Thesis_Part 3_An update and current challenges

 

A portion of research material

 Previously on HDM Thesis:

·         First draft ✔

·         75% (ball park estimate) of research ✔

·         60% of a beginning conceptual idea ✔

·         Costume plot ✔

Currently:

·         Starting rough sketches (yay!)

·         Revising my paper

·         Clarifying characters/worlds/visual story

Ongoing:

·         The existential stress of the amount of work I have yet to accomplish before the deadline in 3.25 months

Future:

·         Too much

Current Challenges of the Trade

 

The Mythical Perfect Reference Image

 

One of the most time consuming and what I find to be the most difficult process in all this is the amount of time it takes to find the right visual references. Whether they’re references for visual representations and concepts or the perfect pose for your character I always have a specifically amorphous cloud in my mind’s eye that I can’t seem to find on the internet or elsewhere.  Some images are almost perfect but a detail or two throws it off.  A few subjectively quick remedies exist (1.) Photoshop what you need or (2.) Talk through specifics with whomever you are presenting this concept.  Despite discussions of visual worlds, it also helps a great deal if the people in this meeting communicate on the same level as yourself to decrease misunderstanding and disparate mental images.

Finding the perfect pose reference is the bane of my existence.  Not only do I have to find an individual (real or made up) that visually reads as the character I am drawing, I would like the pose to be interesting while also showcasing important details of the costume.  Most times, I tend to use multiple references and Frankenstein them together.  But again, there are only so many reference images you can find that can go together and frankly, I am not yet a skilled enough artist to freehand the missing parts I need.  In addition to the technical, consideration should be made to “casting” choices.  Choices in race, gender, size, and various other physical attributes can say a lot about who these characters are and also who you are as a designer. What kind of story are you trying to tell? What is the impact you want to make to the audience watching this? (Notice the mention of costumes or visual aspects has yet to be introduced)

Setting

 

One of the more specific challenges to this piece is the sheer amount of worlds both literal and figurative.  In Lyra’s World, she travels and interacts with people from many “worlds” such as the witches, Gyprians, scholars from Jordan College, and armored bears. All these characters are defined by what they wear and what they wear is inter-defined with where they live.  Visually, all these “worlds” have to be separate from one another while still remaining in the literal world of Lyra’s World. To add another layer to this, Lyra then travels outside of her World to many others altogether (eg. Cittàgazze, Will’s World, The Land of the Dead).  All these have to also be visually separated.  I was so muddled trying to balance and get a clear picture of these settings that it kept me from moving on with my work.  There were so many factors to consider, I just froze.  Eventually, after I calmed down and took a few breathers, I realized that I need to get these sketches down to visually see my concepts before going back in to clarify what was missing.  In other words, I should really trust myself more seeing as I know this story backwards and forwards. 

On the Plus Side…

·         My academic course load has lessened considerably so I can now focus more time on this project. 

·         I have tentative plans moving ahead. (Look! I even made a checklist for my characters!)

 

Daunting no?

In conclusion, I need to shut up, endure, and get to work.

 More of my struggles

[Part 1]
[Part 2]
[Part 3]

[Part 4]

[Part 5]

[Part 6]
[Part 7]

Onward,

*please pardon my grammar mistakes

Thesis_Part 2

I'm currently slaving through my draft.  My high school English teachers would be so incredibly disappointed in me right now.  You know those Deep Dark Fears comics by Fran Krause? This is one of them.  Every time I sit down to write, I worry that all of a sudden, I cannot string coherent words together.  Honestly I peaked as a writer as a Sophomore in high school when I could hand write a complete essay in 45 minutes. 

Right now it's like having the dots thrown onto a page but they connect into nonsense.  My current strategy is to throw more dots onto the page and form them into something with more sense later.

My research has taken me from religion and mythology into science with one toe in metaphysics.   I wish we had a class in classics in high school. Plato's writings are worth discussion. From there I have jumped into the anthropology of religion, magic, and ritual and now into Norse mythology and the old Nordic language.  What an adventure.  I just hope this paper will make sense once it's polished.

Despite the serious struggle of motivation to get this done around the strange schedule of doing random theater projects, I am enjoying the research process.  I just wish I had more time to research deeper into the content.  My draft is nearing full and I am impatient to get it done.  Yet here I am writing a post about writing my draft when I really should be writing my draft.....

I've also started listening to the trilogy on audio book again. It's amazing the things one notices every time something is revisited.  This is truly a wondrous piece of work. 

More of my struggles

[Part 1]
[Part 2] 
[Part 3]
[Part 4]
[Part 5]
[Part 6]
[Part 7]

Thesis_Part 1

In hopes of documenting my thesis process, I will keep a log of my experience while I work.  These entries are by no means a comprehensive look into all I have to say for this topic but I hope these informal summaries and reflections will help me organize my thoughts and clarify what I am doing as I work towards my MFA in Costume Design.  For those of you who will be joining me on my journey, please ask questions and I hope this will give you a peek into my creative process. 

Third year of grad school at Boston University is thesis year.  That's right. A full year of drowning in a project we chose for ourselves (choose your poison amirite?).  Our topics and proposals were approved during our second year and my thesis topic focuses on storytelling in the magic and ritual of theatre with His Dark Materials adapted from Philip Pullman by Nicholas Wright as the play of choice

HDM at the National Theatre 2004

The requirements for my thesis project are as follows:

-50 fully rendered designs with accompanying accurate swatches of fabric and trim

-1 full construction of a character costume with accessories and craft related items

            Full budget breakdown

-Character research packet

-5 full detailed spec sheets

-Plots on character entrances, scene changes, doubling, intermission, and costume changes

-A full paper on the history of the play, analysis, conceptual artistic production of the piece including lighting, scenery, music with style, mood, and time period research.    

-In addition to these requirements, detailed research must also be done on story analysis, character, and time period in order to accurately portray and design the piece. 

Choosing a piece

            Theatre isn’t my forte.  My background up until now has been varied and if I were to hazard a guess, plays and theatre only make up about 10% of my general knowledge (though it is expanding).  What this meant was that I had no reserves to draw from when it came to choosing a play.  Most of my knowledge of story comes from novels of varying genres. All of which I spent my entire life accruing.  I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but not which particular piece would fit my intent.  I had no idea where to start if I wanted to read plays that I could consider, not to mention the looming sense that I never have any time for anything except the hard deadlines of school.  I met with some peers and received some suggestions but none had the draw that I wanted.  

            Initially, my intentions were driven more by practical means than by theoretical.  I wanted to explore unconventional materials in costuming and in turn discuss sustainability in theatre.  Or I wanted to look into creating costumes using current and developing technology and discuss the creative integration of technology in costuming.  The voice in the back of my head would go “you’re studying design, not production” …I should’ve understood this much sooner than I actually did.  So I turned my focus on the other path in my process of selecting a piece; story.  I was interested in either something really dark…or a coming of age piece, something with some fantastical elements, something that was not limited to a particular audience but one that could include children and adults.  I wanted something that advocated humanity.

Throughout my brainstorm process, I always came back to His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.  I told myself I wanted to work on a story like that one, but I was reluctant to choose the stage adaptation for various useless reasons.  I suffered through a few months wondering if there was any play that was similar or better until I realized that my ideal story wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

My history with His Dark Materials

            If I remember correctly, I started reading this series when I was about ten.  My aunt and I would always go to the library and I read about 80% of the books she checked out.  She introduced me to many stories and authors which are still beloved to me.  I would also go on to finish numerous series on which she had given u. The Golden Compass was one such story.  Initially, I never thought much of the story itself, it was compelling, it was exciting but it was one of many. I knew after my first reading of each of the three novels that there were plot points and topics that were beyond my understanding at the time. But so were various other stories I read.  For some reason though, I would always come back to this particular story year after year, eventually doing the same with The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.   When I couldn’t afford the time to read any longer, I somehow managed to train myself to love audio-books and consumed the trilogy that way.  As I grew past childhood, the story grew with me.  As my understanding of human nature grew, so did my understanding of various elements and characters in the story.  I also began to understand my love for this story. 

This thesis is but another chapter of my growth with this story. As I uncover yet more about myself and about this story, I hope I am able to give it the proper respect through my designs and work.

I look forward to this artistic journey and to what it will become.  

Thesis Series:
[Part 1]
[Part 2]
[Part 3]
[Part 4]
[Part 5]
[Part 6]
[Part 7]



Onward!

Exhibit Ambush 2011

Following the Alterna "IT" Fashion Show, I was contacted by Antoinette Ransom to participate in an event she was producing called Exhibit Ambush.  The event promised to be an art show like no other, combining performances, fine art galleries, and a fashion show into one.  

As it was, she did not want me to over stress about the show due to the fact that I am a late recruit and, therefore, lack the time to fully execute an entire 10+ piece collection. Instead, I could show garments from my previous collections and add a piece or two to those to fit the number.  During this time, I was also wrapping up my last two quarters at school and interning at Lamb’s Players Theatre costume shop.  Taking this project on seemed to be quite the load.  After some thought, there was no other option but to go all in.  When would something like this come up again? It was a great way to test my potential and everything I learned.  The show was scheduled one month after my graduation, and I had roughly three months to get things done.  Not only was it a great way to meet local designers and artists, but it would also be my first fashion show outside of educational boundaries, in other words, with professionals currently in the field. 

A few weeks after signing the contract and looking through my previous collections, I deemed them unqualified for the show and decided to pull some nonexistent superpowers to revamp some concepts and hash out a new collection.  With my experiences in the previous school shows, the process from concept, design, and production (of five looks) lasted about eight to nine months. For Exhibit Ambush, I had to condense nine months worth of work into three and double my garment count....

Ula's Locket: Costumes: Talula & Ethan

In connection to my previous Sea Maiden post (here!), these are the current renderings of Talula and Ethan's costumes.

Talula's costumes initially start out with very tailored details and dusty pastel colors. As the story progresses, her costumes become more draped and the colors become more saturated.  This change parallels her character development  throughout.

Ethan's costumes aren't as numerous as Talula's.  They start out reflecting his low stature and personality of wanting very much to look above his class.  His first outfit is of a little older design and looks as if he has out grown, out worn, and generally out lived it.  After he becomes the town "hero," his wardrobe becomes updated and better fitting emphasizing his rise in status and fortunes and also the rise in his hubris.

xoxo,

Men's Prêt-à-Porter: Vintage Vignettes

Vintage Vignettes is a men's ready-to-wear line inspired by vineyards and traveling.  I wanted the silhouettes to be simple with the differences lying in the subtle details.  The entire concept started with an imagining of what someone would wear if they were to take a quick weekend outing by train to enjoy the vineyards. Maybe he would go with friends, maybe go alone and meet new people simply to have a change of scenery and experience something different.  I wanted it the collection to be casual and comfortable but at the same time to carry a professional quality to the look and the lines.  

xoxo,

Women's Prêt-à-Porter: Me, I'm a Thief

Me, I'm a thief,

I'm a falling star,

I'm a photograph taken,

From where you are.

So shed your tears

That's what they're there for

I don't expect you to understand this war

       -Sarah Slean "Me, I'm a Thief" Nightbugs (2002)

As I was going through my collections, I realized that I had not yet done an oriental inspired line. It was also at this time I was reading various mystery novels one of which was Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke, set in the late 19th century involving oriental trade and the opium wars. Around this time, I was also listening to The Painted Veil audiobook, set mostly in Hong Kong, and watching noir films.

This blend of Occidental and Oriental styles and ideas gave way to the following collection. It just seemed perfectly fitting to create a women's prêt-à-porter line based on this theme.  Even before this collection came together, Sarah Slean's song, Me, I'm a Thief, attached itself to this idea and saturated it with its essence. Despite its unrelated theme when put under full analysis, something about it brought whole new levels of meaning to this collection.  Ultimately, there was no other name for it, the song itself, the lyrics, and the mood it created brought the whole collection together.

I imagined the women wearing these garments to be, like the ones in 1940's Hollywood Noir Films, mysterious, devious, glamorous, and graceful. Can they be trusted? What will they do next? Looks can indeed kill (how cliche of me!)

Enjoy!