portrait of me by Lisa Simmons of
with my artwork in the background
the full piece I made for the background is here
(you can tell it was altered by Lisa to the cool turquoise color above):
(you can tell it was altered by Lisa to the cool turquoise color above):
versions of this are for sale by clicking this link (scroll down please)
For anyone who is a survivor, whether that be a survivor of cancer, or abuse, or an accident, part of lifting yourself up out of your tragedy is through big changes after giving a lot of thought to what happened to you, and letting different perspectives into your thought patterns.
Part of transitioning into being a survivor instead of a victim of tragedy is also through transformation.
The latest transition for me (after changing my environment, then my social circle, then my art, then gaining some perspective, then writing a new blog about the perspectives) was my appearance.
Before my father died, I dressed down an awful lot. When I was a clay artist, it served a purpose in terms of an ability to get clothes dirty from clay, dust, glazes and chemical materials. As a painter, old men's shirts became the apron where I could get paint splattered on them. Men's clothes were also used as a uniform in a series of weird social situations, as a way to be accepted. Hard to explain.
And right after my father died in 2013, I lived in his shirts while my own clothes became more and more ill-fitting. It went on for years: my basic attire was his shirts (yes, over-sized men's shirts), long hair, jeans, a fanny pack for a pocketbook, and sometimes a poncho (indoors) if it was cold. Everything was figure-hiding, instead of figure-enhancing.
Eventually a long discussion with my friend, Cindy Weed of Jewelwood of Vermont, got me to think about the presentation I was making to the art world, and to "the girl withn". I was depressed, and felt overwhelmed by the prospect of changing my wardrobe, so she took on being my fashion expert. She went out and purchased clothes that she felt were flattering on me for everyday wear, and included some dressy things once in awhile too. I still wear them more days than not.
But I also started thinking about going to work and to art openings in the art world with some nicer clothes, clothes that might fit my style of art, clothes that were a bit more about fantasy, and the Renaissance, and the Celtic. These were art styles I was inspired by, as well as the Lothlorien wear seen in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. I was already tall like a Lothlorien, had been compared to Cate Blanchette many times (who plays Galadriel), and felt it was time to move on from wearing men's clothes, and my father's shirts every day (although I do wear his shirts around the house in the evenings quite a bit).
After years, I started purchasing wearables myself, first from Peggy Gray of 22 Shades of Gray, who is a local fashion designer, entrepreneur, and friend, and will make clothes for me which are customized, and then eventually from Holy Clothing (especially sale items - they do have tremendous sales at times where an amazing quality gown will go up for sale for sixty dollars, and the clothes are in the fantasy realm that I like).
I began modeling for Holy Clothing when they offered a percentage off of purchases for modeling, and I have been featured on their facebook and their website. They like models who pose outdoors. I am "the older model" (most are young, and more interested in the costume line - I tend to go for things I can wear to art openings, and not just to Renaissance Faires, Pagan Festivals, Beltane and the like, although I have purchased some of those items too).
So I will be putting some links in the side bar to some of those projects, and some of the clothes I have designed, as well as the modeling session with Lisa Simmons.
And since I write for a fantasy art blog, and a couple of others, I will be including those latest posts in the side bar too.
This is a start ...
More to come ...
