lorimarsha

My book idea:

I like to make something every day. Sometimes I make a pretty party dress; other days I re-make my workspace. Last Wednesday I roasted a few beets and tried a new salad recipe. On Sunday I visited the farmer’s market downtown and bought a big bouquet of sunflowers. I came home and designed a tablescape with the flowers and a paper parasol. Making things takes many forms and every day there is some thing.

Taking pictures of what I do has become a part of my process. I like to document my day with a photo. I enjoy taking pictures so much that sometimes I end up liking the photograph more that the thing pictured. So on those days the picture taking becomes the important thing.

I also like to write a little bit about what happened that day- what inspired the thing I made…what I was thinking about when I made it…the music I listened to as an entree into the “zone.” Just a few words that encapsulates the process. So it’s sort of like a journal of creative recognition or a visual examination of some sort. I don’t really have a name for it.

This is the book I’d like to write. It will be highly visual- more pictures than text- and will cover a period of 365 days. A year of creative stream toe-dipping and a peek into my world of “making.”

A sampling of my Spring/Summer 2009 line of romantic dresses that I’ll be showing at my upcoming Spring event. Sizes 2 to 2X.

SAVORING Las Brasas’ albondigas soup
WEARING Jeffrey Campbell shoes
SIPPING a cup of tea in the evening (photo from zoogal)
ENJOYING Greek yogurt (photo from These Days in French Life
EYEING Iceland poppies
BREATHING THROUGH kundalini yoga
LISTENING TO Antony and the Johnsons
READING “Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress” ,
COVETING handmade jewelry by Etsy’s simplytess.

A challenge, originally uploaded by lorimarsha.

Sometimes we need a challenge to really push ourselves out of our comfort zone. This week I worked on a tunic for a customer who had provided me with a vintage Italian silk drapery panel. Really beautiful. Quite old. Shredding in some spots. She asked if I could make her something from it and added “no pressure…whenever you feel like it…and if you decide you don’t want to use it, that’s okay, too.” I liked the last part. A possible exit strategy.

I don’t like to do custom work. Usually, the customer, whether they admit it or not, has an idea in her head about what the final thing should look like and so I find myself trying to fit into that idea that she has (real or imagined, it doesn’t really matter.) I rarely do my best work under these circumstances.

But this was different. Not only were there no parameters or special requests, she had given me an amazing textile. The pull cords for the sage green silk shade were present and I immediately could see how one could pull them to create billowing and draping. I was intrigued.

I gladly took the drapery panel and said I’d love to work with it. It sat in my workroom in its plastic bag for several weeks before I took it out to inspect it more closely. Then a little bit of panic set in. What in the world could I do with it? It was beautiful. It was delicate. What if I ruined it?

I’ve always believed that the best thing to do in this situation is to just jump. So I did. I draped the fabric on my mannequin and immediately started poking around for parts and pieces that would work with it. I devoted a good part of the day to pinning and draping until I felt I had something to show for my effort. When I called her to schedule a fitting, she said she’d come over right away. “Really? Right away?” I said to myself. Oh dear. This was happening too fast.

She came and loved it and the next day I tackled the sewing…much more difficult than the designing. At least it’s that way for me. I used more pins than usual, took my time, and enjoyed one final surprise.
I needed a way to connect one side panel to the other, in order to keep the garment large enough to fit over her shoulders. Sitting on top of my ribbon box was a vintage silk snap belt that my friend, Katrin, had sent me a couple weeks before. It worked perfectly.

So that’s it. I feel good about this whole experience. It’s all about giving ourselves that little push as we jump into the unknown.