Paper Dolls for Grown-ups AKA Costume Design

So, I feel most like myself when I am working on a show. It has been a major part of my life for the last 30 years (yikes!). Multiple sclerosis and my surgery took me out of the musical this year, but we are a scant three weeks away from starting the annual Skakespearean play. I don't know where will be performing next year as the high school auditorium is renovated, but right now it's time to focus on The Tempest. Last weekend, my sweetie and I created the set model and this week has been all about costume design.

Ariel

Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, Caliban, Stephano & Trinculo

Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian 

(I also have designs for Gonzalo, Adrian, and Francisco)

Ceres, Juno, Iris, and the Naiads and Dryads

Like what you see and want to use them for your own shows? Go ahead! Enjoy! Just drop me a line and some photos when they are constructed. Theater should be about sharing :)

Setting the (Tiny) Stage

It is the dead of winter in Central New York and the snow  is up past my knees, It is tough to put myself into a spring state of mind right now. It is even harder to imagine a semi-tropical island with roaring waves, sandy beaches, and quiet solitude. Okay, the solitude is pretty easy to imagine. I have not been on-campus with my co-workers in two months and while I am getting tons done while I heal and work from home, I am definitely suffering from cabin fever and separation anxiety from being alone most of the time, In that way, I can definitely put my head in Prospero's head space. Sigh.

This weekend though, my sweetie came to stay with me for the weekend. We made a furniture fort, we played board games, and we began to collaborate on the upcoming production of The Tempest. I have been doing research and pouring out ideas since the early fall, but we worked together yesterday on refining some concepts and we built the set model. Finalizing those details will enable me to move on to the next step in the process: blocking. Eeeek.

I have had general ideas but after watching Shakespeare Uncovered last week, we decided that the show would be based on Porto Santo, one of the Mediera Islands. The island is made up of many basalt column rock formations. That sealed it.

We had spirited discussion about costumes and how they related to each character to be able to finalize the color scheme. It was a wonderful dialogue and I truly enjoyed the process.

We constructed a 1/2" scale model with foam core, cardboard, muslin, and even some recycling. Above is Act 1, scene 1 on the ship.

The main set is a a basalt cave with a practical roof. There will also stream, a basalt pit (for Caliban) and a hollow tree (for Ariel).

Stay tuned for more news as we begin the actual show next month.

Metalwork Monday: Sunny Day...Sweepin' the clouds away

It is a beautiful day here in Central New York. I am back to work and rehearsal and away from the studio, but have a ton of great news ideas and exciting new supplies.


Many people get down in the winter, myself included, and I always look forward to the re-growth afforded by spring. I have always seen it as a time for new beginnings and fresh ideas. Plus, sunshine makes me much happier. 


As I look to my future, I am feeling a little stuck. But with the love of a wonderful man, new ideas churning, and the sun shining, I think I will make it over the hump.


As my projects this week are designed to keep that sunny feeling going, all year long if I can manage it.

Fun sun earrings--I used a rubber stamp and ferric chloride
to create these fun little guys. I added a super-sparkly Swarovski crystal
to shimmer like sun beams.

A more avant garde steam-punky type sun earrings.

The new toy!!! Cant't wait to really start creating some awesome embossed
metal with this!!

Not at all metalwork related, but I also just designed this poster for the play
that I am directing. 

Thursday Think Tank: To theme or not theme, that is the question...

I enjoy being a crafty blogger. I am part of a great community. I read an embarrassing amount of other blogs. I enjoy the challenge of sharing my work with you all on a daily basis. My photography, admittedly, needs more refining. My readership is tiny...for now. I don't think that I will be the next Martha Stewart by any means, but I am enjoying the process. 


My sweetie gave me a variety of Moleskine notebooks for Christmas. I must admit to more than a passing fancy with them. I have been using them for years, but have taken to carrying one with me at all times. Inspiration strikes at the oddest times and is stimulated by the oddest things. My notes are frantic and frenetic. Some pages have organized lists, others just random scrawls. I love it.


In addition to working in the real world, designing jewelry and crafting up a storm, I also direct plays at the local high school. We are just a few weeks away from our spring Shakespearean production and life gets a little crazy. I also have a craft fair, a consignment order, and a juried art show coming up. No rest for the crafty...


As I pondered how teachers and Moms get through super busy times, a thought occurred to me: themes. Already each day of the week, weasinart has a theme, but what if I combined a daily craft type theme with an overarching weekly theme? I decided that at least until the show is performed it is a good way to stay focused. 


Upcoming theme weeks will include lace, sun, floral, Doctor Who, upcycling, and birds. The plan has further organized and focused me as an artist. 


If you have any themes that you would like to see, please leave a comment. I am pretty open to suggestions.


I whipped up a really quick project this week based on a post that I saw on Pinterest. I don't see much point in "pinning" inspiration if you are never going to use it. Not original, but I like it:

T-shirt necklace/scarf: the finished product

Found a slightly stretch shirt that I wasn't really wearing much and cut 1-inch loops.
Make sure to keep the side seams intact.

As it stretches, the loops roll in on themselves.

Paired it with some fun bird earrings that I made to
 "spring up" my outfit.

In action at the office, stylish and fun!

Globe Day 2012

Today, I got to go back to my earliest artistic roots. My first and most long-lasting artistic endeavors have been in the theatre. For the last 28 years, it has been the backbone of my creative life.


 I have run the gamut from stage crew to actor to stage manager to director. I had the chance today to uphold a Homer High School tradition. Since 1969, HHS has erected a replica version of London's Globe Theatre. It has undergone some changes in the last 43 years, but it remains the jewel in the Homer Shakespearean Society's crown.

The apron waiting to be assembled.

It represents much more than our mutual love for Shakespeare; however.
It reminds us that we are part of something much bigger and much longer lasting than ourselves. It creates a sense of community so cherished that people remember both the first and last times that they put it up.

The author, multi-tasking on bracing duty.

This program and the students who work there way through are part of the structure of my lie. If I am not rehearsing a show, I am researching the next one. Plans get made around rehearsals and set construction, students cease being children and become friends. 


Some of my proudest moments have happened there and I am forever grateful for the chance to share them.

The Globe Theatre of the Homer Shakespearean Society