My Impulsive Costume of the Day-Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

May 24th, 2009 by admin

Currently one of my biggest vice’s is thrift stores!  Ironically as a child I didn’t want to be caught dead in one, due to a life altering episode of Who’s the Boss, (if you saw it, you would remember it).  Now as a starving artist I thrive in those glorious piles of junk, those misplaced garments and those neglected heaps of trash.  Every once in a while I stumble upon a real treasure.

I had no intention spending my day yesterday altering a dress to fit my version of Belle from Beauty and the Beast-but that is what I did.  The dress was a prom reject from Macy’s still new with tags still attached, (worth about $400.00), I got it for $25.00.  As I perused the rest of the store I found a matching scrap piece of yellow fabric that cost .99 cents for the sleeves.  I rummaged in my costume closest at home and found a brown wig, a little sprits here and few boby pins there and wala !  Instant Belle Halloween costume.  Sometimes I surprise even myself with my resourcefulness.  Feel free to leave a comment if you like.  I would love to hear your stories of thrifting.

bellebellehair

Posted in Costuming, Creative Projects, Masks, Powerful Word having 11 comments »

Star Trek Red Dress Costume

May 21st, 2009 by admin

Oh yes, it will be mine.  My next costume adventure will be to recreate the red dress worn by Uhura in the newest installment of Star Trek.  It’s been really hard finding reference pictures, but here are a few that I have.

Star Trek Stilluhura_comparison

Posted in I was thinking..., Uncategorized having no comments »

Bacchus

May 15th, 2009 by admin

Here is a little mask that I made inspired by the Venician Style of masks.  Made with glue, flour, casting gauze, and wall putty.  It has the old papery feel to it, yet is really strong, stronger even than sculpy.  Maybe I’ll do a how to tutorial…

bacchus

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Left Handed Calligraphy

May 13th, 2009 by admin

Old pen

I love the smell of colored pencils and the feel of eraser dust underneath my elbow.  Art class.  My excuse to explore every different medium from paint, to pastels, to pencil, to plaster of paris.  It was in a sterile gray room at Shelley High School that I learned I was a little different from the other kids.  Our teacher, Miss Likes pulled out a color wheel one afternoon and gave us our assignment.  We were to create a color wheel and then show different ways to mix contrasting colors.  I attacked this assignment with gusto.  I worked on the assignment for a week, painted and mixing, the pigment flying from my brush like pixie dust.  I ran out of room, so I added paper to make it bigger.  I was having a blast.

Well the day came that the assignment was due and I proudly marched my assignment up to the teachers desk.  I stood in line with the other kids.  Miss Likes was looking at the pictures flipping them over and delivering a neat little red checkmark to the back.  If you got a checkmark you passed.  As I stood there I began to notice my classmate’s work.  Every single canvas was identical, each one of them had painted just what they were told.  A color wheel, or a wheel of color-whatever you want to call it.  Each painting had neat little square boxes off to the side to show the mixture of colors.  I looked down at the paper in my hand.  I had painted a landscape with a starry sky and in the center was a castle, the archway above the portcullis was the color wheel and the bricks of the castle were the mixture palates.  Patrick who was standing in front of me said, “Your face is so red right now.”  I hate blushing.  I thought of not turning it in, but heck I didn’t want a bad grade, in art class no less.  So I handed my assignment over.  My teacher picked up the painting and stared at it for a very long time.  The other kids were watching.  Ug, really?  Don’t you people have other things to do? Then my teacher turned the picture over, checked it and handed it back to me.  “Very nice.”  She said.

After that I think my teacher made it her private quest to stump me.  Every project we did she would challenge me.  So my projects got bigger, crazier, and always ended somewhere out in left field.  I loved our little competition, I loved the challenge and I loved the art.  I was as happy as a bug in a rug. Art was my favorite class, and as the hour ticked by I dreaded 2:09.  2:09 is the only time that I remember from high school because that was when art class was over.  That was when I would shrug my backpack over my shoulder and trudge off to Algebra 2.  Ugh.

Well, unfortunately in my high school there were only two classes in art.  Art 1 and 2.  It was on my last week of Art 2 that my teacher made the announcement that she had permission to start an Art 3 class.  There was no room on the schedule for the class so it would take place during Art 2 and we would just receive different assignments.  I don’t know if I had anything to do with the class starting, but I like to think so.

It was in Art 3 that Miss Likes stumped me.  Calligraphy.  I didn’t know why she was so smug.  Not until I put ink and pen to paper.  My hand dragged across the ink smearing the little “a” I was making.  It looked like a comet.  I tried lifting my hand, and doing it again.  The letter came out all wobbly.  Now it looked like jell-O.

I had always been slightly teased for being left handed, I never thought anything of it until someone would bring it up.  I have to admit, I liked the attention.  I felt special, and it was entertaining to me that my friends liked to watch me write.  I think Miss liked to watch me write that Thursday afternoon.  I went home so frustrated.  I sat at my diner table trying to get the letters right.  I couldn’t do it.  So I turned the page.  Nope.  So I turned the page the other way.  That made it worse.  I hated Calligraphy, it was ridged and there were rules, literally.  I felt trapped, how can you think outside the box when you have to stay in it?  Then I got it.  I turned the page upside down.  My hand was away from the ink, the letters were smooth and even.  I just needed to turn the box over!

The next day I went into class and sat down.  I set up my station taking my time, drawing the attention of my teacher.  I sat down, looked her in the eye and slowly turned my paper upside down.  Winking at her I started writing.

Posted in Creative Projects, Uncategorized having 2 comments »

The Toad and the Cat

May 12th, 2009 by admin

Said the Toad to the Cat one starry night,

“Give me your coat for I am cold.”

Said the Cat to the Toad,

“There’s no need to beg,

I’ll give you my coat,

if you give me your leg.”

Toad

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Sirius Black Costume

May 7th, 2009 by admin

So this is the house coat that Sirius Black wears in Order of the Phoniex.  The fabric alone was hello-expensive, about 3oo buckaroos!  Believe it or not, the vest and shirt I found at a thrift store for 10 dollars.  Jonathan Castile wears this costume for his Harry Potter themed magic shows, so I guess it’s payed for itself many times over.  His website is http://jonathancastilemagic.com/index.html.  For you potterheads out there, he makes handcarved wands-wicked!

siriussirius black back

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Minerva McGonagall

May 7th, 2009 by admin

Sample costume commisioned by Whimsic Alley for reproduction.  Minerva McGonagall from the 1st movie.

minervaminerva

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Severus Snape Costume

May 7th, 2009 by admin

This Severus Snape costume is modeled by Jonathan Castile.  Loved making this sample for Whimsic Alley.  Three part, shirt, tunic and robe.  My first cloth buttons-good times.

snapesnape cloak

snape back

Posted in Costuming, Creative Projects, Powerful Word having 11 comments »

Bellatrix Lestrange Costume

May 7th, 2009 by admin

“You need to mean them Potter! You need to really want to cause pain,  to enjoy it,  righteous anger won’t hurt me for long.  I’ll show you how it is done, shall I?  I’ll give you a lesson.”

-Bellatrix Lestrange

Click here for an UPDATE!

Modeled by the lovely Stephanie Tauson.  I have to admit, this is the costume I took some liberty with.  Everything is as close to replica as possible, except the train.  The movie costume was short, about ankle length, this dress is obviously a lot longer than that.  So in my mind this is how the dress looked before it was eaten by moths sitting in Bellatrix’s closet while she was in prison.  It is double layered with black chiffon and along with the train it is so yummy to wear!  Elegant and yet so witchy.

I love the train, it’s not accurate I know, if you potterheads are offended, sick your house elf on me.

This costume is super popular on my site, and I thank you all for your comments.  If you like it please let me know.

Click here for an UPDATE!

belatrix

Posted in Costuming having 5 comments »

Beauxbaton Costume

May 7th, 2009 by admin

So here is my Beauxbaton costume replica from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  Based on the character Fleur  Delacour.

Modeled by the lovely Stephanie Taunson.  This costume was a bit more difficult than the others as it is very tailored.

beauxbatons Read the rest of this entry »

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About Severely Right Brained

Being hopelessly right brained is probably the best way to describe me in my madness. Thus the name severely right brained. I am a writer, actor, artist, costumer, and director; among other things. I love the rain and I am such a bad cook I burn water.

“Creative people must entertain lots of silly ideas in order to receive the occasional strokes of genius” -Mashall Cook