A Visual Potpourri

Today I am off to New Canaan, CT to drop off the Red Alert Cocktail Dress at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center for the final judging for the 60th Annual Art of the Northeast show. David Lang also made the semifinal so we are making the road trip – wish us luck.

Also here is the documentation of the decay of the Don’t Slip dress. I left it outside for a good many days. I was hoping for it to go completely black/brown but I think being outside and moist might have affected it. It was also interesting how at sometimes some of the peels curled up.

day 1

day 1 ~later

day 2

day 3

day 4

day 5

day 6 ~ off to the compost!!

Lastly – here is a dress that I made over vacation. I was on an early walk with my dog when I came across a field of these ‘pods’ which I don’t know what they are called, however I have always loved them. In the fall they are ripe with seeds and have a very particular smell when you open them up. And when they dry these pods become wonderful rattles. The ones I discovered this week had spent the winter under piles of snow and now were dark, moist and flat – very reminiscent to the look of a rotting banana peel. So since this shape has been speaking to me I had to stop and make a dress. This shape begs to be part of a skirt, and just screamed to represents ribs. Near by there was a driveway which was covered with these red fallings and these became the trim of the dress.

As always when I am out on nature and moved to make a dress I am reminded on how authentic the dress shape is to me. When I am searching for the right ‘pod’ or shell or petal all other noises/voices vanish from my head and I am blessed with being in the moment of creating. Also I believe that since these dresses are temporary my critic is quiet. When I was in Portland I made a nature dress (to be discussed in another post) and during that time I had an Aha moment. I was working away in my own little world when my friend called to check in on me…She asked me if I was ok and I answered that I was exactly where I needed to be and that rang so true to me. I needed to be creating and present in that process. It has been an enlightening lesson and one I am trying to incorporate into a full life of family, children and friends.

Lastly … since it still National Poetry Month – a nod to Robert Frost. As I disappeared into my dress making zone my dog had to wait. At first he was ok sitting for a bit – we were in a park. But then as the time went on he started to get confused and it reminded me of the line from Robert Frost’s

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening ~

… My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake …

peace ~