Friday, July 27, 2012

Jean Paul Gaultier

On Wednesday, Mellie took us to the DeYoung museum to see the Gaultier exhibit. I hardly have words to describe the exhibit. It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. The best way I can describe it is as an almost religious experience. I was in completely awe the entire time, and was practically in tears by the time I left. I still don't have words to describe how beautiful it all was. The man is an insane genius, and if I could ever achieve even a fraction of his creativity, that would be incredible. So since I can't find words for the entire experience, here are some of my favorite pieces.




Beautiful Virgin collection dress - love the ethereal, serene quality.

This dress made me think of Joan D'Arc. I would totally wear this into battle.
 
Mermaid collection dress. I am in love with the decoration on the corset top - I could spend hours just figuring out exactly how he did it.

I just love his sense of humor. He refuses to follow the traditional rules of clothing, most notably the distinction between men's and women's  clothing.

Flayed skin bodysuit. This is part of a collection that also includes a bone corset and a vein bodysuit. It's super creepy, but in an awesome way.

Indian princess wedding gown. I love the combination of styles, and that he melds them seamlessly.

Leopard dress. At first, I thought it was actually fur, but upon a closer look...

The entire leopard part of the dress is beaded. This apparently took upwards of 1,000 hours, which is unsurprising, given the detail he put in. And can you see his face? 


This dress is made entirely of ribbon. The skirt is one thing, but every part of the corset is done in ribbon, crossing at points for shaping, and just incredibly intricate.


Two wonderful denim-based dresses that defy the traditional place of denim. Both pieces are incredibly fluid, and are just stunning.

This dress goes from a denim top to a feathered bottom. I was amazed to see that an idea I had considered on occasion could be executed so far beyond my wildest dreams.

A fabulous garbage dress. This was obviously my missing inspiration for The Listener.

This seems like a perfect dress for one of my sisters. It's just so fun!

The entire dress is pleated, and in such a way that the extra plaid details come as a wonderful surprise.

Cage collection. I love the way this inverts the traditional shaping garments, so that the hoop skirt is on the outside, and beautifully decorated.

This is just such a fabulously creepy sketch - wish I could have seen the dress itself!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Shows!

So I survived the first Festival Weekend! But first, the other parts of my week...

We saw Truffaldino Says No at the Ashby stage. It is a play in the Comedia style, but updated for a modern audience. I very much enjoyed the show - the actors were brilliant and hilarious. My only problem was with the set for the play. There were a several good techniques used, but they were not ones that should have been used together. The set was done in partial perspective, which was just confusing to the eye, especially with the strange color choices. I was a little nervous at first, because of the set, but the show itself was fabulous. The story was a standard Comedia setup, but with a very very entertaining twist. I definitely recommend seeing it, just don't be scared off by the scenery!

The next night, we went to see Woody Guthrie's American Song at Freight & Salvage. This show was absolutely incredible. It reminded me of listening to A Prairie Home Companion. There were five actors, and several onstage musicians. There were bits of story throughout, but it was mainly an emotional journey told through song. I absolutely love folk music, and this was some of the best I've heard. I simply cannot say enough good things about the performance. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the Freight & Salvage was one of three theatres, which were right next to a book store and a comic store. I'm pretty sure I will have to move to Berkeley!

After the show, Luke and I went to the midnight showing of Dark Knight Rises. I love me some comics!

The weekend was full of shopping and crafting. We completed our collages for the first Festival Weekend, which went very well. I loved seeing Grounded on a stage in front of an audience that was new to it. It has more power every time I see it, and I am so grateful to be working with such a wonderfully talented and welcoming group.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Tourism and Art

Monday was a day off. So of course, we did not spend any time relaxing. I'm learning how to use public transportation - what fun! Luke and I went to the Golden Gate Park, which is rather far away from the bridge - logic, anyone? It was absolutely gorgeous, however. We explored the park itself, but we spent most of our time in the California Academy of Sciences. They had earthquake exhibits, an aquarium, a living roof, and even a rainforest! Also, baby ostriches! So much adorableness!!! It was a lot of fun to wander around and see everything.

African Penguins - I want one!

 I loved the aquarium, especially because there was a section to pet some of the animals. I petted a starfish, and it attached itself to my hand, which was rather amusing. I felt like a child, and I loved every minute of it


The first actual Jellyfish I've seen!



After the academy, we grabbed lunch from an Indian food truck. It was delicious, if insanely spicy. I am firmly convinced at this point that the food here is the best ever. Then we took a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge. I was exceedingly excited to find out that the bridge is made from Bethlehem Steel - it's so cool to know that even across the country, there's a bit of home. The bridge itself was stunning, especially with the fog rolling across the top at intervals. We could even see Alcatraz, which we'll have to visit later on.



Monday night we had a brief designer meeting, to check in with everyone and figure out our plans for the week. Tuesday, I met with Mellie individually, and then went to rehearsal. I love our actress more and more every time I hear her read, and I'm very excited to see the performance. 
 
So far today, I've actually managed to be productive! I went to Blick this morning to buy supplies, and stopped at the farmer's market on the way back. I bought some yummy pistachios and olives - have I mentioned that I love the food here? I will be working on my collage for the reading this weekend, and tonight we will be attending a performance at Ashby Stage.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Thrifting Galore!

Saturday, Luke and I decided to wander the city before meeting up with Mellie. We picked up some groceries on our wanderings, but mostly just had fun walking around. San Francisco is a gorgeous city, and there's quite a bit of artwork and sculpture around.



Around noon, Mellie took Jenna, Luke, and I to Scrap. Scrap is a store that was started by a teacher when San Francisco began requiring them to purchase all the supplies for their classes. This store is a huge warehouse full of, well, scrap. They have paper, toys, fabric, fixtures... pretty much anything you could imagine. It was a warehouse of crafting glory. I could have spent hours there, just looking at everything. We each bought a bag's worth of random objects for our Cornell boxes, and everything I bought was only $10. I wish we had one near Lehigh!

LOVE these decorated spools at Scrap!



After Scrap, we went to the Mission, and wandered the thrift stores after grabbing lunch at Taqueria Cancun. There is a giant store called Thrift Town, which is two stories, and full of awesomeness. I was pretty much in thrifting heaven. Afterwards, we walked down Valencia, stopping at a really cool Pirate store, and a Taxidermy store. We were out for around 6 hours, and completely wiped after getting back. That, of course, did not mean that we didn't do anything later. Luke and I went to a local bar/restaurant, Dobbs Ferry, for dinner, which was quite tasty. I had asparagus with goat cheese - so much yum! Being the evil person that I am, I did convince Luke to leave his number for our waitress, who was very pretty and nice. He of course freaked out the whole way back to the hotel, which I found hilarious. I enjoy being a soulless ginger...


This was hanging in a local Goodwill - I apparently have awesome distant relatives!

This morning, Grounded had its first rehearsal. It was great to meet our actress for the first time, and hear her read the play. I always love it when a director casts an actor who fits the image I had in my head, and she did perfectly. This means to me that I am on the same page as the director, which is definitely a good starting point. I'm excited to see where this goes!

Adorable superhero mural - my life is complete!

Luke has evening rehearsals, but we had time to grab dinner between our respective rehearsals (it's so not fun eating out alone, and we both want to explore the city). There is an incredible amount of good food around here - as far as I can tell, every restaurant is a good one! We went to La Boulange, and I got a ridiculously good goat cheese and portabella sandwich. I'm pretty sure this city is a foodie's dream, especially since most of the local places are pretty affordable. I may never go home!

On the streets of the Mission - so cool!


Saturday, July 14, 2012

California!

I have been given the most incredible opportunity this summer. I am currently in California for the Bay Area Playwrights' Festival. My scenic design professor, Mellie, has started the New Play Design Lab this summer, so I get to be part of something new. I'm feeling pretty lucky right now - I received a grant from Lehigh University to do this, or I never would have been here. It's almost frightening to see just how much people believe in me, but I want more than anything to prove them all right.

Turtles!

The trip started with a conference at the San Damiano Retreat, which is the most peaceful place I have ever been. The first night, I ended up wandering around outside, and the air was light and smelled of flowers. The best part, however, was spending time with so many talented artists. At 20 years old, I was a bit intimidated coming in, but everyone was very welcoming. There is a certain insanity that artists have which makes me feel right at home.

That creek runs down the steps - so cool!


Got the time?

There are six plays being performed this summer, and each one was read by the playwright. I have actually never been able to spend time with playwrights, and hearing their perspective on theatre in general and their plays specifically was fascinating. When they read their own plays, their love for the art is apparent in every word. This hit me especially with the playwright I am working with, George. I had read his play, but the tension that he created when reading aloud drew me in, and I found myself almost crying by the end. The emotions I had felt on first reading it were intensified a hundred-fold. The language he uses is incredibly visual, which, as a designer, is always inspiring. The emphasis on color as emotion drew me into the character's psyche. I was able to physically feel the play, as my heart swelled, trying in vain to escape the cage of my ribs and find freedom and blue. We also had time to meet with our teams, director, playwright, and dramaturg. My team was very excited to bring in a design element, which was very encouraging. All of them were able to speak visually, to hear the sounds of the play, and were just very fun to talk with about designing the play.



After the conference, we returned to San Francisco, and I checked into my hotel. Mellie, Luke, two of Mellie's friends from the area (she's originally from the city), and I went to see Spunk at Cal Shakes. It is a fabulous new musical consisting of three stories of the early twentieth century. The actors encouraged audience participation, and danced, acted, and sang beautifully. One of the women was the main singer, and her voice sent chills down my spine. I also absolutely LOVED the Zoot Suits worn in the second story, especially a stunning red one. The third act made me somewhat sad, because it was so strongly focused on relationships. I wished that my boyfriend could be with me, to see everything that I am absolutely loving about this experience. I was cheered up by the best part, though, which was the dance party on stage afterwards. I love dancing, and I loved just being a part of a group doing jazz and blues dance.

We got to create our own instruments for the show, and I made a sort of a stringed percussion square


The city itself is stunning, and there are actual streetcars! Luke has been making fun of me for geeking out about all of the architecture in the area, but I couldn't care less. It is beautiful here, and I want to see and experience everything!

Pretty much Luke's reaction to everything I say