Ready for her close-up

Last week I had the pleasure of delivering Lush (also known as Barcelona) to her new home ~ it was such a treat!!!! I was able to see the beautiful space that these wonderful people have set up for her ... it looked like it was made especially for her!!! There was a nook all ready for her with red urns to flank her. Beside her nook was a wildly colored screen in a design similar to the wall designs of 'this comes from within'. And the best part was the brightly colored chandelier of BARBIE dolls which came from a terrific vintage clothing and accessories store in Gloucester called Bananas. The owner Richard Leonard made the chandelier, and when I met him I learned that he made a dress out of Barbies!!!! It was exhibited in a few places, here is the link to one of the show catalogs!!


So besides knowing that Lush is with nice people in the perfect home I also found a terrific vintage store and learned about a dress of barbies ~ life is good!!!


Before she left I did want to document her. This dress has been on the move since she was finished!! First the ALL show in Lowell in August, then @ Gallery 55 for the open studios and then off to the Red Show @ the Cambridge Art Association where she was sold...so I hadn't really had a moment to photograph her. So I got her set-up with lights and whatnot. But the really fun part was that I took pictures of her in different locations. This is an idea that I have been bouncing around in my mind for awhile. I really want/plan to make another eggshell dress and put it into different locations and photograph it. So I really enjoyed experimenting with Lush ~ two of the photos are below.


peace

the dress is in the mail!!!

Well Black Widow has officially made it safely to the From Center show @ the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago,IL ~ yeah team!!! The process was quite a learning experience - both in the physical sense ~ getting a dress out of state safely and economically and on a personal level.

I was a bit 'anxious' about sending a dress out on her own ~ putting her in the hands of some mail personal (and I have not had the best 'shipping karma' in the past.) So there were some concerns but on the whole I was totally pumped about this ~ one of my dresses in a national WCA show which will be up during the WCA conference!!! Quite an opportunity!! So I was puzzled when i entered my studio on Monday and I could not focus on the tasks at hand ... honestly I wanted to FLEE!!! This was confusing - the 'task' was straight forward ~ primp, pack and ship. However I was only able to get myself to 'primp' her. I came home discouraged - the piece needed to be in Chicago by Friday - the clock was ticking.

So as the evening wound down and I was checking out different carriers' quotes, i decided to check out the blog site of an author that I had just rediscovered, Oriah Mountain Dreamer. She is a author and poet who wrote the inspiration poem, The Invitation , which lead to a series of books. I had stumbled upon her book, The Dance, soon after starting the Dress Project and her message resonated so clearly with me. But, as happens to the things that are so healthy for you, I sort of forgot about Oriah's writings until this past weekend. I again stumbled upon one of her books , What we Ache For, Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul. I learned not only about more of her books but also about her website and blog. On Monday night I looked up her blog, the Green Bough ~ and the post i found was Resisting What We Want ~ the theme could not have been more appropriate. Here is an excerpt which really hit home.... "But sometimes, we just need to acknowledge the resistance and keep walking into the thing that calls our name. Resistance is the ego sensing danger. Engaging in creative work involves taking new risks, entering uncharted territory that may change us in unpredictable ways."... Reading her post gave me a sense of ease. I went to bed knowing that I would be able to get Black Widow to Chicago and I did. I woke Tues morning with a new resolve and sense of calm. I knew what I needed to do and everything just fell into place. Finding that blog entry not only calmed my mind it also made me realize that many creative people go through this resistances and that it is a learning experience and not a fault or failure. So thank you Oriah.

Now for the engineering....

So I woke Tuesday AM knowing that I needed a short garment box - compact, sturdy & set up to hang garments - like a dress.

Now instead of using the metal rod that came with the box I used a lighter rod made out of wood. I wrapped this rod with bubble wrap and securely bound the dress to the rod.

Then I took all of the skirt and put it into a large plastic bag which I then hung to the rod. This way nothing would be resting on the skirt - causing it to wrinkle.

Then I settled the dress into the box, sewing the rod onto the sides of the box. The dress was just suspended in the box.

Once secured in the box I wrapped the dress within an inch of its life with bubble wrap!!

There was lots of room around the dress so I made my own large packing bubbles by blowing up gallon Ziploc bags and sealing them.

Once the box was really stuffed and the dress was NOT moving (I even turned the box upside down) and taped the box up and took it to the UPS center. And not only did Black Widow get safely and soundly to Chicago - it got there on Thursday!!! :)

the end

So that is the story of the packing of Black Widow. hope u liked it & peace

Dresses back home

Today I went down to Providence to retrieve my dresses from Gallery Z. Because of snow and my hands this was the first time I got to see the show ~ but luckily I could see the entire show and Gallery Z did a beautiful job.
In Memory of was in the window and Red Alert was there to greet everyone coming in. Also my mini dresses were featured in a beautiful spot & happily the owner, Berge Ara Zobian, wanted the mini dresses to stay longer ~ yea!!! So I am starting the new year with dresses in a wonderful gallery - great way to start the year.

Also on the horizons I will be delivering Lush to its new home ~ it was purchased from the Red show @ the Cambridge Art Association, and I will be getting (somehow) Black Widow to Chicago.

So yeah for the 2010!!

peace

Happy 2010!!!!!

Wishing all a passionate, creative, magical & peaceful 2010!!!!

Over New Year’s Eve, I was with some folks that i hadn't seen for a long time so we played the catch-up game. When I was rehashing the year I realized that 2009 was an amazingly full year for the Dress Project and me professionally!!! I had pieces in a dozen shows throughout the year and created my first full scaled installation!!! It has been a year of immense creative & personal growth. One of the highlights was definitely ‘this comes from with’ ~ the installation that I constructed at Michael Dowling’s Medicine Wheel in South Boston. In retrospect that was a huge project – in the works for 7 months!! It was a spectacular experience ~ creatively, educationally & personally. It was such a personal triumph that I was able to successfully construct my personal vision in the 21’x15’ gallery!! There was a definite adjustment in my home – Mom was out of the house more than ever ~ everyone was learning. Also I learned to work with others ~ it was a truly memorable experience working with the kids at Medicine Wheel!!! Another milestone was getting the Dress Project out of state – thank you Gallery Z in Providence, RI. Sadly I had to miss the opening because of my hand injuries ~ as wonderful as this year was professional it ended a bit difficultly with some accidents, especially with my hands. But as I have been going through many procedures for my hands I have been inspired to do a series of work about my hands – drawing, sketches, painting, collages, sculpture and so much more. So I am heading into the New Year and new decade with many dress ideas but also a new passion for hands!!!
So hoping everyone is heading into the New Year with a new passion & full of excitement for things to come!!!

Peace to everyone!!!!!