As the calendar page turns over into May, I’m turning from creating
Pippin costumes back to making fiber art in my studio. I did get a lot accomplished this month in
the costume realm. One of the main
characters in Pippin is the sassy grandmother Berthe. She encourages Pippin to embrace the
pleasures of life. For her I created a
Victorian style dress, because on the outside she must maintain a prim and
proper façade for the world. Her dress
is black lace with red fringed satin dress underneath that speaks to her deeper,
flirtatious nature. I’m trying to let
the red flames of her passion shine through the black surface restraint of her expected
societal edifice.
This week I also launched into the penultimate lead costume
on my list, which is King Charlemagne.
Although royalty tends to wear blue, he is a war-mongering king so I
really wanted him to have a flowing deep red cloak that speaks to the volumes
of blood shed in his name. One of the
reasons his costume is among the last completed is that I’ve been waiting for
the right fabric to appear. Because all
of my costumes are made from reclaimed and recycled materials, I spend a lot of
time collecting treasures from sources such as the Recycle Center and local resale
shops. I get a few more materials as donations
from parents. I’ve been waiting
patiently for the King’s fabric to appear.
Last week it fell into my lap in the form of a used curtain from the Materials
for the Arts program at the Recycle Center.
There wasn’t quite enough width to the fabric for the King’s outfit, so
I went digging in my bin of brocade scraps until I came across a piece of
fabric that I bought at the Junk in the Trunk sale a couple of years ago. I claimed it then as the perfect drape of
backdrop fabric for the treasure chest scene in one of the operas within an
opera in ‘Phantom of the Opera’.
Although there was a little too much green in the fabric itself, I was
able to cut strips that contained predominantly red and gold. I added still more trim scraps from curtains
and bed skirts and beads from a broken necklace. I will make it still more regal by trimming
it with fur from hoods and collars of coats that I wasn’t able to use for last
year for wolves in ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
I’m still hunting for the perfect chest medallion, but I know that will
appear. The King’s ensemble is now pieced
together and needs to be glued and sewn into one unit.
With the Pippin costume project at a stable stopping point I
moved back in my art studio. I’m now working
on three pieces. One is a shore scene
that will feature birches leaning over the water, which I’ve been needle
felting onto the weaving foreground. To
spice things up we even had a tornado siren go off a couple of nights ago so
the family joined me in the art studio. It
was the perfect opportunity to do a little evening poking as we listed to WFIU
on the hand-crank radio for updates. We
still had power, but you can never be too prepared for an emergency! I also finished needle felting the last of
the white radishes I need for ‘My Roots’, a weaving that features root
vegetables that we buy at the farmer’s market.
Soon I’ll be laying out everything together for assembly, although this
time I’m the only fiber art faerie to attach it into one ensemble! Finally, I’m launching into a commission
piece that will feature birds, flowers and vegetables in a garden. I’m really looking forward to creating this
special piece.
On the home front, Tommie and Sounds of South went off to
compete in the ISSMA competition this weekend, and everything seemed to go very
well. I had to settle for treats from
the farmer’s market from Maria yesterday for breakfast, since I ate the last of
my blueberry pie Friday. Jim did pick up
strawberries at the farmer’s market, and Nancy Riggert is supposed to harvest
rhubarb for two pies, so fingers crossed—that it will smell like spring pie in
the house very soon!
Until next week,
Martina Celerin
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