Friday, April 29, 2011

Graceful Fatigues

Final screenprinting project for my textiles class. Showing you the whole process as it comes together.










Do ballet. Not war.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Finding Joy In-Between

Usually when building a garment, you can slowly see it coming together. You cut out your fabric, and then piece by piece, it's sewn together. Your excitement grows - or deflates - as you see your design start to come to fruition right in front of your eyes.

With my final garment for my Fashion Design class, I don't get to see it visually coming together. Because of the way I've chosen to construct it, all the pieces need to be in place in order for me to see what it actually looks like. Literally, the last stitch needs to be sewn for me to even have an idea of how it will drape and what it will look like on the body. So in many ways, I'm blindly just following my hands right now.

That being said, how can I make this work for me? How can I continue to pursue a project where I can't even see the endpoint? It might be a success. It might be a failure. I have a deadline. Can I be ok with however it turns out? Can I be ok with it having a life of its own, and it telling me what it wants to be - in the end - and not vice versa?

So what to do. What to do ...
Well, I find joy in the in-between. I find joy in each stitch, the rhythm of a sewing machine ... like a fucking turntable. I dance on that machine. I stitch like I'm performing surgery. I find joy in the ironing. I pay special attention to each wrinkled line that slowly disappears. I turn off my thinking, I go blank. I get down with not knowing, I get down with not seeing. I let go and let it be what it wants to be. There's something else seeing for me right now, and I just gotta follow.


If can find joy in the in-between, I can let go of what it becomes. Because if I find the joy in-between, there's nowhere to go. Because I'm already here. Hi.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Tsunami Dress Update

Second mock-up out of polyester
[dude don't pay attention to the pink poly ... it was $2/yard, drapes like the silk will]



Final fabric - hand-dyed [by me] silk Habotai:


No pattern waste was a success!

Need Vs. Want: Knit Rope Lace-Up Sandals


want
NEED



here

Just Us


We all came to school dressed like this. Probably because we individually had no time to actually think about what to wear. Black always works.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

My Workspace

My workspace is at home, in my apartment in the Mission. I have a table that sits in a bay window that juts out onto the sidewalk. I sit here in this window all the time ... sewing, drawing, on my computer. People on my street know me by the 'seamstress' that works in the window.

Sometimes, when people walk by, they pretend they don't see me. By the look on their faces, it seems like they think they are peeping in on someone. It's not like I'm standing in the window dancing naked or anything. They look at me, then quick look away, then look back, then quick look away. Sometimes, I stare at them the whole time, watching, smiling, waiting for them to notice that I'm looking right at them. They usually do. We smile together, in acknowledgment.


Saturday, April 16, 2011

WTF

This is me trying to develop a visual map on how to construct my tsunami-inspired garment. I mean come on ... WTF ... this drawing is ridiculous. But I guess if the theme is destruction, then I am fulfilling that idea in all aspects of the work. Help.

The cool thing about using geometric shapes as pattern pieces is that it makes it a little more simple to do a no pattern waste garment. Here's my layout below on a 45" wide piece of fabric. There is absolutely no pattern waste. Will this work? I don't know. Stay tuned. Although I'm sure you don't care.

Friday, April 15, 2011

After all these years

After all these years, we're still sticking a piece of string in between our teeth to floss? I mean come on, there's no one who has come up with a better solution then a piece of string? I guess flossing is an homage to our brethren, the cavemen.

Nevertheless,

we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tsunami & Draping Ninja

I'm pulling out some draping ninja on your ass. Hi ya! You couldn't figure out this pattern if you tried. Gosh I can barely figure out how I did this.

This is where I am with my muslin sample on my tsunami inspiration for my final in Design. There's a lot that still needs to be resolved ... this is where I'm at.

Louis Wain Wannabe


This cat wraps around 4 walls. I almost died when I saw it. It was painted by Neil, who's in the grad program at CCA. I find my cat painting obsession confusing, considering I don't like real-live cats. I quite don't-like them actually. But I love painted cats! Not sure what this is about, but I don't care. I could stare at Louis Wain paintings all day.

The Power in Power Lines

I used to think that power lines were so ugly. So man-made. A hindrance on our skyline. Look what us humans are doing to this beautiful earth!

Haha ... was I wrong. I was only willing to see part of the picture. My un-acceptance to reality - to what is - made me slightly blinded.

When I finally opened my eyes, I saw a beautiful composition, made complete by the power lines.

A few shots I took while on a cotton farm tour last week:






Tuesday, April 12, 2011

If you are sincere and natural

real revolutions take place without you trying.

- Christian Dior

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Pulling Inspiration From Destruction

I think it's a shame if we can't find beauty and inspiration in tsunamis, earthquakes and destruction. If you take away the identification of form, if you take away the "how does this affect me" thinking [and the thinking in-general], and you take a step back and look at the big picture and some of its intricacies ... you can easily see beauty in a power that's so massive you can't even begin to completely understand. The colors. The proportion. The brokenness. The destruction. Hell yeah.

I could sit here and make this about me, and live in fear for when an earthquake of this degree hits San Francisco. Or, I could choose to be amazed by this kind of 'art.' I choose to be amazed. In wonder. Inspired. Why? Because life is more enjoyable this way, and I don't have the luxury of living in fear.

Pulling inspiration from the tsunami:

And pulling some images from Balenciaga for reference:

I begin to drape in tissue paper [because it's cheap and easy to play with]. I turn off my thinking, and let my hands be free.

The beginnings of the pattern:

Next step is a muslin mock-up. More to come. In the meantime, I dare you to find the beauty in tsunamis. In trash. In things you 'think' are bad. I dare you.

Ulla's Magical Pants



Bought in Japan. It looks like they were knitted on a machine, then hand-stitched over the design.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Achew

When you start to really open your eyes to the artwork around you [and within you], everything starts to look beautiful.