HOWL THE DRESS

There is something so eternally enduring and endearing to me about the artists, writers, and musicians living during the Beat period in time.  I love them. I love their bravery.  I feel at home with them, and accepted into their circle. And so I was watching the movie "Howl" and it flooded my senses with everything I remembered about the smoky colors and cagey music, the struggles for artistic understanding, the jazzbop fight for poetic expression . . . just everything, actually.  The movie and the court trial set against animations and jazz worked their way into my just go ahead and look the other way and pretend to be normal why do I feel the need to fit in with anything around me soul and HOWL THE DRESS took shape.  I knew it had to be only for my beloved daughter who encourages me in everything, walks with me down sharp crooked paths of creativity, and holds the mirror of cracked brilliance up for me to peer into when I would just as soon give up entirely.  Yeah.  You can say she is my muse.  Hand-lettered on pewter dupioni from an enthusiastic SILK BARON down south, every single word from Ginsberg is here.  The footnote to HOWL is on the somewhat offbeat rose on the back. Only for my daughter's birthday.  Only for Ginsberg.  Only for HOWL. Oh and a big P.S.  The only thing for it was to create the world's most glorious GREEN silk petticoat with miles of ruffles and black tulle to go underneath in order to effect the best party profile. HAPPY BIRTHDAY INGRID!!

Fairies Would Never Eat Giraffes

I was supposed to be sick and working on back taxes (yes me.  in the entire bankrupt state of California. they are holding me responsible for a pathetic amount of back taxes. no doubt I am the cause of this entire mayhem) but somehow the lure of fairy garb talked me into ignoring responsibilities great and small and doing what I do best . . . translating all of my worries and problems into tiny glass beads, bits of ribbon and tulle, and endless yards of  pieced cottons, satins, magic cloth, and freehand stitching. And giraffes?  Oh my goodness-I would never eat a giraffe!! I will never eat another animal!! Considering a line of radical, militant stop eating animals dresses ala "Wicked".  Could be the fever.  OK. A fairy party dress and details. The giraffe dress modeled by Bridget Bardot.

Flowers in Afghanistan

There is a specific beauty to these little girls . . . a world away from me and yet, as I sit in my California bungalow and boot up their pictures again and again, it somehow feels as though they are right here with me.  Again, many thanks to Dr. Rolfe and Hope for enthusiastically taking my dresses to these girls.  Aren't they so beautiful?  I believe in what I do, creating garments out of fabric and thread, but seeing them come to life on these little beauties makes all sorts of personal challenges vanish like smoke. Don't you agree?