Catenary

Funny how inspiration can hit you like a thunderbolt, eh? Today, I was struck by so many wonderful, artistic, inspiring ideas, that my head hardly has room for them all. The morning began with these wonderful net "lawn fairies" someone had photographed on Facebook, and a tidbit about Issey Miyake designing Steve Job's iconic black turtlenecks, and a creative stencil idea from Alabama Chanin. While surfing the web, I became frustrated at not understanding a series of monotonous, seemingly useless artwork by a quilt artist I admire. I HATE when that happens. Someone takes so much time to explain his/her aesthetic, I try to wrap my brain around it... and come up...empty.

This all took place within the first hour or so of my waking up this morning.

Fast forward to this afternoon/evening, while my pea soup was simmering gently on the stove, and I was in a very peaceful state of mind....

Magically wound into my day, was a memory of a Jasper Johns show I saw with my daughter, who was then 7 years old. The show was called "Gray". I thought it truly inspiring, and felt a small wave of pride that I only get when I really feel that I understand something that appears to be truly high-concept, artistically. People were wandering through the show, some stifling giggles, some gesturing and excitedly chattering, some very quietly standing and staring at a sea of gray... I explained to my daughter that all of the reactions she was seeing were valid, and that we were witnessing the power of great art. The people who think the show is ridiculous? They're right. The people who think the show is brilliant? They are right. The people who are working to understand it, and those who "get it"? Also right. The ability to generate that variety of response and fascination from an intelligent audience? Genius.

So, my internet trail led me to a Charlie Rose discussion of the show. Into my life walked the word "Catenary", and the biggest blast of ideas for clothing (That I'm already creating!) that I've had in a long time. The word alone doesn't do much, but the experience of the word, its definition, and its use in Johns' artwork is what gave me the inspiration. I must work on the ideas in my head. Starting now.

Creative "auras"

It is said that some people experience an "aura" before a seizure. Maybe a smell, a sensation, a frantic, fidgety feeling...

I have creative "auras". When I feel a wave of sewing or artistic fever coming on, I suddenly go into a frenzy, much like before I gave birth. I clean and organize excessively, store cooked meals so I won't need to prepare new meals for a bit, make all of my calls, clean out my to-do list, and fire up the machine... It bubbles up in me, and feels something like the above jellyfish aquarium shot I took in San Francisco.

This morning, I heard the sweetest words ever. This time from my daughter...

"Mommy, will you make me some clothes?"

So now, I'm in it. You'll see more when I have something to show!

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Not for Sale

My hero! This was one of my favorite Oscar dresses, because you can tell, she wore it because she wanted to! ... And it really seems to suit her personality. This is an example of the personal expression and individuality I celebrate.



I haven't seen the movie she wrote, but I may... when I can watch it at home... maybe.

Explaining why she wouldn't wear the million-dollar Weitzman shoes on the red carpet, Juno's reasoning was simple...

No one asked her. They simply sent the shoes, expecting her to wear them.

She doesn't have a million dollars, and, if she did, that's not how she would spend it.

I love that! She's not for sale, and that's fantastic...

You probably have a special skill or talent. Something that, when you give it your all, is painstakingly difficult to do, but thoughroughly rewarding. There is no amount of money that it is worth.

There is an infitinite and ever-expanding amount of love, beauty and creativity in the world; and a finite number of million dollar shoes. Today, let's focus on expanding the infinite.


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Contamination

It makes about as much sense to have a smoking section in a restaurant, as it does to have a peeing section in a public pool...

-Wayne Dyer (paraphrased, from memory)

I went fabric shopping on Saturday... Well, I tried to fabric shop on Saturday. Completely overloaded with choices, stores, project ideas, and my own works-in-progress, I wandered around aimlessly, wasting my precious time, only to return home empty-handed. I thought I was feeding my creative ideas, but I actually contaminated my process by adding a bunch of new ideas to the mixture.

And, boy, did I see some HORRIBLY ugly stuff, things I just can't erase from my mind. The "sale" or "closeout" sections of some of these stores made me want to weep. Considering the fact that sewing out of economic necessity no longer makes much sense, why do these stores insult our taste with the very worst examples of textiles available in the free world?

Or maybe it is just that time of year. We are heading toward my least favorite month... February. Long, cold dreary days with no hope of Spring in sight. I think I went to the wrong place looking for inspiration.

Next weekend... maybe the Metropolitan Museum!

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The Allegory of the Cave...

A few nights ago, I was watching the shadows of the city lights outside, dancing across our bedroom wall, and I turned to my husband and asked, "What do you think the lesson of Plato's Allegory of the Cave was meant to be?" He said "Well, probably... no matter how hard you try, you just can't make some people see things your way." (And yes, we have conversations like this all the time...)

If you are unfamiliar with the story, it describes a dark cave, dimly lit with a roaring fire. Prisoners are chained in a restrictive position, so that they can only see shadows on a wall, being cast by the figures behind them. Because of their limited view, it appears that the shadows are real, and that the voices they hear are coming from the shadows. A prisoner who was able to escape, leaves the cave, and experiences sunlight and the outside world, then returns to the cave to "enlighten" the others... But they dismiss him, thinking he is crazy, and that his eyesight has been damaged by the sunlight. This is just a quick condensed version of the story, but it is truly food for thought.

People sometimes ask me why I would want to make things that are so easily bought. "Why would anyone want to make slippers?" they ask. Until this moment, I thought that maybe one of us (but who knows which one...?) was the cave-dweller, who just couldn't imagine the other person's way of thinking.

Turns out, after thinking about it, and rereading Plato, that isn't it at all!

The problem, it seems, is in our wide definition of "slipper".

Further reading in Plato's Republic analyzes art, truth and imitation. Assuming there is only one true Creator of all things, everything else is imitation, right?

So an approximation of a generic foot, generates a standardized pattern, which gets produced, yielding a product that you can then buy, called a "slipper". While this is a perfectly valid way to obtain a slipper, an alternative way to develop a "slipper", is to obtain the measurements of the intended wearer, find something that is beautiful to the person who will wear it, and create it according to its intended purpose and unique design. This can also be called a "slipper", but it really just isn't the same thing.

This idea goes back to my post about spider webs, and the beauty of unique, specific, ergonomic design. I no longer seek to convert people to my way of thinking; it is enough for them just to know that making things is something I do, because I love it, and it is meaningful to me.

Sure, you can buy a shirt or make one, but the one you make isn't just a shirt, is it? I mean really, what you want is never an exact duplicate of what you can actually buy, is it?

So, if I haven't lost you, and you haven't yet decided that I am completely off my rocker, here is some proof of that idea.



So, what is this? You might have seen this fabric, which was wildly popular about 7 years ago, and was ushering in a kinda new color scheme at the time... Plus that it conveys such a happy mood, and a great attitude. So for me, at a time when I was feeling optimistic and VERY pregnant, I bought this fabric, and created a baby bag...




I wanted to carry this mood around with me all day, and that was reason enough to create this bag, using this fabric, and I used a layer of clear vinyl on top, and a canvas totebag beneath to sandwich the layers without needing to create a pattern. Heavy snaps made it very easy to open and close, and the vinyl coating kept me from worrying about getting it wet in the rain. I carried it until I no longer needed it, and it really seemed to brighten the day for me, and for others.

So my point is... if it means something to me, it needs to be created just as much as I need to create it. I really can't explain why, so I'll just continue to live it.

Nothing to do with sewing...

Just something beautiful...

Creative jouneys

Every Saturday morning, tour buses roll into my neighborhood. They come from Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philly... Long considered a shopping magnet for the urban teen and young adult market, my new neighborhood is broadening its horizons, due to the recent passing of a HUGE rezoning plan. We are the hub of the AirTrain from JFK airport, a hub for the Long Island railroad, and soon to be home of a new Macy's JCPenney, Trader Joes, new hotels, and new schools. It feels like they are fixing EVERYTHING at once.

By the way, I have never seen so many sneaker stores in my life... who knew there were that many brands to choose from? And collectible VINTAGE NIke Air Force Ones???? How out of touch am I?


The fabric stores in my new neighborhood reflect the unique cultural mix of this area. The colors of India, the warmth of the Carribean, the vibrancy of Latin America, and absolutely EVERYONE else are reflected in the offerings of the fabric stores near me. Within a three block radius, these are pictures from about half of the stores on those few streets... what I snapped on this morning's walk, with my two-year old at my side!







Aside from this, the biggest appeal of this neighborhood, is that I am now close to my beloved library, which had circulated the highest number of books and other library materials in the country since 1994, and is the second largest public library in the U.S. in terms of size of collections. If there ever were a perfect library, this one is it...



And, completely off-topic... I must share with you, a song that is so lovely, it just makes me want to melt, by
Colbie Caillat . Is it just me?

It may seem that I am abandoning projects...

Once upon a time, I made these things...


Above, a dress for an actress to wear at a red-carpet premiere of her indie-movie. I saw her again on TV some time later. I hope she's living her dream!



Above, a fun, flirty replica of the bride's mimiskirted wedding dress, to be worn to her rehearsal dinner. Stretch tank dress beneath this lovely silk... trumpet sleeves - sexy... what fun!



Above, pants for a very slim and elegant executive. They fit like a glove.



Above, a Valentine's Day themed duvet cover and accessories for the NY Newsday article. Although they came and photographed everything (this was my own photo, not a professionally lit and styled one), the only picture that came out in the publication was a huge one of my face. It was a very uncomfortable moment then, but now I'm over it!



Above, a bridal client's neckline for her 50's themed dress, with a big, flowy skirt... No understructure... see? There's my point. Every bump and wrinkle shows.


I have quite a few projects in various states of completion - I tend to work on many at at time, and new ideas come in. You can see the rhythm in my blog, even though I hide it. I suddenly get inspired to write like ten posts, then stagger the publishing, so I can provide a bit of steady content. Well, that... and I have NO time, these days...

So, I get inspired by things that might not look like what I'm envisioning, but they spark an idea, and I must hold onto it. Then I keep an idea journal, and create things in a sewing binge, that makes my family wonder if I've gone mad. I'm in one now...

So, there are always some pieces of inspiration that I doubt would explain much to anyone who is not in my brain... but rather than wast time trying to convey my plans, I'll just work on showing you the results...

Shut up and sew!

This picture feels like someone sneaked into our house, set up our stuff, and took pictures while no one was looking. This is not my photo. You will need to visit Desire to Inspire to see more beautiful photographs. Not that it is such an unusual design setup, but this is so weird, it is unsettling.

Below, our trunk...


If you caught the Valentine's Day shoot photographs I did for Newsday afew years back, you would see that our pillows are very similar.

Blah, blah, blah.

I feel like I've been all talk, no sewing... so today, I am immersed.


I've covered my sofas (the room they are in is too stuffed with boxes to take a good picture right now) - good thing we're moving to a much larger space!



Made my custom pillows, and found my ideal pillow color scheme.



The hardest part is keeping it all kid-friendly!

Too good to pass up...

I have packed 5 boxes already today, and I need a break. I haven't been intrested in TV too much lately, so I've been doing a lot of web surfing. These are fun things to inspire all of you creative people out there.


Mr. Picasso Head
Gotta love this idea. You can create your own Mr. Potato Head-esque creation. I got really into it!


Simpsonize me
You have probably already heard of this one, but my daughter and I created one for her together. She didn't feel there were enough hairstyle choices to truly capture her essence! (She's 6)

An eco-friendly design idea? This is a very interesting idea for making your own fabric using plastic bags. I'm a bit scared to try it. If anyone does, I'd love to know how it turns out...

Okay, back to packing for an hour!