After a series of auditions, I have cast my performers into two groups, dancers and models. This will allow me to showcase my design talent with the models and showcase the dancers’ talent in a performed movement piece.
This November I will be meeting with the dancers every Tuesday for rehearsals, which run more like workshops. Each week I will prepare new wearable pieces for the dancers to rehearse in and will present them with different scenarios and movement challenges. Each piece, scenario, and challenge is developed to achieve different types of movement. I will build the wearable pieces around what we accomplish in each rehearsal and continue towards completed costumes for December 1.
On December 3, Kendal Bogan will arrive from Seattle and complete the dancer group as the third member. She will work with us as a choreographer throughout November, watching copies of our rehearsal tapes every week. When she arrives in December she will have one dress rehearsal with the other dancers before our December 5 promo video shoot.
The promo video will serve as a preview for the show opening in April. The model group will not be involved in this video, only the dancer group.
Once I have the dancers’ costumes finalized, I will design five new garments for the model group. The models’ garments will reflect the movement of the dancers and be inspired by their costumes. To highlight my personal talents I will focus on designing experimental costumes and conceptual fashion design.
Auditions were held on September 29 and 30 from 7-8pm in the lighting studio of the Shaffer Art building at Syracuse University.
Finding the right performers for the show is crucial for the development of my project. I wanted to make captivating posters to attract the right people to come out for auditions. I used photos of my past work to help visually explain my thesis topic. On September 22 I put up a total of 60 posters on both main and south campus, the Warehouse, the Schine Student Center, Crouse, Schaffer, Syracuse Stage, HBC, the Hall of Languages… you name it, I put a poster there. In addition to advertising with posters, I was given the opportunity to present my project to Syracuse’s drama students at their weekly class meeting (lab) held on Wednesday. I was able to pass around a signup sheet and had about 30 students who expressed interest in the show.
XL Projects opened during the spring of 2009 and is Syracuse University’s newest art exhibition space. Andrew Havenhand is on the board of XL Projects and coordinates the exhibition calendar. Olivia suggested that I submit a proposal to have Metanoia open at the gallery. I first contacted Andrew in June to inquire about space availability. After emailing throughout the summer, we finally met at XL Projects on September 3. I showed him my proposal booklet and pitched the project to him. He was very excited.
At the end of September I got confirmation from Andrew that Metanoia will have it’s opening at XL Projects in April (exact date still being determined). Metanoia will be the first fashion/performance show at XL Projects. It’s a great space and its central location in Armory Square is perfect for the opening show.
Materials inspire me and in the middle of September I hit a roadblock because I had no fabric to work with. I figured it was about time I made a trip to the garment district in New York City. It was my first time shopping for fabric in New York and it was a little overwhelming. I knew I needed fabric, but didn’t know what color or kind. My fist day roaming the streets of the garment district was a flop; I got samples but didn’t buy anything. On the second day I came up with a plan, I was going to buy all white fabrics and do dye tests when I returned to Syracuse. This turned out to be a great idea. I’ve dyed fabrics in the past but never got this involved.
Olivia Robinson, my mentor for the project, suggested I keep a notebook during my dye tests. I kept a record of the weight of dye powders, salt, soda ash, water and weight of goods used for each dye bath. This way I could slightly vary my dye baths without repeating any colors. I purchased a total of 12 white fabrics, 10 cellulosic fiber woven (silk, linen, cotton) fabrics and 2 protein fiber (wool) basket/novelty weaves. For 9 dye baths I used fiber reactive dyes for the cellulose fabrics. I was amazed how each swatch took differently to the dye. It was inspirational to achieve so many different colors with just one dye bath. This was a great exercise for me and I’m leaning towards dying my final fabrics so I can control the colors I have to use. I plan to continue experimenting with more samples.
I’ve always wanted to experiment with fabric encased in glass. I’ve had a friend for 6 years who blows glass in Ithaca, NY at Buttermilk Studios, an independently owned glass blowing studio. For two days my friend Alix and I played with the concept of permanently sealing finely cut up silks into Pyrex glass tubes. After a few trials with rounded shapes and ‘donut’ shapes, we discovered the best method for sealing in the silk was using ¼ inch diameter tubes. I think the finished samples we ended up with look great and I’d like to keep experimenting with this idea.
