take a number ....

The creation of this dress was , as it usually is, a journey for me ~ starting off with one idea but the dress taking me in an entirely different direction. I have used these deli tickets before & I love them~ their color, the graphics and what they stand for .... waiting to be served. I have used these tickets for a 'thank you for waiting' theme, but this time the phrase 'take a number' echoed loudly in my head. For me, this dress is a little commentary about how I have been feeling in the last weeks of summer vacation. Now don't get me wrong - there are many, MANY things I love about summer vacation. I especially love having long days with my girls to explore, play, veg out!! However ~ there are times that being mom, artist, daughter, wife, cook, waitress, taxi driver, referee, cleaner, dog walker,... for 24/7 can take its toll ~ I feel frayed, at my wits end. This dress came from that place.

I created the top with pink tissue as a base that I would cover with some bright patterned paper. But as it was drying I saw the translucence of the tissue & I decided to leave it ~ it created a feeling of softness and vulnerability. Then i felt that this dress needed to have a heart, an anatomically correct heart, as I have been feeling that my heart is on the outside for all to see. From this heart I sewed onto the paper top many lines, in reds and pinks, creating a pattern but also suggesting veins. I am VERY interested in the anatomy of the body lately, especially the heart. Many pieces that I am working on now have a heart in or on them. However once the lines were sewn onto the bodice my anatomically correct heart got lost in the fray....so I placed the gem over the heart. Now the heart is quietly peaking out from behind the gem, maybe the gem is protecting it, keeping it safe.

I am always amazed at how my work unfolds before me .... I can struggle with it and fight my internal critics, but if I quiet my mind, and really listen & follow that still quiet voice without doubt, amazing results happen. And sometimes I don't even recognize it until I sit here and blog about the process. After writing this post I feel that this dress is not only about feeling pulled in many directions, waiting on many people ~ it is about heartstrings! It is how it can feel when you put your heart out there and love and care for people ... it can being scary, tiring, painful but also wonderful!!!

peace