Getting an EYEful

What a night at the EYE of the Beholder Wearable Art Show!

...hangover is such a harsh word when you have so much BEAUTIFUL and ARTFUL fun! The Eye of the Beholder Wearable Art Show was just FAB -almost as much fun as the pre-functioning with Ann, Daddy-O and my sweet sis!

Darl Schaaff of Art Services North transformed the Crosspoint Auditorium! Featured and displayed were the works of Featured Artist, Designer and now Costumer in California, Sean Purucker. 

Several of us that were on the committee arrived early in the afternoon to start setting up. This is one of the 10 VIP tables that were near the Runway.

My sister and I glamming it up at a VIP runway-side table.

VIP "Swag Bags" included a pair of Artisan-made wool mittens or a hand made silk scarf,  gift cards, artisan tea, Modern Dwellers chocolates, hand moisturizer, cool lite-up LED rings, hand crafted soap, Artist Trading Card kit and MORE! My friend Jana and I were the VIP Bag committee chicks and we think we ROCKED the goodie bags this year! They were SO popular that some people sitting behind us at a non-VIP table stole MY goodie bag(!)... oh well, just proves they were a hit! 

My date.
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Within hours, Daddy-O went from wearing his tool belt and Carhartt's, tearing out a wall in the kitchen for our new refrigerator (this was AFTER he got home from work) to Mr. Runway, the best date a girl could have.

One of my entries "Power Suit for Casual Fridays" looked great on the model but had a few pre-show issues in the dressing room. One of the problems was that the model was too petite for the piece and didn't wear the head piece that I designed for it. Some of the metal work was also damaged after the show which I can hopefully fix BUT a buyer wanted to take it home last night arrrggh... I learned a LOT by entering this show. There is so much time and basic materials and structure knowledge needed to pull of a really great piece that planning and time are essential. Several of us also agreed that the artist needs to work closely with who will be modeling your work. Next year I won't leave it up the the Show to select my models (if my work is selected), I'll have that better planned, not only for sizing but for choreography and overall design and presentation.

One of my favorite pieces was "Queen of Caffeine"  designed by Nessa Noveau and Carly Garay. The tall, beautifully winged garment was worn by a model on stilts!! It was constructed of coffee and tea bags, dyed and embellished with  rich and warm rust-brown palette.  Just breathtaking. 

With close to 60 entries we were on sensory overload with the talent and scope of "wearable art" at the show. It was hard for the judges (Jocelyn Young, Jo Michelski, and Georgia Blue) to choose three ultimate winners because of the diversity of not only the materials used but the quality of construction on each piece.

2012 Show Winners

Best of Show and Jurors Choice

Larry Depute "Still Flying"

Theme: Elise Rose "Restrained/Gratification"

Best use of material: Lauralye Miko, "Post Poetic"

Getting My Fix

The EYE of the Beholder Wearable Art Show needed a “People’s Choice Award” trophy and I jumped at the chance to create something fun out of metal. It was a chance to get my “metal fix” with all this fiber art I’ve been working in lately! The show already had a fab logo designed by fellow volunteer and graphic designer Deanna Teders. It’s great when somebody can email you a ready to go vector file that has been built right and corrupted! I edited part of the logo that had a large zipper and added a few of the buttons that were also in the logo and had it cut out of ¼” aluminum steel. I wanted a piece that could be held up by the winner as their name was announced –sort of like an Oscar! The trophy company is milling me an acrylic base and engraved name plate this week. It was fun to work with metal again but I had to unpack drill, grinder and even heavy duty gloves that I hadn't used since we moved.

We’ve been keeping up with our daughter, Kristen through the Great Belt Research Cruise daily Blog! She is currently at sea in the Southern Ocean with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences as a Research Technician. The 2012 Great Belt Research Cruise: Exploring Phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean An international team of researchers left Durban, South Africa on February 18, 2012 aboard the Research Vessel Roger Revelle and will arrive 35 days later in Freemantle, Australia, after collecting data and samples as they cross the Southern Ocean “25 Scientists, 35 days at sea, billions of coccolithophores.” Kristen works primarily with the CTD equipment, then will process the samples from the various stations in the on board laboratory. The CTD rosette is the primary water collection tool used on the cruise; CTD stands for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth, referring to the set of sensors mounted on the bottom of the rosette.

There is an education link for the cruise that is interesting for any teachers you may know. The goal of this project is to increase ocean literacy by inspiring and encouraging students and the public to learn about oceanography, life at sea and career options in ocean science.  Photos and the expedition’s blog are by Rebecca Fowler.

That's our girl, GRADUATED AND gainfully EMPLOYED :)