Oh, goodness. We all have our individual things, right? ...Well, ok, I have lots of them... but one of my favorites is costumes. I LOVE costumes! Historical costumes, movie costumes, fantasy costumes. I feel like what the person is wearing is simply an extension of her or his personality, just like with jewelry. It's more than just clothes or accessories for me. So, while I don't buy into New York's fashion week or Project Runway, I DO buy into the Queen of England's famous tiara collection and the exhibit of the First Ladies' dresses at the Smithsonian Institute museum in Washington D.C.Often you will find source books (like the ones above) open where I bead; true, too, you will find internet windows open with information about my favorite costume designers to enlighten my methods.
One of my favorite costume designers ever is Penny Rose.
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| Image copyright Chris Laverty 2010, used here with permission. |
She literally creates worlds (our recurring theme!) with her costumes. I've often looked to interviews with her for inspiration. Here's a fantastic interview she did with the site Clothes on Film about her work on Prince of Persia, in which she talks about creating character with specially chosen garments and materials. In this interview about her work on Evita, she explains that there are holes in history that must be filled, and so costume designers must have clever imaginations when seeking to create a solid picture of a historical figure.
The simple answer is that jewelry-making can be about creating worlds and characters, too! The not-so-simple answer is that jewelry-making is a mind-blowingly open art. I've seen jewelry artists reach out to all sorts of media to find inspiration. Some look to nature, some look to other art (such as Calder, with his sculptural background), some look to music, some look to fashion, some look to architecture... it's practically infinite! This is something that I absolutely love about this art form.
How about you? Any deep, dark, secret geeky pleasures? Any stories to share about inspiring costumes or times when you or someone you met was just like the outfit or the jewelry you/they were wearing? Do tell!
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1 comment:
Costumes are such fun aren't they? I've always made new and unusual costumes for my daughter every year at Halloween, and still do, except now we work on them together. I too have historical costume books where I can see the tiny little additions that make a costume more accurate. I once made a medieval costume for my daughter that I attached a small ball that was filled with potpourri to tie at her waist. I discovered that bathing was not exactly practiced that often during those times and the potpourri was a medieval deodorant! :-) Keep up your beautiful beading and take inspiration from the past. :-)
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