These wonderful musical instruments belong to my daughter, who can play all of them to some degree. Many thanks to her for letting me play with them in my own way! They make a very pretty tropical island dress, don't they? The lap harp is such a flirty little skirt with a wooden Native American carved flute for a belt and pan flutes for the bodice. The shoulder clasp is an ocarina. This one is painted with Kokopelli dancing on it. These instruments make such lovely music when she plays. Wouldn't it be great if the dress could create such music as it's worn?
0 Comments
I decided I had to sketch out my design idea for my Easter Island dress, even if I never get it made, just so that I don't forget it. The sketch is pretty rough and done on the back of a page in my idea notebook, but the style is fairly clear for all that. This long-sleeved minidress is one of my favorite dress styles, clearly showing that I'm an 80's girl at heart. But it's really perfect for big designs like my Moai stone head, as you can see. Someday I'll make this dress. And someday, maybe I'll even get the chance to visit Rapa Nui and see the actual Moai statues for myself. It never hurts to dream.
I can't seem to find the perfect place for all my photos so that I have easy access to them, yet they're organized by event like I want. My old photo albums are falling apart, and they take up far too much room as it is. I need a better plan. Anyone got any ideas? These black & whites are from a trip I took in 2002 to England and still have not archived. Thankfully I have my journal records of the trip or I'd never have the chance to eventually get them in order. They make a very pretty mini dress, though, scattered on my floor. Quite the marbleized effect of blacks, whites, and greys. I need a summer dress just like this one to wear out for the balmy evenings we get in Missouri.
A truly fun game I don't play much anymore is Tri-Ominos. But I've kept the game in the hopes that someday I'll find an opponent who I will enjoy playing with again. Unpacking games today, I just knew I had to make a dress of it to remind myself that life is all about changes. I like the starkness of this style and the use of negative space to give the skirt added dimension. Very chic.
One of the first things I opened up at my new house was my magnetic poetry bag, so that I could put my words on my filing cabinets and play with them. Today I made a dress from them, trying not to think too much about the words I chose, but merely to let my mind wander. I like the story that came through this unconscious pairing of words to shape and shall leave it up a while to enjoy. Oh, and the dress has a great silhouette, don't you think? Very 30's pleated satin to my mind.
I found a fun (and really big!) United States puzzle at a yard sale and got it for the girls so we could play geography at our home school. Once I got it home I had to put it together to make sure it had all the pieces. It didn't, so I got the chance to be creative and add in the 2 states that had been lost by the former owners. I'll let the girls color them when we put the puzzle together so they can feel a part of it all. Of course, as I was putting it all away, I got the crazy idea to make a state dress. I really like the sweetheart neckline of this dress, as well as the jagged edge to the flirty skirt. The fun short sleeves also add to the pixie flavor and make this a great dress for a day out shopping or boating or picnicking by the lake. [Note: only one of these states is one I've actually lived in (Missouri) although I've been to most of them.]
Since I was so brave yesterday (with such great results), I had to see if I could do the really hard test today and use my non-dominant hand to draw a simple dress. What you have to understand is that I'm not only left-handed, I'm extremely left-handed -- which means that I use my right hand hardly ever! So I was quite shocked to find that I had fairly good hand-eye coordination when I drew this dress. I don't know how that happened, but I'm pleased that it turned out well. This dress was drawn with a magenta marker (which didn't translate well onto the computer), and if I made this simple figure-hugging design in a matching knit I'd be the life of the party! Surprise! Surprise!
I decided I was courageous enough to tackle a dress blindfolded today. It helped that I didn't take the marker off the page while I was drawing, but as you can see it definitely didn't end up symmetrical. However, it did end up rather cute -- with a wrap bodice I hadn't planned and a fun angled ragged hem. Done in eggplant as this was drawn, it would make a stunning spring or fall cocktail dress. Which is so cool considering that I expected it to turn out a formless blob! *grin*
In honor of the wonderful tree I now have outside my front door, I made this stick dress today from debris fallen from it. A daring plunge takes the bodice almost to the waist, then a slender skirt flares out at the hem. Short sleeves balance out the dress quite nicely. I love the textures and different greys of this stylish dress! Of ocurse, my tree gets to wear these colors every day. *grin* Marla gave me the idea for a stick dress a while ago, but I'd forgotten until I reviewed the idea list I have from friends. Thanks, Marla!
Do you remember the Viewmaster? It was an awesome toy when I was a kid that had 3D pictures of cool things and places you could look at through a special type of toy binoculars. This set belongs to my granddaughters and includes lots of pictures of cool places to visit in the United States, including the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde. They don't play with it much; TV has a bigger appeal to them. But while we were unpacking their toys I found it and had to make a dress! It turned out very lacy and summery. I really like it!
|
Denise FeltI took this challenge in the hopes of expanding my creativity as an artist. Already I'm seeing art in a new light -- as something to do for fun and not just practicality! Archives
December 2015
|