History Book and Balloons

Ack. Grad school. So many rewards, so little time to think about what they will be! I have been MIA, working on this costume. The History Book. It's for a great new play called Ashes, Ashes. It is a children's play, geared towards middle school age, but I feel that it really addresses all ages above that as well. It was workshopped at the New Works Festival last year.

Anyway, I am tailoring this suit. Thank goodness for my experience this summer at the Santa Fe Opera. Otherwise, I would be constantly returning to my tailoring notes from last year to remind myself how these things come together. Instead, I'm enjoying all the tedious hand sewing with confidence. Tailoring is a step by step process that I find really rewarding.
Sorry for the sideways picture. I forgot to export it before posting it, but I've got to get posted an back to work since tech is tomorrow! What's going on in this you ask? I am tailor basting horsehair and flannel to a 30 foot long tail that hangs off the left side of the coat. The tail on the right is only 6 feet. Oh, and they both get "ripped" off the coat at the end of the end of the play. All I can say is MAGNETS.






Another added bonus to this project? I had to teach myself how to screen print in order to print this writing all over the suit. I built five screens and used a photo sensitive emulsion fluid to burn the image. Making the screens and exposing them is an entire other story that I am not going to go into. Trust me, you don't really want to hear it all. I will tell you that at one point there were tears and a deep sense of failure. Then I got some assistance and once I felt amply supported in the endeavor things got better and everything worked out in the end.
WaaLa! Screens and printed fabric! It is going to be a fantastic portfolio piece and despite the screen fiasco I am really pleased with how well it is turning out.













And for your viewing pleasure, some sights from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. This is the top of the club balloon, Windswept. It is really a very very pretty balloon.











And of course our fantastic friends from Deutschland were there! It was so wonderful to see Harry and Astrid again. I hope to get back to their side of the ocean sometime in the future.

But first I have to finish the History Book.
Tschuss