I figure I've been mentioning my "inspiration wall" so often frequently that I ought to show it to you. These items have been collecting for literally decades. Some I consider to art themselves, some I keep because they make me want to make art. Some just make me happy.
Thought you might like a little look at the show that I've been working on for the past few weeks. It wasn't enormously reliant on my crafty side since I only got to make one costume piece. This was a modern play so it was all about shopping, and finding the correct pieces to streamline the design. Even with purchased clothes, it's all about tracking down just the right shirt, in just that shade of brown... the things that make a color story over the course of the show. Fr instance in this particular show my idea was that everyone would start in very clean, springy, pastels, and as the show progressed the color would drain away and be replaced with greys, browns, blacks... everyone would be dark and drab by the end.
The one piece I got to make was this fast food uniform top. The character works at the "Burger Barn." It was fun tracking down the worst, gnarliest polyester possible and then crafting it into a fast food inspired, low rent western shirt.
Monday evening I had a rare few minutes (these days at least) where i wasn't doing anything. The past few weeks I've been so swamped, projects ending, projects beginning, friends in town, traveling... and it doesn't seem like it is going to let up until sometime in September or October.
Is this:
I've had a photo (actually several) of this guy on my "inspirations" bulletin board for years. I figured it was time to actually draw him.
Tried my hand at sketching Ted today. It wasn't easy. First, he isn't a "still" cat. Second... he's entirely black, so getting a likeness is... harder. These were very quick brush pen sketches, while he was being as still as he usually gets.
Speaking of Ted, this is his new favorite toy, a length of blue polyester rope that was in our camping gear. he pulled it out during the move and has been carrying it all over the house, tucking it into random corners and chewing on it. I have NO idea why he is so interested in it.
I've been doing lots oflate nights and long days to get a show that I was costuming finished, (on top of my regular work week) so I slept in a bit this morning. This is Sarah admonishing me for my laziness.
Some breakfast in bed courtesy of Kid Flash. A raisin bagel with walnut cream cheese.
The show went into previews yesterday, so I should only have a few notes here and there this week in order to finally get it on it's feet. Today's task is to make a hat band for a cowboy hat. I had a bandanna tied around the hat but the actor thought it was meant to go around his neck so he removed it and wore it that way. The director thought it was funny, so that left the hat bare.
On the way downtown I pass one my favorite fixtures in my new neighborhood, the sidewalk wig vendor.
When I arrived at the theatre I found that I had mistimed it and got there just as the matinee was starting so KF and I went down the street to see Wall E.
After the movie I went back to the theatre and fixed the hat.
A little lunch at Better Burger. They serve their fries with three ketchups, plain, chili, or curry and coriander.
An NYC view crossing 42nd Street.
On the subway on the way back to my neighborhood after doing a bit of shopping. Picked up season 3 of the Muppet Show, and a few books... shopped for a new shower curtain, but no luck. KF and I can't agree on a style, unfortunately.
We also stopped by the local grocery to pick up a watermelon.
My new neighborhood. I've been here less than a month, but it seems like so much longer.
Chopping the watermelon for our evening snack.
Blog update: I restored my template tonight to a stored version that I have. That seems to have cleared up the problem of allowing me to make new posts, images and all. Now I just need to get the 4 posts that I have in limbo unstuck and I'll be back on track...
Just a quickie that I scribbled out in the Goodwill store today while I was on the phone with my director. I am costuming a show that opens at the end of next week and I was running around all morning shopping for the last few pieces that I need. I'm trying to use this opportunity to get more in the habit of everyday sketching than I usually am.
Happy 4th Everyone! I spent part of the day downtown rolly skatering. Maybe someday I'll be good enough to play in the derby.
They liked the top right best. I liked the top left. I turned out that what they liked best was the circle, because it echoed the actual GGRD logo the best, so I went back to do another round of sketches, hoping to convince them of my choice.
After that we were all in agreement, my body shape and position, with the circle. So I tightened up the sketches a bit and started looking at text treatments. There was also the question of the clothing, the one on the left being my fantasy version, and the one on the right being their actual uniform, with Chucks and fishnets.
It was agreed that the fishnets were the way to go so we moved on to looking at color and the text. GGRD uses the stencil font as their font of choice, but I wanted to try a tattoo lettering style font to see how that worked.
The tattoo lettering won the day, and after a few more minor alterations we arrived at the final version of their new logo:
The girls wasted no time in getting it disseminated either, it is already up on their webpage, and for sale on t-shirts!
Art Month is underway! So... normally I may not have posted this sketch, it is a bit rougher than what I would normally post, mainly because I spent a really like time working out her mouth. She spent the whole train ride chewing the inside of her left cheek, and contorting her mouth dramatically. It was a difficult thing to sketch, and I'm still not sure I captured it because I doubt you'd have known what was happening without me telling you. But that's the magic of Art Month!
