06.28.10
I am not content dear readers to only be The Girl With the Most Beads… I must also be The Girl With the Most Frocks. And, to that end, I have been thrifting for 3+ decades now… constantly scoring great vintage on what can only be described as a lifelong treasure hunt. I have also experimented with designing and making clothing, but alas I am impatient, and absolutely idiotic on a sewing machine.
In fact, many years ago (2002) I attended a Smithsonian Folk Festival called The Silk Road, which included a tent where a group of women were stitching together thriftstore garments, making the most amazing things out of trash. It was terribly hot in that tent, and Molly was a wee thing in a stroller, but we hung out for awhile, and I even went back a different day on my own to watch them sew. At that time I found out that all of the machines in use for the exhibit were on loan from a store and would be offered at half price afterwards. This is how I obtained my extremely high-end Babylock embroidery machine. Which I proceeded to timidly play with but mostly lived in dire fear of for close to 10 years.
In order to continue with this post, I must point you to the amazing world of Selene Gibbous of Gibbous Fashions. Above are three frocks from my collection, the one in the middle is a Gibbous piece. I wore this to the RimbaudMania opening in Paris and it is truly one of my most favorite and highly treasured posessions in this world.
Pictured from the back, yes, that is a ViewMaster film wheel attached to the Gibbous dress. Selene is a beautiful mad genius, a woman of incredible talent and unparalleled vision and if you read the crafts boards, you know that she is an inspiration to artists everywhere. My collection of Gibbous garments now numbers close to a dozen, including skirts, tops, a necktie, neck ruff, and two of her amazing hats. And although the photography on Selene’s site is some of the most gorgeously styled fashion shots I’ve ever seen… pictures simply do no justice to these works of art in real life. They are museum quality… each a lovely map of stitches and tears and tatters and fabrics and objects… pure poetry.
The dress at far left was my first really successful experiment at slashing up an ugly vintage dress (this one was borderline)… and then adding simple embellishments with fabric scraps and a cut up men’s shirt. This one is very girly and sugary, a bit like pink grapefruit lemonade on a hot summer day.
The tulle peeking out from the bottom was a thrifted vintage slip, and was personally paw-shredded by my cat Iggy Pop who LOVES to chew on anything tulle. He did a great job although I had to rinse out the cat spit. Ewwwwwww….
The garment pictured at the top of this endless post, and about which the post is titled, began life per the above… IF ONLY I’d photographed it. My neighbor, Katy K, can vouch for the fact that this was indeed a thrifted bridal/prom gown, all in white polyester, and about as ugly as they come. Purchased for $9.95, minus 25% with my “I’m Unique” discount card. On Friday afternoon the entire dress hit a vat of red (top) and brown (bottom) dye, and was laid out in my sunny backyard to dry. I am always thrilled at how different fabric takes dye, it’s entirely unpredictable and scary/fun. Parts of the dress went deep red, some of it went bright orange, and the rest turned a hideous shade of peach.
I am so sorry I didn’t shoot process photos during my obsessive stitchy weekend, but sisters let me say: the BF pronouned our dining room a sweat shop, fabric was flying, and the machine didn’t stop going from first thing Saturday morning until late Sunday night. I barely stopped to eat or go to the bathroom… although I did make a run to the sewing store for needles because I kept breaking them. Free motion quilting is truly one of the MOST fun experiences in my life as an artist. It was hard, challenging, frustrating, and amazing. There were times when I was just in a zone with it, my arms aching from pushing the fabric, a certain disbelief at the flawed beautiful mess that was developing before my eyes.
The details are pretty endless, every inch of this dress provided a new sort of mapping and colorway experience. I loved looping the stitches and incorporating a few bits of crochet I had in my textile collection. The hardest part was the “tailoring,” as I’d made a couple of key mistakes involving the dress lining. These caused big headaches down the pike, and lessons learned (remove lining… you WILL sew it to the top layer, and you WILL NOT want to rip out all that quilting).
The top of the dress came with kind of trashy/kind of cool glittered embroidery which, in the end, gave this garment a sort of India feel. I’m very proud of the pleated ruffle just under the bust which I made by hand from a curtain.
On the elevator in the office building this morning, I was carrying the dress so I could photograph it when a woman got on and began staring in amazement. When I told her I’d made it, her first question was: Do you sell them? Alas, the answer is no. I couldn’t possibly part with such a thing, and I am really making these clothes for my own amusement and expression, for wearing out to parties, and well, just for the art of it.
Subject: I Heart Shopping, Modern Art, They Call It Work
05.21.10
Let’s go back to Paris shall we? I know I’d like to. Our rented apartment for the week was situated right between the fabulous Marais District and the Beaubourg District, making the Pompidou Centre one of our key landmarks from which we’d get lost anyway. As you know, I absolutely love gigantic modern art institutions, favorites being the Hirshhorn, MOMAnyc and MOMAsf, and the Whitney. I’m now placing this amazing museum into my top 5.
Completed in 1977 to much controversy, the Pompidou Centre is sometimes referred to as “the inside-out building” because of the incredible exo-skeletal ducts and pipes that are boldly presented on the exterior. The size of the structure is beyond breathtaking. Suffice to say it looms large, posing an incredible modern contrast to Paris’ ancient buildings.
Even the long escalator hangs on the outside of the building; riding it to the top floor for a spectacular view of the city was our first order of business once entering (free the first Tuesday [correction: first Sunday] of the month… a bonus!). It was like a slow, strange carnival ride.
We spent a rainy half day all cozy inside. The view from the top floor includes the Eiffel Tower, that fuzzy structure to the left in the above photo.
David (“the BF” to you) and Molly in one of the escalator tunnels.
Must photograph cool typography when travelling.
An exhibit of women artists was on display that day.
Niki de Saint Phalle–a recent obsession/inspiration of mine–was included. This French-born, American-raised society girl was an artist and fashion model, at 16 gracing the cover of Vogue magazine.
Her work is also on view nearby in the wonderfully playful Stravinsky Fountain (above), alongside co-conspirateur and husband Jean Tinguely‘s kinetic sculpture.
But it is de Saint Phalle’s early shooting paintings that really interest me most. Niki was known to openly reject the staid, conservative values of her family, which dictated domestic positions for wives and particular rules of conduct. However, after marrying young and giving birth to two children, she found herself living the same bourgeois lifestyle that she had attempted to reject; the internal conflict causing her to suffer a nervous breakdown. As a form of therapy, she was urged to pursue her painting. The shooting paintings were created by filling polythene bags with paint and enclosing them within layers of plaster against a blockboard backing. Spectators–including Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns at one point–were invited to shoot at these constructions, releasing the paint. The moment of action and an emphasis on chance were as important as the finished work. De Saint Phalle stopped making these works in 1963, explaining ‘I had become addicted to shooting, like one becomes addicted to a drug‘.
The series of badges above, listing next week in the Debutantes section on So Charmed as well as in the Etsy shop, took close to 2 months to design and complete. Many many things were tried before I settled on the above materials and construction. Each image of de Saint Phalle–from tiara-sporting princess, to cover girl, to shooter, and finally looking eccetric and mature–is surrounded by lush velvet pleating. Shotgun bullet charms dangle from each pin.
Bang bang modern art, dears.
Subject: Modern Art, They Call It Work
05.12.10
The first of several posts about my trip to Paris must be about the exhibition pictured above. Opening on May 6, at Galerie des Bibliothèques, Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, 22 rue Mahler, 75004 Paris and running through August 1 when it will move to the Rimbaud Museum in Charleville, this event was the impetus for our travel. Thrilling does not begin to describe the feeling of being there for the opening, and experiencing the show.
Beautiful typography in neon orange and acid green, and an installation on the gallery walls, pictured above, welcomed visitors into the museum.
And, in the very first room, my two pieces of jewelry drew attendees to their glass cabinet. The lighting was too dramatic for my digital camera, so I picture the pieces in the 320-page exhibition catalog/book.
It’s a gorgeous book (in French) and as soon as I have a link for purchasing I’ll share it with you dear readers.
Many of you are familiar with the Poet Rosary necklace that curator Claude Jeancolas originally purchased for the exhibit; this piece has been an integral part of the So Charmed Poets Collection for a long time now. When Mssr. Jeancolas informed me about the piece’s inclusion in RimbaudMania as well as his 18th published book on the subject of the iconic poet, I decided to make him a small gift, hoping he might wear it on his jacket to the opening. This was included in the show instead. Pictured above, the piece was crafted from a vintage pin finding and includes a vintage pen nib inscribed with the words Made in France. A limited number of these will be available at So Charmed soon. Although Claude was being followed around by the press and many admirers the evening of the opening, he made time to speak with myself, David, and Molly, remarking how the Internet had brought us together and how poetic that was!
This fun crossstitch/embroidery hung above my jewelry case. Other cultural items in the room described as Objects Fetiches included furniture, clothing, stamps, plates, even an I Heart Rimbaud coffee mug.
Much of the exhibit was organized by medium, the second room being music and film. Patti Smith figured prominently, along with the Clash, and the poster from the Leonardo DiCaprio film, Total Eclipse. If memory serves me, it was via Patti Smith that I first discovered Rimbaud, when I was in college studying art. He was a hero, icon, and muse to many musicians and artists in the burgeoning punk/new wave scene. A novel, Godlike by punk poet/musician Richard Hell was also included in the exhibit.
There were a lot of photographs included, my favorite being the series by Robert Mapplethorpe illustrating A Season in Hell.
One room contained works of fine art from the Rimbaud Museum, including the piece above by Picasso. There were also lovely ink drawings by Jean Cocteau, Fernand Leger, Alberto Giacometti and Jim Dine among others.
Graphic design was well-represented with dozens and dozens of book covers, including the illustrated calligraphic piece above by Leger, one of my favorites in the exhibit.
The most touching room in the show held encased original manuscripts by the poet; seeing these handwritten documents up close was intimate and breathtaking and made us sorely wish we could read French. Speaking of which, I plan to be in touch with Mssr. Jeancolas regarding an English-language version of the exhibit and book for possible travel to the USA. I’ve thought of The Library of Congress, The Smithsonian Institution, and the French Embassy as possible venues. All of these, naturally, here in Washington DC! A great idea, n’est pas?
And, with that sentiment, I’ll leave you with a poem by Arthur Rimbaud and bid you adieu, for now.
A DREAM FOR WINTER
In the winter, we shall travel in a little pink railway carriage
With blue cushions.
We shall be comfortable. A nest of mad kisses lies in wait
In each soft corner.
You will close your eyes, so as not to see, through the glass,
The evening shadows pulling faces.
Those snarling monsters, a population
Of black devils and black wolves.
Then you’ll feel your cheek scratched…
A little kiss, like a crazy spider,
Will run round your neck…
And you’ll say to me : “Find it !” bending your head
- And we’ll take a long time to find that creature
- Which travels a lot…
Subject: Modern Art
02.22.10
Who’s got the button? Well… I know, but I’m not telling. Suffice to say that over the weekend I was granted entrance to the inner sanctum of one of the most prominent and experienced importers of Czech bohemian glass buttons in the USA. Folks, I’m not a religious woman, but I thought I had died and awoken in heaven. When my kind and generous host invited me to open any of the dozens and dozens of drawers and boxes in the collection room, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t having one of my recurring thrifting/collecting/hunting/gathering dreams.
The photo above captures the full haul of the day, which would have been 10x that amount had I not been on a pauper’s budget. Along with the buttons is a delicious 1/2 pound bag of glass beads in an incredible and irresistible palette. My plan is to craft one or two super duper long rosary beaded necklaces out of these. A good busy-hands activity while watching my new favorite shows (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Pawn Stars, etc.).
The Czech Republic has a long history of some of the finest glass work in the world, dating back to the Renaissance. Vintage beads and buttons are very collectible and currently commanding ultra high prices. Each button was/is handcrafted, including painting on the fronts or reverse painting, as shown above.
Today, some of the antique molds are being used again, and new techniques are adding to the amazing beauty of these miniature works of art.
Colors and styles range from baroque, to psychedelic, to mid-century modern with abstraction and patterns, as well as cats, dogs, magic mushroom men, puddings, fleur de lys, fairytales and rhinestone embellishments. I am deeply fond of some of the new figurals including the cicadas and moths (bats?). The white swan on pink glass with blue water could be my number one favorite. It’s an older button and getting difficult to come by.
Using the glass buttons in jewelry-making is a challenge; most have glass self-shanks that can not be removed without damaging the piece. I’ve seen people wrap fancy brass filigrees around the buttons but I find that to be visually noisy and distracting. So I’m working with my own techniques of incorporating these into my work… as a good friend says, a big part of jewelry-making (especially assemblage without formal “smithing”) is the solving of engineering problems.
Subject: I Heart Shopping, Modern Art, They Call It Work
02.18.10
I guess I’ve been a picker all my life. It started back at RISD with my first sojourn to a Salvation Army store and I’ve been addicted to thrifting ever since. The 70′s were a real heyday for this passion, especially for vintage fashionistas. Back then an intricately beaded 1950′s cashmere sweater could be had for a quarter, a 1930′s gown for a few bucks. Good luck even finding such garments today!
But before we get too cranky about the good ‘ole days of thrifting, we also need to consider that thanks to the Internet good thrifting or picking is now a global occupation. With Web sites like Ebay and Etsy, one is no longer confined to the trash in one’s own backyard. And that’s really where this story begins.
Couple of months ago, I purchased a “found object” on Etsy to incorporate into a piece of jewelry, paying an exorbitant $7.50 for a single item that looked like an old bicycle reflector (Seriously, I consider that to be a lot of money). That said, when it arrived, I immediately fell in love with this gigantic plastic “ruby” that seemed to be set in either bakelite or celluloid (early plastics, pretty collectible stuff). And so, the “Travelite” joined the other piles of crap-I-mean-treasure in my studio, awaiting inspiration. And, because I loved it so much I knew I’d be reluctant to sell it, so I started casually searching for another online, not even knowing what the darn thing was/is.
Meanwhile, over the past weekend I finally decided to just thread a nice piece of vintage punk-plaid ribbon through the handy slots on the back, and when I put it around my neck, I knew it was going nowhere; this baby was mine! It is just so super cool. But I decided to search again, and found the listing pictured above on Ebay. Imagine my surprise at the $725 price tag.
After picking myself up off the floor, I wrote to the seller to inquire about the history and provenance of this item. He really had no further information for me except to say that it is an extremely rare collectible item and will fetch anywhere from $750 – $1000, essentially making this mysterious object (aside from my first-marriage engagement ring) my most valuable piece of jewelry!
Should you decide to purchase the ebay listing here’s your link. I still don’t really know a thing about this lovely item, the intended functionality, etc. Was it an advertising premium? Why would you need a personal reflector “Travelite?” Anyone out there with more info, please email! And for other very fun found-object jewelry (when I can stand to part with it) please visit So Charmed.
Subject: I Heart Shopping, Modern Art
06.05.09
So with the gift of this amazing iTouch for Chanukah last year, I’ve finally come around to the world of Podcasts. Until last week, my favorite was The Moth, brilliant live storytelling that has made me both laugh and cry (mostly laugh), and is a must-listen. Recent Moth faves: Michaela Murphy on her family’s obsession with spying on the Kennedys, and Jerry Stahl on heroin vs. crack. Free on iTunes and not for kids.
I still love The Moth, but am now podstalking a crazy couple of midwestern kids–Bridget and Shane–from Omaha, Nebraska, the young geniuses behind Emergency Pants (also not for kids). How I connected with this far-more-obscure content was through the snarky embroidering community on Flickr. I’ve been posting some of my weird projects (above) and Bridget also posts her cool stuff there (below).
Anyway, what IS Emergency Pants? Two friends. Talking. Laughing. Gossiping. In-jokes and out-jokes. The kind of podcast that generally makes me bored, impatient and annoyed. Not this one. Here are the top 5 reasons (out of too many to list) that I love these guys and you might too:
1. THE FRIENDSHIP: If I’ve got this right, Shane & Bridget have known each other for.ev.ah. Like 15-17 years or so. Their enduring/endearing friendship provides this sweet and easy communication that flows like a giggly river. Maybe you had a friendship like this many moons ago. Maybe not. If you did, you probably don’t anymore because you grew up and got serious, moved away, joined a corporate cult, or just somehow stopped finding life funny. Here’s your chance to plug in again.
2. THE CONTENT: Like Seinfeld for the next gen, this is a show about nothing. Nothing, as is observed by two very funny people, whose often dark and/or ironic/and or self-deprecating/and or juvenile/and or sweet sense of humor is just my cuppa tea. Sometimes potty humor (the pooplosion, illustrated above), often hilarious workplace stories (including, somehow, horse semen), a meatloaf cookoff. You will laugh in spite of your jaded self, and if you don’t, well, you are a hopeless human being. And, of course, it’s not really about nothing, but you knew that, didn’t you, smarty (emergency) pants?
3. BRIDGET’S LAUGH: Some people have the MOST horrendous hyena laughs, other guffaws are regular and mundane. Bridget has an unrestrained musical giggle, a laugh that could be bottled and sold for its healing properties, but that she so generously chooses to give away, people, free of charge, each weekly episode. Ten seconds in or less, and there’s the laugh, genuine, warm, and more infectious (and fun) than swine flu.
4. SHANE (+ THE ACCENTS): Shane is a funny funny dude. Geeky, smart and the boyish yang to Bridget’s girly yin. Like a really cool IT guy that you’d actually want to be friends with. (Wait, he IS an IT guy!) And, did I mention Omaha? Well, with my admittedly idiotic sense of geography I actually had to google a map of the US to see exactly where Nebraska is situated in this great land of ours. Because if it’s west of Illinois, other than California, it’s something of a blur to me (sorry! really, I’m sorry!). Both hosts have those flat, broad sort of midwestern voices with just a twinge of Fargo… like the comfort food of regional accents.
5. THE MUSIC: Three words: Men without Pants. Yes… WITHOUT pants and featuring Russell Simins and Dan the Automator. Why Russell and Dan don’t have emergency pants is not for me to say. But anyway, a snippet of their rockin’ tune, When the Girls Go, opens and closes the show. Searing, trashy, silly and ass-kicking.
6. THE COMMUNITY (sorry, can’t keep it to 5): When you become a fan/stalker of the show, you will find other like-minded silly souls. One of them, Jamie (ie, Mr. Xstitch), a manbroiderer from the UK, runs a blog that showcases the best and the brightest alterna-stitchers the world over. (Above image from Jamie’s flickr photostream, courtesy of Stitch Out Loud). There’s also partner-in-crime and oft-guest, Tony (if that’s his real name) who drags the kids a wee bit further into the gutter with his hyperactive, campy, and biting humor. Finally, the E-Pants blog will provide you with links to additional content that the kids know you need, threatening to basically hijack your life (as it obviously has mine).
So yeah, check it! And remember: When life gives you lemons, you put on your Emergency Pants.
Subject: Modern Art, Uncategorizable
04.22.09
Not only do I sell my jewelry on Etsy these days, I’m also a rabid Etsy buyer… from independent fashion (dresses! corsetry!), to vintage collectibles, to handcrafted dolls… too much of my hard-earned pay (of which lately there is simply too little for this sort of nonsense) goes toward my obsession with other artist’s obsessions. Call me a patron ok? It sounds better than shopaholic.
When I came across WasabiEstudio, chock full of zombies and a sprinkling of mad fun pop culture icons like Mr. T and Amy Winehouse, I became instantly smitten. Imagining the owners to be two Japanese kids living in California (it said Valencia, ok? Isn’t there a Valencia, CA? Nevermind), I started writing and gushing and trying to decide just what to order. With no money to spend, the problem was not whether to buy, but who (or is that whom?). There were at least 6 dolls that I needed.
Initially I was going to just purchase Amy and Sid Vicious, both pictured in their shop… and soooo brilliantly, hilariously done. But then I got to thinking. And obsessing. And further obsessing. Finally, when my tax refund check arrived, it was time, and I asked the Wasabi Kids to make Sid, Kurt Cobain and Russell Brand… the heck with Amy, it’s all boys, all the time. Wasabi dubbed them my party boys and promised they’d be home soon to play. :)
Imagine my surprise when a lovely box arrived from SPAIN (!) and inside were all of my special party boys, but also Amy, as a gift for me!! How incredibly sweet! As I marveled over the crazy/perfect details of each doll (tattoos, jewelry, amazingly realistic hairstyles, and most especially Sid’s x-rated famous cowboy t-shirt)… I realized I was truly in the presence of genius.
Yet somehow, it gets even better. After the dolls arrived I wrote to thank the Wasabi Kids (even after a round of emails back and forth I didn’t know their names)… and Neus sent me the photo pictured above of she and her husband Manuel. Could they be any more beautiful? What an amazing photo. I love these people!
So, it is with gratitude and warmth that I share my new friends and their amazing handcrafted dolls with you… please support independent artists and get over to WasabiEstudio NOW to see what they’ve got going on, or to request your favorite pop culture icon. Heck, they’ll even do a doll of YOU!!! xoxoxoxo
Subject: I Heart Shopping, Modern Art
12.12.08
It had to happen. My daughter Molly and her BFF Corrie are now making–AND SELLING–jewelry. And I’m here to tell you, their stuff really rocks. I’m one of their bestest customers, and I am, as you know, a highly discerning jewelry-maven. What’s lovely about their work is that they very smartly operate within their abilities… while pushing themselves a bit to learn techniques, using available materials (much of it from their YMCA Afterschool program) and with their not-quite-grown-up girlish sensibilities… it makes for some very cool stuff. My favorites are a pair of assymmetrical earrings that use GLOW IN THE DARK glass beads, and, pictured above, the shell necklace. Sooooo lovely, so simple. Great concept, great colors, great materials (love the sea-green frayed ribbon). As I told Molls, when I wear it, it reminds me of our wonderful beach holidays. Love ya honey!!
Everyone who knows me knows I’m trying to grow my thick super-duper curly hair to never-before-reached lengths of Renaissance Jewess Goddess nirvana… (Why? I don’t know. B/C it’s a huge-mongous pain in the butt and takes like 4 hours to air dry). So, long story short, I buy a lot of hair crap. Products? Oh, yes indeed. I’ll try anything that comes along, esp. if marketed for curls. Barettes, clips and combs? HECK YEAH! The one above was scored on Etsy and it really is just so clever and adorable, made from the upcycled middle of a 45 rpm Motown record. I love it!! And, look for some new hair baubles coming in January at So Charmed.
And, arent’t these the sweetest things?? Two little handcrafted felt pins, made as a gift to me by Teresa, a dear client in Barcelona. Teresa asked which animals I’d like so I told her about Bernie and Maxi, (the Dachshunds) and Iggy and Angelo (the Tabbies) and voila! These adorable critters traveled ’round the world and came home to me. What a delightful gift. Teresa hopes to get her own shop up and running on the Internet, I’ll let you know as soon as she does.
Remember, buy handmade for the Holidays… there’s so much crafty goodness out there it’s just incredible. Your recipients will love the gifts and you’ll be supporting an entrepreneurial artist.
Subject: I Heart Shopping, Modern Art, Molly's Mom
10.25.08
I’m just so obsessed with the circus lately, it’s bordering on (or has become) a weird sickness in its own right. I am old enough to have been to many many circus’s and carnivals as a young child. Suffice to say, I found almost nothing to enjoy, and everything to fear and loathe. Some say I was a “sensitive” child. Ok, yeah… well, that’s true in retrospect. 40+ years later, I find these paralyzing nightmares to be worth revisiting as content for art. And so we have a family of performing bears (grouping of pins).
Scary ladies in exotic costumes and requisite evil clowns (series of badges/necklaces).
Sideshow freaks: half something, half something else (series of pins).
First, I love finding the materials, many of them vintage and handcrafted, and sometimes collected and catalogued over several years before coming together into a final product. Also I enjoy the image-making as much as the jewelry-making; I studied photograhpy in school and at one time had designs on practicing photography as a fine art fulltime. Taking pictures remains a deep passion.
I am frankly unsure if these items will ever find audience but you know, I am not really thinking about that so much in this particular series. There are places in my creative life where the client matters most of all, and a few where it is all about a certain perfection of expression, more purely so.
Subject: Modern Art, They Call It Work
