Tuesday, April 27, 2010

It is very difficult to sum up a long trip.
Even more so when I did almost no design work.
However, I did bust my ass finishing a custom piece that I think is one of my best right before I left, traded a hat for a custom pottery piece (trading with other artists is one of the BEST things about being one), and shipped a load of stuff to a stylist in Canada. So really, my vacation was a much needed sojourn.
But I'm back and ready to work!


Corwin
shot my newest hood on the lovely and fascinating (overused word, I know, but really the only accurate one) Scar:


I have been trying to find ways to push these into more fetishistic realms without being cliche, and I think this mouth spreader version is a good solution. Pretty sure I'm done making hoods for the moment, although my next step is going to be making men's versions. There is something to explore there (gender, sterotypes, floral fantasies, etc, ad infinum) so I'm going to let it percolate and then see what happens.


ALSO, you know my website is now 100% live, right? If you haven't already bookmarked http://www.vauntdesigns.com, go do it now! Almost everything on the site is for sale, and one of my plans for this week is to put it all up on etsy. I will make an announcement here and elsewhere as soon as I do so so you can buy things :D


What to do in these next two weeks: solidify the patterns I have for my ready-to-wear collection and start to make some. It's going to be small - micro sized in relation to most designers - but I want to focus on making the 3 or 4 pieces as awesome and unique as possible. Custom work is still my favorite thing to do, but these will be a great way for me to speed up my work process and get my products out there for people to buy off-the-shelf (ie. off the internet through etsy). I'm going to use the Honey colored latex I ordered from RadicalRubber and didn't like to make all the samples...who knows, maybe they'll become more than just samples with other colors added to them.
(For future reference, all the pieces in the collection are going to be dual-toned unless specifically requested.)


And lastly, some personal visual inspiration:

Liu Wen by Bruno Dayan

I love the tones, the way the blacks are blue and are set off by the pink/fuschia lipstick, and the bondage is intricate without moving into a fetishistic realm. Hard thing to pull off, but beautifully done.


Creepy and amazing sculpture, not sure who it's by but was part of an exhibit here in Philly. It's incredibly made, down to the very last leaf, and I love that it references both classical Greek sculptures and that culture's mythology. I <3 a well executed craft.


These sleeves are hands-down awesome. Was flipping though a pattern book on medieval costuming, and these just stood out. A separate undershirt with large billowy sleeves would usually be worn underneath, but I want to make just this out of latex. Keep your eyes peeled :)