...and I thought you might like to see more of the pieces from the Trashion Show last week. Since some of them are on display at the Chamber of Commerce, we trekked down in the rain this morning to take some photos. Aren't they awesome?!!!
This steampunk outfit by Tracy Floer is outstanding...I couldn't stop looking at all the ways she'd reused 'trash'!
The dress woven from plastic bags is truly glamorous,
and the colours in the sash are just so rich.
I love that it came complete with dancing slippers!
Maureen Cameron's Filter Fantasy features a host of coffee filters stained naturally.
I'm loving the epaulettes!
And isn't the floral hat delicious?!
It's another dazzling outfit, most certainly.
Since we were away visiting family for Mother's Day, my studio was pretty quiet. That's something I hope to remedy this next week. In the meantime, I hope you had a fabulous Mother's Day yourself, and that your creative juices are flowing!
...and Rochelle has walked the plank runway wearing The Lunacy Gown. I have to say she is the best looking daughter I have - a knockout. Fortunately, she is much less of a braggart than her mom.
Here's a video of the runway walk . . . in case you can't hear what the MC is saying, the patter that accompanied the walk is as follows:
'Crafted from about 200 used dryer sheets, thrift store
embroidery floss, tank top and threads, this Lunacy Gown has been created by
Win Dinn and is being modelled by her daughter, Rochelle Christensen. The skirt
of the gown is comprised of dryer sheets that have been used to mop up leftover
paint in Win’s studio. For modesty’s
sake, it has been backed by a host of unpainted dryer sheets. The floral neck embellishments and wristband
are designed from the painted sheets that have been stiffened with GAC400, an
aptly named Golden Artist's medium. A
Facebook APB brought in a host of donated sheets for the project, and three
months of hand-stitching, blood, sweat, tears and embroidery brought the outfit
to completion. It's perfectly clear that nobody in their right mind would
conceive or complete a project like this one, hence the name of Lunacy Gown.'
Of course I know some of you are macro fans and want a closer look.
Of course John and I had to get in on the act, too.
There were some amazing outfits there, and I thought you should take a peek at a couple that I managed to photograph the next day. I just love this newspaper dress by local textile artist Anne Fetterly - the thought of ironing all those pleats just has me boggled (says the woman who washes and iron dryer sheets so she can mop up paint with them).
This dress crocheted from plastic garbage bags is dynamite.
The evening, part of Focus on Youth, included some fascinating and vibrant Trash to Treasure projects from school children as well.
Brenda Brucker, organiser extraordinaire of the evening, created this Procrastinator's Apron
and her quilt club entrants were given oddball 'gifts' with which to create something as well. Love the photos of their scores accompanying the items they crafted.
I was truly stunned at the variety of work in the Trashion Show and the Trash to Treasure show by adults and children alike. The creativity in this town is overwhelming. I only wish I had more photos, but I think you're just going to have to come and see for yourself. The show closes tomorrow, so make sure you stop in!
And now, of course, it's on to the next project, whatever that may be . . . life as an artist, tbc.
...and paint, paint, paint. It's a colourful space in the house these days.
There are partially finished projects everywhere.
And when I'm supposed to be nose to the grindstone to finish them, I get distracted by leaf patterns and spend waaaaaay too much time taking photos of them.
Truly, I do want to get this dress finished so I can go play outside since the weather is warming up appreciably...so back to the stitch, stitch, stitch!
How about you - what's happening in your corner of the world?
,,,when a project is 'too much', yet most of us happily continue on, oblivious to the doubts that arise.
The Lunacy Dress is just such a project. It's so far from done it's laughable, and yet....and yet... I can't stop.
With the skirt well-started, I already have a few favourite squares. Some are already embroidered and some happily await the needle and floss.
As I look at the photos, I can see that I have a penchant for blotchiness - they rather remind me of galaxies in outer space.
I'm making an effort not to look at the list of yet-to-be-done tasks to bring this project to completion by May 6, because contrary to many artists, I don't work well under pressure.
And because women can't live on embroidery alone, I had a quick play with the gel plate and some leaves that dropped off a croton tree due to distress at a major transplant. Amazing how some leaf printing can brighten a studio.
Now it's back to the stitching and hang that paint! What are you up to this week - I'd love to hear in the comments below!
