more new yorker

i remember reading about a christmas tree decorated with all manner of fanciful things...like dragons and peacocks and unicorns. sounds like the perfect inspiration for a line of fall/winter clothing.

its a thing for the imagination...none of the pictures i could find do justice to what i have in my mind.

hula hoops

i read an article in the new yorker back in november about a performance art piece -- people with hula hoops spinning on roof tops. it sounded so dream-like...the innocence of the hula hoops mixed with the grit of the city and the soaring roofs...

a third notebook

a few ideas for altering clothes

• using a vintage dress, cut below the bust line...either use the top half and attach it to a t-shirt or vice versa
• use a x-large cotton t-shirt, preferably striped...attach ribbons and buttons like suspenders, pulling in the shirt's fullness

clothes that i've already designed that i'd love to make

• denim sleeveless dress (from beetle inspired collection)
• vintage inspired dress with large bow in back (remember girl from the rugby store who made her own?)
• jersey tank dress with multiple back straps
• dropped hip skirt with large, long pockets (like design for first semester digital)
• similar shirt dress to the DVF dress avotke wore for drawing
• jacket etc from japan competition collection?

silhouette

a slouchy version of the pencil skirt?

-- a "kangaroo" pouch pocket in the front, between the two princess seams...pocket just opens on the seams, nothing fancy

made from constructed fleece cotton jersey? fitted, long, over knee length...but slouchy slightly through hips

is it all hype?

a few things made me think last semester.

1. two of my gay male teachers wore wedding rings -- one wore his on his left hand like heterosexual people do and the other wore his on his right (but it was definitely an engagement ring.
2. two of the girls who worked at rugby with me lived with their boyfriends, fully assuming they would get married but knowing that it just couldn't be right away

it seems like so much of a relationship, in so many circles, is about the wedding -- everything leads up to that day, all the excitement, the planning, the stress...and then everything changes after that. why cant a relationship be about relating? i dont think its necessarily a good idea to move in together before being officially married, but an elopement doesnt sound so bad in my opinion...

when you decide that you want to be together, you get together...i wonder what life would be like if it were that simple.

treatment

mr. chu's t-shirt: cut the collar off a t-shirt and then stitch it loosely back on, showing half an inch of thread.

an observation

"his mustache was scratched hurriedly into the space below his long lashed eyes and his strong nose, as if he did not have the time for neatness between grabbing his cheap suit jacket and sucking down his bitter coffee."

introvert?

a thought only retains its value when it's kept safe inside. as soon as you utter it, something indescribable is lost...

so many memories are connected with other people...it feels safer to make more memories alone.

how do you show that in design?

another artist list

all of these can be found here.

• jylian gustlin
• jeff cohen
• randy cooper
• jane lafarge hamill

i love figurative painting, like sharon sprung's.

dandelions and mourning doves

rosalyn drexler

saw the retrospective at pace wildenstein in chelsea...fell in love.

random inspiration

fish -- colors, scales, shapes

water -- softening qualities (making stones smooth, rubbing off roughness)

monet

in a letter to his wife: "you know my passion for the sea...I'm mad about it."

so am i

morals

what is our moral responsibility as a designer?

do we deny jobs because we think the employer is wrong?

what about tolerance?

(thoughts after a controversial tishman lecture)

a flight home

on the flight home after a rough break up, i was surprised that i didn't sleep... instead i looked out the window the whole time, taking pictures on my treo and thinking. i wish i had some of those pictures now. this is the bulleted list from my notebook. 

• contemplating the beauty of the snow speckled earth
• the expansiveness of the land
• the fading from blue to brown at the horizon... perfect compromise 
• the layers of the sky -- the cloud filaments and the airplanes flying east
• the reflection and warmth and beauty of a winter sun
• seeing the world from above changes your perspective

new york in the rain

"rain used to be considered glorious, wanted, life giving...a reason for rejoicing. why the difference now? just the economy? or a general outlook on life? too inconvenient? dreary?

the city definitely lets me see another side of itself in the rain. its usually full of life, never slowing down, smug, content in its diversity, always pushing the limits. but in the rain, its tired, secretly worn out... a sad smile of an old man who hasn't taken time to rest -- experienced, knowing, but tired. 

like me, it lets its guard down in the rain"

my beloved new york in the rain

the umbrellas look beautiful...but not from underneath

kind of how i see new york in the rain...but maybe its not so violent as this painting

walking in the city

"in a city of skyscrapers, no one takes the time to look UP. the tops of the buildings are amazing... everyone is focused on the little things ---> just straight ahead. why not look UP?"

two clusters of skyscrapers, competing against each other.

scent and memory

a new york times article talked about how our sense of smell can jog our memories, even while sleeping.

what else influences memory?

what happens when you sleep?

how do you show scent?

how do you show nostalgia in a new way?

what can you look back on without being cliche?

first haircut by randy

dad came to visit and offered to pay for a hair cut for me -- my first time to bumble and bumble. randy was incredible and kind of crazy too. she even suggested a few designs that she saw me designing -- off the shoulder dresses, apricot colored pleated skirts and clothing with multiple shades of black.

drawing ideas

ideas that of techniques that we used in ideation and imagination -- can i translate these into fashion?

• single organic lines (tuttle's wall drawings)
• small collaged grids (with cropped prints)
• large grid on wall (with string and drawings)
• photograph collage
• roughly sculpting figure to draw from
• ripped collage figures
• collage of different images, colors, media, texture