See the article
here1 week later:It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the past week since I've finished the project. It has taken some adjusting, some work to 'get me sea-legs' back. The first day was a bit of a disaster. I was so uncomfortable all day! Everything felt too small and my brand new bra had a prickly little something or other in the strap that I kept trying to find but it was not actually visible to the human eye. And I felt like an impostor in those clothes. Looking at the picture now, I think, who is that? And what a bad outfit she's wearing! I guess I have figured out a few things since then but honestly, I'm having a hard time trying to come up with some semblance of style. As a result, for most of this past week I've worn my same old makeshift stuff. Yupp, with the exception of shoes, it's been pretty much back to the old wardrobe that I've become so well acquainted with.
A friend of mine asked me what permanent changes I thought have occurred as a result of completing the project. And now after a week of being back, I think that wearing things that fit well and are comfortable will be permanently very high on my list of priorities. I thought I had always rated it high on that list but now, back in my old faves, I'm realizing that I was deluding myself.
2 weeks later:I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself and am finally rediscovering my "style". It seems to be a precarious combination of a few key things that I made for myself this past year, some choice accessories and special pieces that I saved from my life before makeshift (It seems I didn't really keep very much stuff) and whatever "ready made" shoes will work with my look (the fun part, since I actually do have a lot of shoes).
I most often reach for my own handmade stuff but it is very satisfying to now be able to wear things that I didn't always have handy:
sunglasses!
oven mitts!
a kitchen apron!
a motorcycle helmet! (It was handy, but now I can wear it guilt free)
gloves! (I want to try to make a pair)
Also, I think I am going to buy some running shoes today. The time has come at last!
Some other things have happened too:
On Friday, the show
Kizuna opened at the Japanese Canadian Nataional Museum. It is a show of four artists, commemorating the museum's 10 year anniversary. My piece is a path made of rocks that I have wrapped and sewn old clothes onto. I will be giving a talk there this Thursday (the 16th) at 7pm.
Also, I had fun DJ-ing at So Warm, the SWARM afterparty at VIVO on Thursday night. Thanks for coming out if you were there. If you missed SWARM, check out the show that just opened at the Contemporary Art Gallery. It's a gooder.
My friend Zoe introduced me to subtraction cutting by Julian Roberts, which is kind of a random and improvised form of pattern cutting. I didn't have anything to wear to my award ceremony on Monday (British Columbia Creative Achievement award - Yay!) so I used the technique to make this dress. It was pretty fun to try out but I have to say it is not the most comfortable dress ever invented. Also, because I didn't line it, it's almost impossible to wear it the same way twice. The way I'm wearing it in this picture looks wholly different from how it looked on Monday.
I also made these black "tulip" pants that are slightly less "tulip-y" than the grey pair I was wearing during the project. I'm still trying to decide which style works best.
This draped top looks a bit like I used the above (subtraction cutting) technique but it's actually just tucked and stitched with sort of random darts.
Posts
