 |
| 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
and I have made small dresses
 |
abc dress (2006) about 1 inch square
|
some dresses have a message:
 |
| 'ripple' (2010) |
I have made ephemeral dresses and dress sculptures
which reside in public and private collections.
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 |
