my email is struggling opening up the blog so this is PAIGE DAWKINS

posting on the blog. This was my original inspiration for our final project. 

STILL THINKING ABOUT:

Cocorosie:







Devendra Banhart:






And Patrick Wolf:

VIDEO VIDEO VIDEO

Stories with Objects

In the final throes of our class, I shared some images and clips from the Puppeteers of America Festival (and some puppetry related materials). Inquisitive and enthusiastic as you are, I am posting some of the images and links here so that you have them for your reference. 

Behind the scenes at the Center for Puppetry Arts

Scenes from Lone Wolf Tribe

Images of Stork Man by Spanish Troupe, Los Titiriteros de Binefar

The production of War Horse featuring puppets by the Handspring Puppet Company

And some stilting, performance and costume work from my repertoire per your request...

Thanks to artist Missy Webb for visiting our class and all the best as you finish your works!

Idea for Izzy's Final Project

I really enjoyed learning how to mix and use the dies, so for my final project I am going to paint two yards of print cotton with the fish scale pattern that I like to doodle. The plan is that the pattern with be in various shades of yellow-greens to blue-greens in large arcs, and the empty space will be filled with blue. Depending on if I have time left, I would like to make it into a wrap skirt. 

Isabel Toledo

I was thinking a lot about Isabel Toledo's work and how elegant her designs are. Some of the patterns that she uses are really simple and I found myself very inspired by her work. Anyways, enjoy this quick look at one of her designs :)

WELL-DRESSED PEOPLE

Also, this is my favorite fashion blog, straight out of Helsinki, Finland

COFFEEHOUSE

So it turns out, the Fibers lovelies are multi-talented --- Here's some pictures from Friday's Coffeehouse:

CAT-A-PUS

Lola and I are collaborating to make...
DUN
DUN
DUN
CAT-A-PUS
A MAJESTIC HYBRID OF CAT AND OCTOPUS
these pictures are Jennifer Strunge's AMAZING cotton monsters. This specific monsters is named Pentapod (just in case you were wondering), because he only has 5 tentacles. Cat-a-pus, on the other hand, has tenta-paws, which are tentacles with paws at the end. Cat-a-pus is going to be quite large, like HUGE.

okay, the end.
for now...
=^.^=

(by the way this is Jes AND Lola because Lola never got invited...haha)

personal inspiration

These are all pictures of Magdalena Abakanowicz's work. She is the brilliant mastermind behind the piece that was in The Hishorn Museum called Four On a Bench. Awesome piece! Anyways, I found these pictures and I just wanted to share them. Personally, I feel very inspired by Magdalena Abakanowicz's work just because of the use of materials and the magnitude at which she works and her ideas about what art's pupose is. She says that"art needs somebody to listen to its message, somebody to desire it, somebody to drink it, to use it like wine - otherwise it makes no sense." After talking with Valeska and doing some research on my own, I found out that Abakanowicz deals with mostly perishable materials. (Her figure sculptures are done with burlap and resin) I think that that is the part that really gets me about her work just because it puts an entirely new motivation behind her artwork. She is not looking for her artwork to be in museums for years and years. (Though some of her installations that are steel will be.) That idea is so striking because most of the time I feel like my work is so precious because of the time I have put into it and the energy it took to make it happen. It is not like I am saying I shouldn't do that, I am just saying I shouldn't take myself so seriously. After seeing her piece in the Strange Bodies exhibit, my drive is different. In the first TARC slide show, Heather talked about how her experience became her piece. That has stuck with me. And I was reminded of her presentation as I researched Abakanowicz. I am going to experiment, create, and enjoy the process of my work. I think that the work I create will have a much bigger impact on my growth as an artist and hopefully the people who see it once I stop trying so hard to create something so awesome and great that people have never seen before. I am becoming more focused on the process and how that contributes to my growth as an artist. That forces me to trust the people who will see my work more. Each person's perspective changes the piece and makes it richer. I am just going to see what happens:)

Sources of Inspiration

In addition to all the images, artists, and ways of working we discussed over the last few weeks, you might find inspiration here:

Performance and Installation artist Melissa Webb

The over the top visions of Royal de Luxe 

Also, for your trip to New York City, visit The Sartorialist's blog, to see one observer's reflections on - and images of - the waypeople communicate through dress. 

Jars of dye

This reminded me of our first dyeing experience today :) It was lots of fun and we are all different colors! Brilliant!

Units: The Musical on the Road in our Nation's Capitol!

The Fashioning Culture class headed to DC today to make a pilgrimage to a number of exhibits. We celebrated the glorious weather, looked left and right before crossing the large boulevards to see the grand vistas - the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument, and enjoy the natural wonders of the Enid Haput Garden. The Hirshorn's Strange Bodies show of figurative modern and contemporary works was one of our stops, as was the Mami Wata Exhibit at the museum of African Art, filled with sculptural, ceremonial and contemporary works inspired by the image and beliefs surrounding the water goddess in cultures of the African diaspora. Then, a trek to the Museum of American Art to visit the Jean Shin show: Common Threads! And with all that walking, good thing we stopped for some food and conversation at Teaism, appreciating the benefits of a thoughtfully designed bistro with koi pond and adobe colored walls. What a super day!

The Grand Finale!

Rites of passage and coming of age rituals are common throughout the world. Often, a ceremonial object or garment is a central part of the event. Drawing on your vast array of skills, your own experience as a teenager, and your fertile imagination, invent and construct a ceremonial object or costume element that marks your own transformation, or rite of passage from high school student to artist in the world. You may work individually or in collaboration with others.

Sources of inspiration (a list for your to add on to…) and Strategies:
Ceremonial garments and forms: the cloak or mantle, the sash or stole, headdresses, masks…
Structural or sculptural objects, gateways, staffs…
Exaggeration or emphasis (through accumulation, color/contrast, scale etc.)
Masquerade and transformation
Performance and performative installation
Melissa Webb, Pat Olezsko, Nick Cave, Leigh Bowery, Julie Taymor, Joseph Beuys, Jeanine Oleson…

Option 2:
You have started a couple of projects in this class and experimented with new techniques. An idea for a costume, performance, installation or sculpture may have been sparked in the process. Develop your idea further by continuing with one of these projects.

Proposals due: Tuesday afternoon, July 14
Proposals should include sketches and/or collaged images, sources of inspiration, writing and materials samples, if possible.

Final Presentation: Wednesday morning, July 22

Interview with Melissa Webb!

Melissa Webb is a graduate of the MICA fiber department and a prolific artist. The Baltimore Examiner features an interview with her, and some GREAT images of her work over the years.

I saw this dress and really started thinking about how the shoulders of a garment affect how it looks as a whole. I know we were talking about how women began wearing clothes with broader shoulders as they were coming into the work force, and this just reminded me of that a little bit. The simple shapes are very effective, as well as the elegance from the black fabric. :)

Inspiration, Perspiration and Intellectual Property

Many artists and designers, from Pablo Picasso to John Galliano, have found inspiration in the visual culture of other people, especially 'indigenous' cultures and their traditional objects.  As we discussed in class today, there has been a reevaluation of this relationship over the last few decades, especially by museums. Some cultures, like many Native American nations, have requested that ceremonial or sacred objects be returned to their place within their own communities, or are advocating for a voice in how such objects and artifacts should be conserved, displayed and shared by museums. As you continue your research to find sources of inspiration for your own work, consider the following: How can we take inspiration from another group of people, thereby paying homage to and celebrating their innovations, while being sensitive to their history, agency and traditions?

costume

I liked this costume because it is simple but very elegant. Amazing how that works. . . :)

Royal de Luxe

Check out this great video for some inspiration in movement, performance art, and costuming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfRh6ZE07QQ
(I can't figure out how to embed a video)

The Royal de Luxe group is responsible for this city-wide, days long performance of a giant marionette girl who lands on earth, wanders around the city (doing day to day activities, sightseeing, etc.), and meets up with a large-scale elephant puppet(who is also making his own journey around the city)before returning to her own planet/world. What I love about this performance is how detailed it is, from the costumes of the performers and the dress of the puppet to the uniforms of the puppeteers.

Project #2: Fashioning the Body

Throughout history, humans have invented myriad ways to enhance and constrict the body. Garments and contraptions, from bustles to ruffled collars, were often shaped by a society’s beliefs and the political conditions of the time. Taking inspiration from the images we looked at in class and pursuing your own research, invent an accessory, wearable structure or garment that reinterprets a historic element or suits a particular purpose today.

 Phase 1: 

Identify the source(s) of inspiration that will be your springboard into this project! Look through reference books, select an image from the slideshow, choose a particular garment, historic accessory or part of the body as your starting point. Generate ideas by writing, drawing or collaging in your journal. Sewing samples may be a valuable way to develop your concept.

 

Phase 2: Using only the materials provided (5 yards of muslin, black and white thread, scissors, twine, reed and millinery wire) respond to the prompt above.  

neat installation...

Head On

Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany 

2006 

OK, so I found this picture in the new edition of the Art Now book.  (They have a copy of it in the library) I just thought it was really interesting. Especially going with our current thoughts of repetition and how objects take on a entire new idea in mass amounts... These are wolves, but in the way they are arranged, my initial thought wasn't "oh, gee, look at all of those wolves." Though I did notice they were wolves it was more interesting to look at the movement of the objects. It is like they are rushing only to run into the glass wall. Not to mention that they are suspended in the air and by no obvious means. Just thought I'd share... Really neat stuff.