It's alter art time again!  Yep, moon is full.  Tomorrow to be exact. And, as the Native American's called it, the Worm Moon.  

Well, let's just say this month I tried to PLAN. That's right, I had really cool ideas.  I was SO inspired.  I've taken up rollerskating again and am fascinated by what people are doing on skates.  I thought it was a lost art. But, people are dancing as fluidly on roller skates or more so, than with their feet on the ground.  Blows my mind. And there's this amazing phenomenon where a whole group of people skate in a single file line really fast practically dancing. It's fascinating to watch and scary if you're skating too slow and they come racing through the crowd.  So, you learn to stay toward the center and just watch. 

How does that fit with my alter project this month? Well, I thought I'd be sketching skaters, doing some cool 3-D art.  Spent hours looking at skaters, watching videos and out skating. But, I don't have enough time under my belt drawing bodies, observing the skating movements I want to convey, nor enough experience skating to intuitively know how those movements should feel or look.  And queue melt down. The harder I tried, the more frustrated I got.  I even went outside and had myself a good cry.  You've got to let go of the emotions so you can get on with making the art!  Ok, ok. I surrender. This is not what I should be making right now. Too early. 

I went back inside and just started working on making the background or inner box with samples of water color paper I had messed around spritzing and daubing alcohol inks and dylusions sprays.  I knew I needed a background. Didn't know where I was going, what it would be.  That was cathartic.  I made something I knew would be needed and work.  I even got to try my new perforator tool. Cool tool, that. Voila. A beginning.  I made another, and tried to put the roller skaters back in and hit another wall.  OK. yeah, got it. No skaters this time. I'm moving on universe.  Message received.

Mom took me out to her studio (a place of wonder) and started pulling out all the bits and bobs, doo dads and whirly gigs she's collected and stored from the you-never-know-when-you-might-need-this pile.  And my Parisian Dream began to take form. We found wheels, skulls, mini light bulbs, and so much more.  There were a few stencils - an Eiffel tower, a hot air balloon, an old Model T, and a guy riding a 1910 big wheel tricycle. First, I tried to reduce them on the copy machine to check fit.  Then drew a few Eiffel towers on shrinky-dink with colored pencils.  FUN!  The first was so fun I did another. Then, remembered how cool things look en masse and made 2 more.  Each is a little different.  Added a hot air balloon and shrank them all in the oven. Oh they became so wee!  When they finally landed on the background, they ended up circling one another like going down the rabbit hole or the view from a kaleidoscope. 

While each piece (background, shrinky-dinks, etc) was made independantely and I had no intention of creating "Oz", I discovered that the balloon & a spot on the background paper worked out to be just that.  So, I let myself be inspired by Disney's Oz and I let the balloon act as though it were The Great & Powerful Oz floating his way way to Paris by night.  All while a French bulldog barks at the crazy multiplying Eiffel towers.  

I'm SO happy.  But if you'd asked me when I  started if this is what I'd have ended up with - I'd have told you entirely different.  Not at all what I planned or imagined, but better.  Reminds me of phrases in many of Summer McStravick's flowdreams.  

I've been looking for new frames. I was trying some on at Costco the other day and took photos of front and side views while wearing each. I was floored by how different the franes looked on me as I assessed them. The photos were totally worth taking! Some I thought were super cute, actually looked dull and lifeless.

Also, after seeing many a photo of me from years past, I've gotten to the point where I'm tired of beating myself up and being hypercritical of how I look. Every time I look back I think, "wow... I was so cute! Why didn't I appreciate what I had?" And after asking myself that for years, I've finally decided that the time to appreciate must be now.

Fitting my current body for patrerns I want to sew goes hand in hand with my new mindset and photographing myself to properly assess fit. For I've stopped many a project because I wouldn't look good enough nor looked like the model. For heavens sake! How silly I've been. The joys I've cut myself off of. The time is now.

I very much need some good quality wardrobe basics. I've gained weight as I was forced to stop all activity following a rock climbing injury. Hips and all the muscles/ligaments are extremely important to core functions like walking, driving, and sitting. Now that I'm finally on the mend 3 years and multiple re-injuries later, I'm carefully returning my body back to its optimal state of fitness. It feels great and I want to look great every step of the way.

I am starting my new wardrobe with The Perfect T-Shirt by Pamela's patterns. Because our closets are filled with many examples of fit from the Ready To Wear shirts we buy, I decided to go through my own closet and photograph how my favorites, or what I thought were my best looks/fit. Boy was this eye opening!

The first 4 tops are shown in order of the amount I love them. Most on the left, least on the right. Then I decided to throw in the navy tank, purple tie-dye, and one I made of Katherine Tilton V8793 pattern with 1 swayback adjustment on the far right in brown & aqua. Most of the fabrics shown are nearly similar. The tie-dyed T-shirt, 2nd from left is a rayon knit, so of course it hangs straight when left to its own devices.

Slap me silly and shut my mouth. I had no idea some of these tops were so ill fitting. And here's me running around thinking I look great. Well, even if in a bad fit, I'm going to continue to find ways to feel good about myself because I start with my thoughts to work toward and tell the universe I want to look & feel good. But I will start to modify my wardrobe & tweak my sewing patterns so I can make great fitting & flattering clothes to show off my body.

What these photographs tell me:

• I need a bust dart
• I need more room in the hip
• I need to incorporate the swayback adjustment
• I prefer a fitted back because I'm so curvy & my bum is round. So I'll have or add a center back seam instead of cutting the back on the fold
• Even my RTW favs have fitting issues so I can't compare one to my pattern, add its shaping, cut a duplicate & expect it to fit. I'll likely need to make & tweak several.
  

After that exercise, I feel great about investing time in a muslin or test garment. If I can find a better fit than I have today, I'll be off to a great start!!!

You never really know quite how you look until you see a photograph. The same with how you sound until you listen to your own voicemail or watch a video. This used to scare me, but after spending lots of time behind the mic & recording Storytimes with Gwennie, I have come to find it fascinating. I now think of it as a gift, an opportunity to change and improve on things I'd prefer look or sound differently. For, how can we improve upon or even refine that which we don't know needs attention. For many, it can be rather unnerving to receive feedback on our performance or even an outfit. But, if you do find the desire in yourself to be better and simultaneously accept who you are, then let a camera or mic show you and make the judgement for yourself. I caution you to be fair, gentle, and accepting. We are often the very hardest on ourselves. And keeping that in mind, think like the ocean to a stone, a sculpter to his carefully shaped David, and do not cast a stone, nor smash with hammer, nor gouge off the nose as you try to make it into a shape it's not. Rather, gently smooth, lightly and ever so slightly chisel to soften the curve of the nostril and let it be what it is with an enhancement or spotlight upon its very best features. This takes great courage. And, often time away from the project. It also demands that your thoughts focus on the positive aspects and that your mind too lets go of the entire subject whilst you go play and think on other things that make you happy. Go on. You're worth it.