Apron Fun!

As bigger projects are currently brewing in the creative kitchen, little, fun things come through pipeline that are def worth exploring!
One of these projects I just finished this Friday: a creative apron-cap set designed for my friend Thomas' Hot Dog Stand.

First off, let me say this is no ordinary Hot Dog Stand. Thomas conceived the idea when he was at Burning Man and as he watched the sun rise he thought. "Wouldn't it be great to have a hot dot right now?" Thus was born "Sunrise Hot Dogs".
He has since configured and built the best traveling hot dog stand around, but was missing one key ingredient....a proper uniform. So I came to the rescue with my bags of scraps and wild ideas.

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Creating the basic design had to be simple and practical--I mean it is an apron after all! Therefore I knew that it was the embellishing that held all the promise of creativity.

Since the title of his company is Sunrise Hot Dogs, we decided it would have a wild-looking sun rising out from beneath the pockets of the apron. Creating the sun was easy and fun since I have tons of scraps and even itsy bitsy scraps that work perfectly for applique technique as seen in the picture above.

Once I found the right combination of fabrics I laid them on the base of red fabric and played with the arrangement of the colors until I found a design I liked. Then, I pinned them to the red and used gold thread to quilt over the patches in a flame-like fashion. The result added a very fiery and alive look to the cloth strips. I love the abstract threading on it, for me it adds the little extra je ne sais pas, that makes the piece complete. I often find myself doing little details like this in all of my work because it adds a painterly quality that allows random expressiveness to shine.

I also took a photo of the backside of the apron before I lined it, because sometimes it is very neat to see just the raw thread marks without the distractions. As you see here, it is def. interesting. Note the light wrinkled effect above the sun portion. Even though it is hard to see where the flames were sewn (due to using a red thread as a base thread), it is the result of all the crazy flame stitching and could be the inspiration for other fabric manipulation techniques.

Not much more to say except I think he will be the hottest hot dog vendor I've ever seen, and it sure to bring happiness to those hungry party goers!

Mixing florals with plaid....a great New Year's Eve combo!

I wanted to share one of my favorite new additions to my wardrobe. It has come as an afterthought so I don't have any "before" pictures of the dress before her makeover, but nonetheless I thought it would be a fun item to explore due to its boldness and flare.

As many of you know I am a queen of the discard, and I find it especially easy to take old styles and rework them into something new and glorious. This past New Year's Eve I knew I wanted a fab. dress but didn't have anything I wanted to wear...imagine ;-)!!!!

So I looked through my stockpile of items and found this broken down 1980s dress my dear friend Sarah gave me because--as she puts it-- it was so crazy, of course Joui would love it!

And she was right.

Although, I had forgotten about it because it needed its zipper replaced and was a little big, so I had put it aside until further notice.

Then came December 30th 2008 and it was the perfect solution for the problem at hand.

After fixing the imperative details, I sat around thinking of how to retrofit this garment to have the extra "Joui " touch. It is so bold, that I could and would wear it without any other changes. Somehow on that day I was inspired to go further. In homage to Vivian Westwood and her genius with plaids and formal wear I decided to pair this bright green wool plaid fabric to the dress.

But how to add the green? I considered many thoughts; applique designs, a sash belt and bow, basic trim, etc. But the one that was most appealing finally was the ruffle. I wanted a bold, stiff ruffle that could stand on its own so when I decided on the width of the ruffle, I added some fusible interfacing so that it really was sturdy. I also cut the fabric on the straight grain instead of bias to add even more strength.

I then started playing with how to place the green ruffle. I thought perhaps I would have it follow the two bust lines of the bodice, but that didn't seem right. I found that following the seam from the left of the bodice all the way down to the waist worked really well.

But then what? It still needed something else. Located on the right hip, was a very large bow sewn onto it. And although bows are totally in style, I thought it should be removed and be turned into a matching hat....hey and this was before Aretha Franklin showed off what a bow on the head can do at the inauguration!

Back to the green ruffle. By chance, I had made the ruffle long enough that by the time it reached the waist, there was about a half a foot of fabric left. I also noticed how it naturally wanted to curl around to make a spiral. So, taking it as a sign from God, I decided that a ruffle spiral at the waist was the perfect solution! However, the spiral needed something to pop out from the middle of it. I played with various other clashing fabrics, practiced making fake flowers and so on, but nothing felt right. Then I remembered these sequined flowers I had bought a year ago waiting for the right opportunity to use them....and the moment had come! The flower looked perfect as the final touch of the focal point. I was pleased!

I wore the dress out for New Years Eve and felt amazing! Not surprisingly, I got many people saying it was the best outfit they had seen all night!

Discarded to Divine....my process: taking boring clothes and making them cool!

I just finished another clothing project that I am excited to share with you about. It was created for the St. Vincent De Paul's "Discard to Divine" charity auction. This fabulous event asks professional and aspiring designers to transform discarded, donated clothing into couture fashions. The pieces are auctioned off to raise funds to help the poor and homeless at their annual fashion show and auction.

I participated two years ago and loved it so much that I was eager to contribute again.

For the first step, I had Maurice (my terrific intern) go to the St. Vincent shelter to pick out whatever clothing inspired him.
For me, it added another challenge of not knowing what clothing he would chose and whether it would be something I could work with or not.

I was actually happy not to be blown away by a collection of amazing fabrics here. So when Maurice brought back some mundane items, I knew my creativity had room to blossom.
The selection was as follows: one tan blazer size 12, one sage green blazer size 12, one navy blazer size 10, one frumpy blue dress and a rainbow colored skirt.

I was especially uninspired by the blazer situation. They were so neutral and boring to me. Generally I go for much brighter things, but even the multi-colored skirt wasn't pushing my buttons. It reminded me too much of those bad 1970s crochet blankets that were so popular.

After much deliberation, and practical thinking I decided the mundane could work to my advantage and focused more on form than color to carry the piece. I went with the basic construction of the tan blazer as a base. I liked the idea of reworking its original shape.I was inspired here by Martin Margiela and the way he boldly reworks classic styles to make them cutting-edge and unexpected.

From a practical point of view, I decided that the form of the garment would be a vest. Because they almost fall into the accessory category and they are easy to add to almost any look. They are also easier to fit on different body types. And anyway, besides having fun with the project my goal was to make a fabulous piece and it be very accessible so that it sells and for good $$$$....this is a charity and in the end it is really about helping the poor.

Back to the process--the tan blazer was a size 12, so I had a lot of fabric to play with. I started pinning and tucking and folding and playing around with pleats and darts and gathers until I found a shape that appealed to me. Then I decided that it needed volume and shape around the collar. To fix this, I took the collar off of the green blazer and ruffled it and added it to the vest. Then I decided it need yet more volume and I took fabric from the frumpy blue dress and ruffled it asymmetrically around the collar as well.

I liked the navy blazer and somehow decided that it should go around the bottom of the vest, and it had the effect of smoothing and simplifying the top in a calming way.

One of my favorite details are the front pockets which I added the cuffs of the tan blazer to the pocket flaps (as seen in picture to the left) For me, it has the effect of being funky and surprising--plus--the added benefit of coordinating the top to the bottom of the vest.

Overall, the piece is stunning. Trying it on, I looked so good it was hard for me to give it up. It is the kind of item I would wear all the time. My hope is that whoever wins it feels that way too and gives it an exciting life like it deserves.

Recipe for Creation #1...the results are in!

If you are new to this project be sure to click on the first blog to see how this all manifested itself and the goals of "Recipe for Creation" collaboration.
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Recipe #1: Blue Election Dream Fricassee

Ingredients:

a smattering of election ballot or other political paraphernalia
a dash of electric blue
a hand-stitched image
a word or image from a dream

Directions:

1) Begin with a dream you remember vividly. Choose some dreamy music and warm up by dancing out your memory of the dream. You can dance out the roles of the different characters, the action that took place, or just the overall feeling of it. Do this blindfolded.
2) Choose something from your dream dance that stood out to you. It can be a word, a sensation, a person, a scene… Whatever! This is your starting point.
3) Tear up some newspapers from election week. Tear for the sheer pleasure of tearing! Take a couple of scraps from your mess, or use your absentee ballot, or other political paraphernalia and add it to the mix.
4) Go wild choosing blues, wielding your needle and throwing in whatever else strikes your fancy. Don't think too much. Work quickly, freely and most importantly, have fun!

MY RESULTS
Recipe #1 was a hard exercise of abandonment. So much so I was almost paralyzed from beginning the exercise despite an obvious side of me that desperately wants to do more free-style art.

What emerged was a sinking feeling that in doing this project I would come up empty, that I am void of spontaneity due to a world where I feel compelled to constantly be calculating.

Despite my fears and armed with a sliver of hope I didn’t let my doubts stop me. I took the plunge and put on Ulrich Strauss and went into the space of dreamland.

First off let me say that I am a heavy dreamer. In fact, I feel I dream too much sometimes so I don’t feel rested. On the day I began the process I had several dreams that had left impressions on me, but I decided to go with the one I felt most strongly in my body. I had a dream where I was delving into a vagina. I feel a bit shy putting this out for the whole world to see but I hope it will resonate with other females when I say that the vagina is the core of my femininity and place of great mystery. And recently the vagina represents to me the courage I finally have found to and dive into the dark, unknown places of my soul that scare me.

The first image here is my first mangled creation. I found it to be repulsive, sloppy and meaningless. It was a struggle to enjoy what my hands were creating. After a while however, I found some joy in the motions of the work and found a fabric and a technique that resonated with the inner voice trying to be expressed. Then I moved onto a new piece as seen in the second picture titled “Worthiness of Yuck”.

Throughout the process as I tied up bits of ballots with string and sewed in dashes of electric blue I found it challenging to keep from judging myself and what I was doing.

Recipe #1 made it very clear that I am very attached to making attractive things. Most of my life has been spent creating beauty around me, and even my personality clings to the identity of being constantly optimistic and happy.

This past six months I am finally ready to explore my raw sides, the ugliness and the mess. As an artist I think I validate my path by assuring myself that I am adding beauty to the world and serves a purpose. A voice whispers to me, “if it isn’t lovely…then what purpose does it serve?”

It is clear to me now that the repression of the unproductive and ugly side has served to dampen my full range of expression. Now, upon reflecting on my scrappy-vaginal doily I feel content and pleased with it. Let it be a reminder to me of that beauty has many faces expresses itself in unknown and sometimes unattractive ways.
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So that's the tale, on my end, behind the completion of Recipe #1. To read about Ahna's experience of working on this first project, please click here. Thanks for following along, and please do drop us a line if you have an idea for some ingredients to go into our next recipe, or if you have created your own version of this one.

Late Bloomers. Joui's recommended reading!

Reading the New Yorker one night I came across the article "Late Bloomers: Why do we equate genius with precocity?"
by Malcolm Gladwell. It is not often that a modern writer captures the truth about faith the artist must put in herself/himself when taking the plunge to dedicate themselves fully to their craft. However, Gladwell does it amazingly.

Gladwell talks about society's obsession with early genius' and little regard to the many artists who took their whole lives to reach greatness. What I find so impressive about this article is that it really makes clear that the dangers of letting the marketplace dictate who is allowed to talented or not. And, consequently can squash many genius'-to-be because they are slower to support themselves in their craft and therefore are forced to stop before they fully bloom.

To any artist commercially successful or not I highly recommend this article. I am still contemplating how to thank Mr. Gladwell for his article that gives me added hope for myself and my own artistic development.

Recipes for Creation: A Collaborative Art Exchange

I am now undertaking the long awaited chance to experiment and really play with more free flowing forms of working with cloth. In other words, I want to play with creating clothing the way an artist plays with paint on a canvas or any other medium. Since clothing is so product focused it is hard to remove myself from the outcome and just create from pure spontaneity and inner spark.

For years my dear creative-sister-diva Ahna Fender (www.artruckus.com) and I have been wanting to collaborate on a project that would get us both working in new ways to unlock creative juices that even for us can get clogged up upon occasion!

The result, we came up with "Recipes for Creation" a project that creates guidelines with directions for both of us to translate to whatever medium we chose and inspire each other in ways we haven't done. And, most importantly, allow us to support each other as creative souls that need community to inspire us and encourage us, so we continue the work of the artist. I know for me connecting this way is exactly what I need to keep on moving!
:::::Below is the project!:::::
A sprinkle of chance, a dash of collaboration and a whole lot of play are the main ingredients in "Recipes for Creation," a new collaborative project that fellow artist-friend Ahna Fender and I schemed up over lunch at a kebab restaurant in San Francisco recently.

Here's what we've got cooking: Every few weeks one of us will devise a list of at least four random ingredients to be used in an art project of our choosing. For example:
• tinsel
• toy soldiers
• something blue
• something dug out from a dumpster
• the first sentence from a cheesy romance novel.
As you can see, the possibilities are limitless. Anything goes! The main rule is to have no rules, although it's probably also helpful to ensure that the suggested materials are available (in this dimension).

The person may also choose to include a short set of instructions, containing any particular suggestions for how to go about creating this crazy art concoction.

For instance, a suggestion might be to begin the process blindfolded, or warm up with a dance. The instructions can be anything that help shake us out of habituated ways of creating.

After sending out the recipe, each of us will set to work in our own studios to see what happens!

We will, of course, include you in the fun. Images of all the creations we cook up will be posted here for your delectation.

We also welcome you to participate by emailing images of your own interpretation of the recipes, or by making a suggestion for a future recipe that we may wish to try.

Check back soon to see what's cooking…

Pics of Vagadu pieces in Beats for Boobs

Pink Dress in the middle otherwise known as "Fats".
This dress titled "Ducky".
Lastly, we have the fabulous "Building Dress"!