Project Project Runway Finale: Arches, Columns and Stairways (under the wire…)

Time management issues almost did me in this week. I thought I was in good shape — inspired by ancient Roman archways, columns and stairways, I’d designed my custom prints and created my fabric early in the week, and sketched out my day-to-night Roman holiday collection. But I didn’t count on getting Very Sick right when I needed to be pulling things together.

Melania walked the runway in this Roman evening look: a crisp tunic in the stairways print over a floaty black crepe underskirt. Other looks in the collection: a casual day-look version of the tunic in the columns print over arches print slim ankle pants; a day-to-dinner two piece dress — a sleeveless crop top over a high-waisted gored midi skirt, featuring all three prints. I’d love to be the winner, but at this point I’m just happy to have made it down the final runway.

Tangent #10: Icon Grids (+ Tangent)

Last weekend’s trip to the real art supply store also yielded a new trio of pens: Sakura Gelly Roll, Glaze, and Souffle, all in white.  I really like working in white on a dark background, and had recommendations for all. The latest post in Daisy Yellow’s Tactics and Tangents series gave me the perfect framework — and as usual, I took yet another tangent off of that. 

On the left, the “pure” interpretation, albeit at a slightly larger-than-suggested grid size– just under a half inch — using mostly typographic characters as the icons. And on the right, my tangent-off-the-tangent, each grid filled with a unique pattern.

The final verdict on the white pens:  Gelly Roll is easy to use, goes on stark white and is in first place as go-to white pen; Souffle starts out transparent/barely visible, finishes with less distinct almost chalk-like appearance, suggesting subtle possibilities; Glaze starts out nearly invisible, finishes white but transparent, not sure when I will use but pretty certain I will.

It’s a Two-fer! Messing Around + Project Project Runway 13, Episode 12

This weekend I treated myself to a trip to the local “real” art supply store in the city and (among other things) bought some Inktense pencils. I’d never been happy with the results with my craft-store watercolor pencils, and had been itching to try the Inktense for a while.  Oh, boy — the color and the possibilities! My only disappointment was that I hadn’t acquired them sooner…

I didn’t have any immediate plans for this page beyond seeing what the pencils could do, but then serendipity struck in the form of Project Project Runway.  This week’s Challenge was to Create a look that is street chic, something  that can be worn everyday of the week, but is fashionable and progressive.

I reproduced my original art print in a reduced scale for the “canvas” short coat, worn over classic street-chic black knits: mock turtle tee, pencil skirt and leggings, and topped off with a cozy tomato red muffler in bulky mohair.  Operetta’s sense of drama gave the look real presence on the runway!

The judges were all impressed by the original fabric. Zac praised my good sense to let it speak for itself with a simple design; Heidi loved the colors and could see it over other things, from jeans to maybe even a gown; Nina used the word “editorialNo winners this challenge, only “in” or “out” — I think this look would have put me on the IN side of the equation.

Mandala: Lightly

A mandala quickly doodled while watching a webcast presentation for work — now pasted into the Mandala Journal.

I haven’t been adding text to my mandalas lately, but there seemed to be a connection between what I’d drawn and some lines written by Aldous Huxley that I keep pinned up on the wall of my office.

Project Project Runway 13, Episode 11: The Highest Bidder

The title of this week’s challenge refers to the fact the the TV contestants bid against each other for the contents of storage lockers and then had to use the contents to create their designs. For PPR, our challenge was: “Create a look from found items around your home. You can use fabric that is in other things like old clothing, but do not use fabric from your fabric stash. Make sure to make fashion and not a costume.” I found an old damask napkin and a shower puff in shades of burgundy for this semi-bohemian two-piece dress and head wrap.

 

I’ll be the first to admit it’s not the most inspired design. There’s actually a bit more detail than shows up in the picture — the colors are reversed on the opposite side of the damask, and I used both sides — which the judges would have noticed in their up-close review. And that may have saved me.

Oldie But Goodie

Also recovered, thanks to my recent spurt of workroom organization — my “Mandalas Only” sketchbook, which I found hiding in a stack of pads of art paper.  I used to draw a mandala nearly every day; lately not so much.  I’ve got so much else I want to explore these days, but sometimes it just feel good to get back into the meditative rhythm that mandalas bring to me.

This new page of three, once again executed in my favorite black Sharpie pen and colored pencils, is different from those on the earlier pages in the book — more open space, more varied combinations of color.

Messing Around With Stuff I Found

I did some (more) organizing in the workroom over the past week. It’s a never-ending process, but I uncovered some (more) things I’d forgotten I had.

Case in point: a whole box of oil pastels, brand spanking new, never been used — 48 of ’em! I’ve been taking in the Dirty Footprints Studio Art Journal Wisdom workshop, and there it was — Day #4::Oil Pastel Love. Talk about serendipity — a little bit of experimentation was definitely in the cards!

Not sure whether this will ever become anything more than an experimental page, but I learned a lot. I want to do more with oil pastels (The colors! The blend-ability! The texture possibilities!) — and who knows, this could be the start of something…

Project Project Runway 13, Episode 10: Muse (Not) on the Street

Here’s the directions for the Challenge, straight from the post on Just Crafty Enough: On the show the designers were sent to a park where they had to pick someone to be their muse and convince them to have a complete makeover. For our purposes, we are asking you to pick a muse from your life, it can be a friend, family member or even yourself, anyone you think could use a fashion makeover. Then design a new look for them.

A red-haired acquaintance of mine celebrated her wedding anniversary over the weekend; just hours before she still didn’t know what she could wear for a big night out featuring fancy drinks in tall-stemmed glasses, a delicious meal and — believe it or not — a gondola ride.  Next year, she and her husband will be celebrating a Very Significant Anniversary, so my makeover focused on a look for that even-more-special occasion.  She’s really into goddesses, handcrafts and deep, passionate pinks, so I designed this goddess-inspired dress in an almost-sheer magenta print that looks like a magnified handweave and focuses attention on her absolutely magnificent, er, chest.  She’ll be wearing some kick-ass gladiator pumps and one of her own handmade necklaces with a symbolic pendant. The Mary Kay makeup artists brought a glow to her already-porcelain complexion and, as a special treat, I talked the hair stylists into supplementing her brilliantly colored but thin and fine hair with extensions — because I know that’s a big beauty fantasy of hers.

Heidi loves all the chest exposure and the nearly sheer fabric; she can see how happy my girl is with all her hair, so she gives the whole thing a thumbs up. Nina says the look isn’t editorial in the least, but it’s definitely on the mark for the challenge.  Zac says the design isn’t as original as it might have been, but agrees that it makes the muse happy and she looks fantastic, so another thumbs up from him.

Tangent #3 (at last) Accordion Book

This challenge took a while between start and finish:  Daisy Yellow’s tutorial for Accordion Book Tangent was posted way back on August 18th. Over the time I worked on it, the backgrounds on each side came out quite differently and I couldn’t decide how or, ultimately, if I’d bring them together.  One side’s Bright, all about Color; the other is Dark and about Process. Both feature squares randomly cut from glossy bookmarks and postcards collected at science fiction conventions I attended this year.