body suit

here is the beginning of the previously described wearable piece.  it is a velour spandex with little specks of gold glitter.  it fits me better than the mannequin; it is not meant to be so loose.  the sleeves are connected and can drag behind the body or be gathered together and held closer to the body.  

first friday brainstorms

i purchased fabric today for a wearable piece i will be making very, very soon.  here are some images i have been looking at that in some way relate to what i'm doing.  i usually gather images like these on my desktop after searching for inspiration on a particular strain of ideas.  i am posting these to share with those interested a very important part of making things, the part where i pull from many different ideas and attempt to unify them in a work.  this is a rigorous process of adding and subtracting information to and from the core elements of the work in progress. 

edwardian style shoe with gold sequins

elizabeth: the golden age, work of (the amazing) Alexandra Byrne

Giovanni Bellini, Madonna and Child with two saints

John Singer Sargent, Lady Macbeth
Gerald Ford in baptismal gown, 1913
Giovanni Bellini, The Baptism of Jesus
immersion baptism

dan, bill, and frank

open windows on my half birthday

very wrinkly silkscreen test for idea (i saw sicily in my november pear)

textile ink on cotton, approximately 16''x20''
the "perfect" sketchbook

hand-bound, approximately 5''x6''
sketch for part of a wearable piece
part of a collaborative piece to be installed at Tyler,

approximately 14', crocheted and braided yarn

dreaming about galway

the river corrib

three day weekends

three day weekends were once among the rarest breeds of weekends, usually only seen around national holidays.  somehow, i have managed to secure a semester's worth of three day weekends.  fifteen magical three day weekends with which i can do whatever i please.  this particular three day weekend, culminating on the first of many class-free mondays, was (and still is) a wonderful one.  I am now hooked (atrocious pun intended) on crocheting.  and my sewing machine is ready for more.  I couldn't help myself and continued on with my crocheting, despite previously giving in to my frustration.  my little basket from my last post has evolved and become an integral half of my newly completed piece creamer and sugar pot, equipped with spoon.  though incredibly unusable for their suggested purpose, i had a lot of fun making these objects and they are dear to me.  Also, after a very large cup of coffee, i grew more ambitious and endeavored to make myself a hat from leftover yarn.  i anticipate more crocheted work in the near future. 

creamer and sugar pot

hand crocheted yarn and twine, some sewn twine detail

hand crocheted yarn hat
some of us don't make much out of our weekends at all

diving in

i'm back in school and officially a fibers major.  taking four fibers studios is already proving to be a demanding choice, but so far, i love it.  i'm taking body art & adornment, off loom structures, book structures, and silkscreen on fabric.  the following images are of work completed in the last 48 hours.  normally, i am a little more last minute with things, but i was excited and jumped right into the semester.  i've already learned to crochet (well, kind of) in off loom!

pod 

polyester, wool blend, polyester velour lining, fiber fill

untitled

twine, yarn

good old american christmas

the following is a brief visual list of things that made returning to the united states worthwhile:

1) decorating the christmas tree 

2) lucy, the new puppy

3) gracie, seasoned member of the family
4) pippin, mentally challenged but delightful pig
5) evie and joon, buxom peruvian spies