The bunad is completed, and I'm so excited to share final pictures of this project with you all! Without a proper model, the pictured proportions are a little off - but I thought it would be the best way to see the full effect: blouse, bodice, skirt, and belt. It's been so much fun to work on something with this much history behind it.
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At long last, final pictures of the completed animal costumes! All photo credits go to Anthony Brown (https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyBrownPhoto?fref=ts), original makeup designs by myself. A drumroll, please...
Remember the peacock? The final touch was an almost abstract take on a feather design, enlarged on each feather of the folding tail. And then to finish the flamingo. The ruffles were attached to the edge, and simple straps were added on the back to go over the child's arms. The finishing touch is a thin headband made of the rest of the silk skirt used for the wings. At this point, things were starting to wrap up. The butterfly and lion were soon to be finished, and one more costume, the flamingo, was about to be born. Here, the finished wings are laid out. Like the other designs, they were tied around the waist with a coordinating bow, and I added thin shoulder straps to stabilize the upper wings. My absolute favorite part of making this costume? My fitting with the young girl who would wear it. She had been practicing her "flying wings" all week, and was just glowing when she looked in the mirror. And here we are, back to the lion mane. Hot glue was my savior on this piece. I cut short strips of a variety of coordinating fabrics and felts, and glued them on to the base. It was sturdy and functional - and considerably less time intensive than sewing them on would have been. And finally, my flamingo. Unlike some of the other costumes, this would involve several pieces, with two separate wings and a matching headband. I used a foam base for the wings, like the turtle shell. In order to create a slight curve in the wings, I simply cut the backing piece slightly smaller than the front. For the main fabric for these pieces, I found a lightly patterned hot pink silk skirt at the thrift store - a perfect weight and texture for a graceful bird. To create the idea of feathers, I gathered strips of a coordinating pink cotton to sew around the bottom edges.
This creature will be a peacock. Based loosely on the idea of a folding fan, it ties around the waist, and can be opened or closed to reveal or hide the feathers. I used thin plastic floor moldings as the support for the fabric of the fan, a lightweight cotton that will be painted with fabric paint. Once again, the S. R. Harris remnant bin saved the wallet, with the satin for the waist tie coming in at $2.00/yd. What a steal! While the animal costumes were the bulk of what I made for this recital, I also made several other pieces for other dance numbers, many of which were shimmery or sparkly. These tunics were worn for the Sun, Moon, and Stars dance. The drape mimicked a very popular spring and summer style, while adding to the girl's movement. Another unique aspect of the this recital was that it involved visual as well as performing artists. Two young ladies painted a large canvas at the front of the venue during the rest of the performance. Have you ever seen a painting smock quite like this before?
Just a few simpler steps for you tonight. First of all, the finished giraffe head piece! This is worn with the two poles resting on the back of the shoulders, and a big bow in front. The loose neck pieces move with the dancer - effective and cute! It's a rather simple beginning, but this is the base for the turtle shell. It's made of layers of lightweight foam, so it can be easily worn on the back. All the rough edges will be covered with the fabric. And finally, the very beginning of butterfly wings! A bright batik cotton will form the base, with lace details and a solid orange bow. The animals I created for this event didn't need to be strictly life-like, which gave me a lot of freedom in my design. As it was a children's dance recital, I wanted to stylize them enough to be really cute, while not making the kids feel too young or silly. I also focused on how the piece might interact with the child's movement to make the movement more animal - like. For each animal, I chose one or two features that made it unique. For the lion: the mane. First things first: a base to form the shape and keep everything together. As I don't have a head form, I sized it on my own head and shoulders, then cut it down to the child's measurements. A piece of elastic to go around the chin and distribute some of the weight finished this section. (And a little secret: I used part of an old sheet for this. Sturdy, soft, and very inexpensive!) My second step was to get it ready to add the streamers that would form the fur. Since I was using hot glue to attach everything, it had to keep everything still without my having to hold it. A small lamp worked perfectly. The next step of the lion will be coming the next week! And an elephant is born! This originated as a plaid wool skirt - you can still see the outline, with the waistband at the left side of the picture. The two pieces gathered at the edges will end up as foot covers, and the piece on the right will become the trunk.
And finally, the beginning of the giraffe. Thin, flexible plastic tubing forms a base for the head. Remember those bamboo lawn candle stakes pictured in the last post? Those will be used as the neck to suspend the head, resting on the person's shoulders. To make sure the ends of the stakes don't dig into the shoulders, I repurposed a pair of shoulder pads, hidden inside the wide sash that ties it on. Once the head was covered, I added a pair of ears and a pair of horns, supported by more of the plastic tubing. That's it for now! Watch for Part 2 in the next few days, to dig into a few new animals and get updates on these!
Hello, strangers! It's been far, far too long - almost too months now. But it's been a very busy few months for me, what with graduating from college, working on four different productions, and starting several large sewing projects. So busy, in fact, that I've barely had time to finish my work, much less be able to share it! So here begins a short series on the latest projects that I've been working on, some of which have already been completed, and others which are still in the works. The first big project I had the opportunity to work on this summer was to costume the Fusion Dance spring illustration night. The teachers and students created a program around the Biblical story of creation. Between sparkling stars and a zoo full of animals played by the children, I certainly had my hands full. In the next few posts, I'll detail the seven different animals that made up the menagerie (including a graffe, a butterfly, and a peacock, to name a few), as well as highlight some of the other pieces I created. Next up, I'll be designing and building the costumes for Children of Eden with Cross Community Players. Well, to be more exact, I'm in the process of doing so. As the end of July gets closer, keep an eye out for updates on my progress, with renderings and process photos. And aside from the big projects? I've recently organized a new work space, and started digging into a couple of smaller projects, as well as new designs. It's going to be an exciting few months! Be sure to keep checking in for new posts!
I recently had the opportunity to work on the costumes for North Central University's production of "Seussical the Musical." The bird girls, the Greek chorus of the story, wore matching bright chiffon dresses. The costumer was able to rent one in the style she was looking for, and I was commissioned to create the other two. I started with a basic pattern for the dresses and then built the different bodices over the base, and finished with the tucking in the skirts. The original aqua dress after which I patterned the others had an unusual draped bodice, so we decided to modify the other two so each girl would have her own style of dress. I was quite happy with the result. The under layer was a heavy satin, giving the dresses a little more structure, and adding a little bit of shimmer through the sheer chiffon. On it's own, I thought it looked just like a Disney princess dress! As a finishing touch, the costumer added matching boas to the hems, and covered shoes with extra feathers. Their fluffy matching tails worked great with the tucked skirts. The ladies looked lovely in their finished dresses! |
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