summertime

With the opening of the play I'm working on, just under three weeks away, time has been cut short for anything extra besides painting and sleeping.....even the sleeping is questionable. The more I'm at the scene shop, the more I find myself dreaming of a lazy summer day at the beach. Preferably in one of these. all from Norma Kamali

the model as muse- the met

"Exploring the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion focuses on iconic models of the twentieth century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras. The exhibition, organized by historical period from 1947 to 1997, will feature haute couture and ready-to-wear masterworks accompanied by fashion photography and video footage of models who epitomized their epochs."

Loomis Dean (American, 1917–2005)
Cabine of Christian Dior, 1957

Madame Grès (French, 1903–1993)
Evening gown, 1954

House of Dior (French, founded 1947) by John Galliano (British, b. Gibraltar, 1960)
"Lucky" Evening Gown, haute couture fall/winter 2005–2006

Bert Stern (American, b. 1929)

Twiggy in Yves Saint Laurent, Vogue, March 15, 1967

In my own little corner

All morning I have been researching Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. In truth, I have been researching it for about two months but this is the week I start on the set. The theatre at which I work (did I ever mention that?) is putting on this delightful production at the end of June. We just closed Fiddler on the Roof and now full speed ahead to create a magical set. Thus, I've been walking down memory lane with the many version of this musical.

Who doesn't love Julie Andrews? Really.

1957
A technician (fore) listening for cue to start sequence featuring dancers on stairway (rear) during live broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Cinderella."

This is the version I grew up with. Wow, that makes me sound old doesn't it? Considering it was produced in 1965. But it was my mother's favorite movie growing up, so as a child I always watching it with her. Had every word, song, movement, etc memorized.


Just found out that Lea Salonga was in the traveling company. I wish so terribly I had been able to see that. She's phenominal. Had the privelege of seeing her once on Broadway in Les Mis.

The rest of these are production photos that I've been saving for inspiration. Lastly is Disney's Small World. I've had this nagging idea to do the set with this stylized look, like the ride. It's beautiful, fun........and it just seems to fit. We'll see. :)

interactive art

While taking my littlest brother downtown to check out the Children's Library in Charlotte, we stumbled across an interactive art exhibit in the lobby- an extremely well thought out interactive display, I might add. Each activity was based off of an artist found in the Mint Museum. My favorite was the fiber activity below based on the artwork of John Garrett.

I couldn't help wonder how this could be incorporated into fashion. Still brainstorming on that one. The textures and colors are inspiring!

In a classical painting :)

Goofing off in the mirror

unexpected rainbow

Sometimes I surprise myself. Ok, well actually I do that often, but in this instance clothing surprised me. Somewhere around midnight last evening, I got the urge to sort through the closet and discard things I really shouldn't be hanging on to.
Buried amidst the fabric that had fallen off hangers long time ago was a pile of sequins. Suddenly a rush of memories. I've had this vintage rainbow sequin jumpsuit for years and totally forgot about it. How fabulous.

monochromatic addiction

i found this picture among my files and i LOVE it. unfortunately, i had forgotten to save any information about it.

so sorry. :(

Confession time: I've had a long-standing addiction, by long-standing I mean six months, to black and white. Knowing me and my love of color this admission would seem odd.
I have several theories as to why the love of monochromatic......
a. a grad school class a year ago, required that I must work solely in black and white (much to my dismay and frustration)

b. the set i designed and painted (see below) for the theatre at which I now work, thrived in black, white and gold.set for Clue: the Musical, fall 2008

Since then I find great excitement in graphic patterns.

Rauschenberg- my favorite artistKline- the ultimate black and white artisteven my art is being bleached of the rainbow as of late

close up of "White Words"

the art of makeup

It's finally here! The anticipation of waiting for Kevyn Aucoin's The Art of Makeup to arrive in the mail almost unbearable. This 14x11" over-sized beauty of a book is filled with 227 full color photographs. In a previous life, I was a makeup artist for several years and Kevyn Aucoin is my hero when it comes to artistic makeup. Brilliant. Beautiful. Knowledgeable. His books have it all. He shares all his "secrets" to the art and includes wonderful journaling about the person behind the makeup. I could read his books for hours. Sadly, I have never owned one until now. This book was published in 1994 and is inspiring. I have yet to find a book on makeup that I would recommend more. Enjoy the photos of his artwork!