SEW Inspired 6.1.2011

Hello folks!  I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and that you took the time to remember our service men and women who have fallen while answering the call of duty as well as the ones who currently serve.

I'm still working on dolls as part of my solo graduate exhibition.  I know the show is going to be at least a year away, but I find myself thinking about it all the time...trying to find the perfect venue, how I'm going to set up, how many people will be at my opening, and what I'm going to wear.  Folks, it feels like I'm planning a wedding.  The way I stay locked up in my studio, it may very well be the closest thing to a wedding I will have!

At any rate, I wanted to share with you the work of an inspiring fashion designer named Andrew Yang.  He makes these fabulous fashion rag dolls. They really are quite amazing!  He makes the bodies out of cotton muslin and hand paints the faces.  Then he dresses them in all kinds of fashions straight from famous designer runways using sumptuous fabrics and trims.  He calls them Kouklitas.  Take a look:

Retail Therapy

It's Spring, classes are done for the semester (the most nerve racking one so far), and I'm finally letting go of my stressful part-time gig.  I think I deserve a few treats, don't you?  PLUS Mother's day is tomorrow...extra justification!  I looked through Etsy and did a little earring shopping.  I should probably be working on my summer wardrobe, but earrings never dissapoint, unlike that outfit that looks awesome on the mannequin but not so awesome on my bod.

These I got SUPER fast from Decorate the Diva by Renee Bowen.  I absolutely ADORE them!

I'm exited about these beauties from Tribal Style.  They are designed to look like the wearer has guaged ears.  This is what they look like when worn:

These are going to take a while to get to me since they are coming from Bangkok, Thailand.  I think they will be worth the wait, don't you?  Find more stunning pieces in the Crafitti shop on Etsy.

MASHULU Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Trunk Show went GREAT! I got a lot of good feedback, made great connections with Crystal of Crystal J. Silk and Jay Sharpe, and even made a few sales!  I almost shed a tear when a couple of my friends who live in Northern Virginia stopped by to support, sporting items from their own personal collection of MASHULU goods! Thanks Nikki, Angela, and Miss Nyla! I feel my mojo returning...

MFA and MASHULU News

Well, it's over...my review went VERY well last Friday. I am officially a candidate for the Master of Fine Arts degree! So now I just have to prepare and defend my thesis and make enough work for my solo exhibition.  I'm so exited! I forgot to take a pic of my set up though. I had the dolls hanging from the ceiling!  Here's a pic of my favorite:

The body started out as a dress for an oversized doll that I made.  It is waaay more interesting as a doll itself. I dyed it with spots of red, green, and blue RIT dye, which is why the colors are not as strong as the "ties" are. The ties are made of shredded gauze that I tie dyed using Procion and Dylon dies.  The print was from a stencil that I made and designed, inspired by a stylized Maori tattoo pattern.  I need new batteries for my camera so I can photograph the others.

Now I will get back to MASHULU so I can have all new and African inspired accessories for my next event:

If you're in the Richmond area, come check out the trunk show!

MFA Monday: T Minus 5 days...it's goin' DOWN!

Okay, for real, it's Sunday but so much is running through my mind that I'm kind of doing this to think out loud.  Whaaat? An MFA Monday post a whole day EARLY? Pure madness!

Okay folks, on Friday, April 8, 2011 it's goin' down: My portfolio review that will determine if my journey will stop with a Master of Arts degree or continue towards a Master of Fine Arts degree.  From what I've heard, this particular review can be brutal, so cue the acid reflux.  True to form, I've come up with more ideas that I want to try to crank out at the last minute so I'm in my studio dyeing and printing MORE fabric.  What the ham sandwich is wrong with me?  At any rate, here's one of my works in progress:

I started with this:

I bleached it out and got this:

Then I dyed it using Procion MX dye in Rasberry:

I designed a logo that is basically made up of my initials (AMS):

I used the above design to make a pattern on a silk screen and then

printed over the re-dyed fabric:

And here it is in doll form:

Of course it isn't complete. I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike to add just the right "extras" and then I have to pose it.  I'm still not sure how I will display them...I was going to try to build a clear acrylic box to display them in, but I don't know.

So that's what I've been up to.  Wish me luck on my review on Friday.  I'll let y'all know how it went on next Monday.

P.S. Congrats to the VCU Rams on their STELLAR basketball season!  I do believe my degree has gone up in value! lol



I DYE!!!!

I have been on a fabric dyeing bender for the past couple of days. Tye dyeing is especially appealing to me because at first it seems like you're in control...you pick your colors and apply them in random spots of your choosing. But then the dye spreads and blends and works its own little magic within the twisted and folded areas.  So untying and rinsing each bundle is like Christmas morning!

Here's a quick peak at the results of my latest fabric dying adventure...

I can't WAIT to cut these up and turn them into something...probably art dolls. We'll see.  More on Monday!