January 26, 2010

Sublime, Veneer, Tension, Suface, Imperfection

These are words that are swirilng around my head today.

I spent the evening lookng at cicus costumes and thinking alot about the razzle and the dazzle of performance as well as the pomp and circumstance of creating something magical.

I am also beginning to notice a pattern developing in how I am creating these dresses. In the beginning there is a push to make them stand out, to start gaining attention. In the middle there is an akwardness followed by a place of comfort; I can wear the dress and feel like it fits in. But then in the last couple of weeks it starts to demand something extra, something that makes it stand out, perhaps even uncomfortably so. With Elizabeth I think we are going to venture down the road of creating a bustle for her. Perhaps I may even wire out the black lacey back to make my hips look wider than they are. This might make it interesting to sit.

I have been doing research on bustles. Oh there are so many types. Including retractable ones, which direction to go? If I go super bustle then I am starting to invade space, altering the dimensions of my physical space and adding dimension to my own body. How did women do this for so long? Would it ever happen again? What would the bustle for the future look like? How about corsets? hmmm maybe with the next dress?

It's hard not to get ahead of myself with this project. I think that I tend to have several projects to work on to keep the creative juices flowing, but with this project the intention is to allow the day to dictate what the dress needs. If this is true, then why do I have these little piles of things already set aside for February?