester is almost over, and we need these fabrics in order to complete our projects, and I'm afraid that I'll have nothing to show for my hard work, or worse scrap my colour palette in order to find the right fabric. That is a concern that I have, but seriously can easily remedied, since in my mind the dress can work in a pink tone, possibly purple, but we'll have to see what I find. As of right now I don't have any idea what to find, what too look for or what to expect but Wish me luck as I try to make Candour the REAL deal.

A Midsummer Night's Dream in the mind of Frida...

* Frida *

* A Midsummer Night's Dream *




Okidokes ladies, and gents..a couple of weeks ago we did a wonderful little interpretation of one of my favorite shakespeare pieces, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ever since High School, I have enjoyed the magic, sugar sweet nature of this play, with it's underlying mischievous and sometimes deceitful undertones. Our task was to take three of the plays characters and come up with costumes they would wear in the piece based off of an artist or artisan of the past. What an incredible undertaking right? Well I decided with the teacher's help, to interpret the characters of Titania, Oberon and Puck, the three main fairies of the play, through Frida Kahlo's eyes. Frida being of course the Surrealist painter of the middle of the 20th century. What I wanted to bring was the sense of animalistic interpretations she uses in her paintings to represent herself, to represent the fairies. They of course living in the forest, helped me come up with the idea that being as such, each would be representative of a certain animal group that any forest, rainforest or water mass, as I conceptualized this, Titania became a mother nature type figure, oberon, became a Poseidon type, and Puck well he just became an owl, the reason for that being, that he is ever watchful of the characters in the play, so being as such, I just assumed that he would be the soul real Animal in the group of fairies, like a spirit fairy that took form of an owl to live in the forest keeping a mischievous watch over the love and deceit that characters encounter. Oberon and Titania would be represented as a fairy like Frida Kahlo and Diego rivera from Frida's 1931 portrait she did of her relationship. Puck would literally be on his on, in a tree standing watch.


~Titania and Oberon's Inspiration~

~Titania & Oberon~


~Puck~

The critique...ooo lala

~Mrs Candour Illustration~



~Inspiration Page~


Ok, I was a wreck this morning trying to figure out the best way to get through my first critique of my historical project design. Our costume class is tackling the School for Scandal, an English Rococo period piece that's filled with the most outlandish gossip, crazy personalities and witty repartee. Perfect right....made me extremely scared. My character Mrs. Candour is one of the elderly members of the unique group of catty women and men and I wanted to make the best of it.

I began by describing Mrs. Candour as an older women who is seemingly a talkative and a spiteful old crone. Which in my idea is not completely the case. She is more just a lonely old woman who like most, just wants to be accepted by the young gang, so being bored sh just talks about her friends, acquaintances and just delves into the lives of the people around her. Her primary intent unlike most of the GANG, is not to tear people down, but to help and interject her wise opinions on their lives, which in retrospect gets her into more trouble than most, because her stories and helpful hints seem to hurt more than anything else, making others around her look at her as a nosy old fool.

Francois our program coordinator sat in on the critique and gave rather helpful and funny advice to make our costumes a touch more precise as well helping us to focus on our characters' unique characteristics and quirks. After I explained my character, and showed him my drawing to him, he was extremely happy about my vision for my character. The thing that he suggested to me was to play up with fitting in factor, by making her a little eccentric and paying up her showy factor with brighter fabrics, bigger prints and bright colours. His only wary concern for me was that I can make her showy but not drag queen like, because his worry is that older women who try play that card, can be a little bit tranny like and drag queen like. I completely agreed and just relly want to keep the general idea of my gown the same because the styling of la de la fracaise works, however I should really research more my fabrics and trims, and look more into these types of gowns to get a really good concept of details, because I really think my details are rather general. I'm happy it works and I'm thoroughly happy with fracois' opinions and am just happy my vision for Mrs. Candour is one that he shares with me. THANK YOU :) YIPPPEE!!! I am extremely excited to really start getting my hands into this project and making her come to life!!!!!

WISH ME GOOD LUCK :D

~Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles~

For starters, I love the french title of Alice in Wonderland because it just sounds so damn sexy. Anyways this beautifully crafted film directed by Tim Burton and starring a wonderful cast including an insane Johnny Depp, tyrannical Helena Boham Carter and wonderfully coy but powerful Anne Hathaway literally blew me away.



The world in which Tim Burton created was filled with stunning visuals, beautiful camera work and as always that cooky edge that he always seems to infuse into his pictures. From a former Film student's point of view, Tim Burton managed to really capture the innocence, and yet cruel aspects of the famous story. While keeping it light and funny for the younger audiences with the colours and humour of the characters, his use of very dark tones in lighting, and settings, as well as camera work gave a more adult audience that harsh edge in oder to convey the darkness and sometimes cruel undertones of the original text. The story itself did have that Tim burton edge to it, making everything seem to be amplified by a million, even Helena Bonham Carter's HEAD. Getting on with the task at hand the costumes. Colleen Atwood did it yet again, her costumes in this film are divine and represent each character so well, and her utilization of the historical references whether intentional or not also really got me quite excited. The two queens represented best this idea extremely well, and also were my favorite two costumes in the entire film.



The Red queen for me represented the apparent and almost blatant expression of evil,but also the epitome of insecurity and vulnerability. Out of anyone in the film, her charcater was portrayed (wonderfully by HBC) as a mess of insecurities, self-loathing and just jealousy. her costumes mirroring beautifully an Elizabethan type gown really seemed to borrow a lot more than just the costume. The Red Queen for me was the Tim Burton take ( Lewis Carroll inspired) depiction of Mary I "Bloody Mary". The jealousy, hatred, anger and just insecure nature, was reminiscent of the former queen's rule over England. Like her inspiration both queen's had issues with their sisters, and they're own standing within their courts. The Red Queen's costume and look mirrored that highly insexure and tyrranical nature, by having the costume So harsh and dark in color (mirroring that of Mary I) and having the pointy and harsh looking elizabethan collar made her entire look even that more tyrannical. Her make-up and Hair like her costume is harsh and blatantly over the top. With pencil thin eyebrows, heavy blue eyeshadow and a stark complexion that even snow white would fear, her make-up resembled that of many a Disney villounesses of yesteryeary like Cruella DeVil, Ursula and Malefecient. This extreme look matched with her extreme Personality, added all together with the Elisabethan look, breathed a very human life into the most insecure character of the film (even more so than the Rabbit).





IN STARK contrast the White Queen supposedly is supposed to be the antithesis to her tyrranical sister. Everything seems light and frivelous and pretty. But like her sister, she has an underlying wish and hunger for power. This was translated into one of the most indulgent, pretty and power driven era of the Rococo period. Where excess, power and frills and bowes were apparent and certain power hungry queen, Marie-antoinette mirrored had a quest for the same things. The White queen's actions are pretty, are etheral and are everything you'd want in the GOOD side, however she's not totally good. Rather than have a wish for peace within wonderland, her desire for the crown back, really is so she can hold the power of the throne and to regain her place at the top. in some ways her actions are like Marie-antoinette in her flippant ways, all the while knowing what she wants and striving for it, because like her RED sister, she wants what she wants and nothing and no one will stand in her way, but in her case she won't take the head off of anyone standing in her way!



Alice in Wonderland, is truly a well put together film, and really stood up to the hype that came with its release. I enjoyed watching it and hope to see it soon enough again.

Birds of Paradise...

The birds have landed...they are spectacular, etheral, colorful and magical. This one in particular just wants to have fun, he flys with such power, but looks spectacular and full of youthful wonder. Presenting...the crystal falcon...

Mystic Rains..

Mystic Rains, is character made up for the film world of "The Warriors". Her gang came into the fold late, they're a bunch of headbanger gals with an ethnic influence. While rocking out maybe one of her favorite pass times, protecting her gang, and reconnecting to her roots is as well.

PRESENTING MYSTIC RAINS <3

Kiss on the Forehead...

Ok, well seeing as how this has nothing to do with school or homework or much of anything, I just simply have to say this. Tonight was perfect, a most wonderful evening with the most amazing of people. While the semester life can get hectic, with drawings, patterns and sewing projects ready to make you go a little insane, its nice to know that some evenings, one can just refrain from such worries and just enjoy the company of that special someone, doing those little simplistic things that I love to do, catching a movie and drinking coffee. While these moments, don't happen as often as we all would hope, when they do, you know its something truly special, and warming to one's heart. I am really happy as of right now, and am posting this on my blog, as a little reminder that LOVE does heal all wounds, LOVE does take one over, and LOVE does exist and a kiss on the forehead can make all the difference in the world....