Thursday, August 8, 2013

it all started seven years ago . . . .

wedding dress (brenda's dress) 
it all began on wells beach, me. in 2006. i had an idea of an image of a dress and while walking on the beach one morning i picked up a stick to see what this 'dress' would look like.  i drew a sleeveless, life sized dress and  filled it in with the beautiful beach rocks & then proceeded to let the high tide take it away ~ giving me a new, clean canvas on which to make another dress.  the process felt so right and so gratifying that for the rest of the vacation i made a dress!  & each day i would walk the beach with no preconceived idea and would just listen to which material i was to use that day... 


It all started, innocently on 
a family vacation, 
in Wells Beach, ME.
A broken glass, 
a sea of drowning ladybugs 
and a nagging thought 
lead me to create 
the DressProject.  

(for more about ladybugs and dresses)

Since then I have created hundreds of dresses, 
in a myriad of media and materials.
Some in unique locales:
dress #3 from wells beach, me.
new york diner dress (2006)
I have made LARGE dressese
this installation centered around an 8 foot tall dress of eggshells 
'this comes from within' medicine wheel productions (2009)
and I have made small dresses 
abc dress (2006) about 1 inch square

some dresses have a message:
'in memory of  . . . .' (2008) in private collection

'ripple' (2010)

I have made ephemeral dresses and dress sculptures
 which reside in public and private collections.
'lush' (2009) in private collection

And 7 years later, the desire to make dresses is just as unrelenting as it was in Wells Beach.
The dress continues to inspire me to venture into new realms of expression;  performance, installations and collaborative art.


'metamorphosis' (2013) made with the Dana Hall student body
The dress has lead me to
my dresstagging practice
the world of greeting cards and
one of the first dresstags, portsmouth, NH
dresscard  - soon to be for sale on Etsy
I have made dresses out of plaster, plastic bottles, VCR tape, 
fresh pasta, shells, maps, clothes pins, 
fall leaves, dog hair, ribbons, 
even nail polish . . . Nothing is safe!!!
winding roads (2011) paper-mache, paint, marker 
'cicada' (2012) mixed media painting on panel
'time to take flight' (2012) mixed media collage, part of the 'home sweet home' series

With the dress I discovered my voice,
the dress became my soapbox from 

which I could initiate a dialogue,
engage in political debate, 

question social protocol and
excavate my authentic self.
thank you
And I thank you for your continued interest 
in my dress obsession, 
your company and support has made 
this journey all the more gratifying. 

peace

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