Cavalcade of Costumes at Costume College 2014

The Costume College experience just kept getting better and better.

 I was already in shock and awe at the fabulous costumes seen randomly 

 wandering about at Costume College, then there was also

 The Cavalcade of Costume Exhibit

A banquet room full of dozens of complete costumes and accessories.

Many, many created by Costume Guild members and many items historical artifacts.

  

Every item had a wonderful description and the collections were amazing.

So many fantastic vintage hats that I actually got a little giddy :)

The garments were delightfully period correct right down to the shoes.

 Unless it was a complete fantasy outfit.

The imagination and techniques used in the fantasy outfits were impressive.

This collection and exhibit of historical, fantastical and imaginative costumes was almost... overwhelming.

I easily took 100 pictures to try and capture the creativity, beauty and wonder of this exhibit.

Costume College 2014

The real focus and benefit of attending Costume college is the 

AMAZING quantity and variety of classes.

There were 50 classes to choose from on Friday,

50 different classes to choose from on Saturday

and Sunday another 56 unique costuming classes.

Numerous classes had limited enrollment and pre-registration is required. 

These classes also had a limit to the number of students allowed to enroll.

However, there are also dozens of classes that did not require any pre-registration 

and were open to all.

The 10 classes that I succeeded in attending over my two days at Costume College were all terrific. 

Mr. Perry Bret Ash shared his tips on making ruffs while wearing a very accurate historical costume.

( yes, that's a codpiece )

A handsome ruff that was worn around the neck.

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One of my favorite classes was a limited enrollment class on Mucha Headdresses 

taught by Jessica Cohen.

 Students brought their own supplies and the results were pretty fantastic.

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Laura Rubin looked like she stepped out of 

Vermeer's famous Girl with the Pearl Earring painting 

while she taught how to create a sturdy leather thimble.

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Jess Miller demonstrated on students her tips and experience on creating masks from plaster bandages

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And I attended a fascinating lecture on La Chemise a la Reine given by Sarah Lorraine.

The chemise really became notoriously popular by Marie Antoinette. 

Sarah is focusing on the chemise for her PhD so the depth and range of her knowledge was 

mind boggling interesting.

And honestly just as interesting as the classes were the wonderful outfits worn randomly by students.

You never knew what era or silhouette would walk by.

And some of the costumes were fantasy figures that are well loved.  

Hello Little Mermaid.

Hello White Rabbit

And some of the costumes were just fantastically original ( or I just didn't know the character ).

Attending Costume College has been a goal for a few years 

and I am deliriously happy I finally made it.

The class selection was incredible and covered an amazing assortment of topics.

I definitely hope to attend Costume College 2015.

But, I think I will always prefer making costumes to wearing costumes.

Chalk One Up to Chalk Paint

Somewhere I read about an amazing
new paint product called Chalk Paint.

The article claimed the paint adhered to any type of surface
with no primer necessary.

The next time I was strolling along Cedros Ave in Solano Beach, CA
one of my most favorite, funky stores had a sign in the window;

" We have chalk paint "

I went right in and purchased small containers of the primary colors.

The shop owner loves this stuff and had A LOT of wooden and upholstered furniture she had painted with the chalk paint. The brand she loves is 

CeCe Caldwell Chalk Paint

 http://cececaldwells.com/

The paint is made from clay, porcelain clay and chalk.

It comes in a huge variety of colors.

No chemicals or VOC or odor.

And is water based so clean up is easy, breezy.

I purchased a leather belt at a thrift store to test this wonder paint.

A belt bends and endures a lot of surface friction.

If the chalk paint didn't crack, flake or rub off then that would be...

pretty wonderful!

I just started painting random doodles and quickly realized the colors do not mix well.

Mixed colors were very muddy with a brown undertone.

Definitely better to buy the colors you want; but, I was happy with my red, yellow and blue.

I also embellished with  green and purple fabric paint pens.

The look wasn't quite what I wanted so I got a black fabric pen and did some outlining.

When I had doodled my way across the entire belt I sealed the paint with an 

aerosol leather shoe stain repellent and let dry for hours.

Front View

The amazing chalk paint adhered beautifully in one coat,

It's not cracking, flaking or rubbing off.

Back view

My plain leather thrift store belt is now Cinderella and ready for the ball !

Imagination is a wonderful thing

Scissors are just scissors unless you have imagination :)

Flower Power with Candace Kling

Flowers are always a delight to behold,

the variety,

and simple beauty

make flowers amongst the most gorgeous creations,

in the universe.

A close second to the natural beauty and variety of a flower is a ribbon flower.

and although simple in appearance the subtle nuances of making a beautiful ribbon flower

are a challenge that many artists spend decades perfecting.

Candace Kling is wearing the red blouse

One such artist is Candace Kling; a world renown ribbon artist, published author on the subject, exhibitor in world-class museums, educator and a very nice woman.

 I recently had the extreme good fortune to spend four days of seven hour ribbon workshops at 

Wayne Wichern Millinery Studio taught by Candace Kling.

( http://www.waynewichernmillinery.com/index.htm
for upcoming workshops )

Candace generously shared dozens of techniques and tips that are the result of decades of practice and careful examination of hundreds of vintage ribbon works that people send her from all over the world. Museums and collectors also have allowed her access to gorgeous ribbon work.

Candace is a ribbon detective, trying to determine how the beautiful ribbon works were created.

Each day I took at least 9 pages of notes.

Candace specifically asked us not to share techniques online so all I am posting are images.

 Candace would demonstrate and throughly explain a technique 

and then we students tried our best to replicate it.

This student was incredibly successful and had a real eye for composition and color.

One of Candace Kling's sample boards of cockades

After two days of ribbon and fabric flowers the workshop moved onto cockades. 

Cockades developed during the 18th century and were most often used to indicate political alliance or rank. It is basically a ribbon that is folded in a repetitive sequence to create amazing patterns.

A very focused Wayne Wichern

The cockades were extremely challenging for everyone.

Cocades aren't just for medals and medallions,

this is a vintage hat with two lovely cockades.

This is one of my cockades during it's creation. 

Notice the chart underneath that allows you to evenly space the points.

And yes, there are dozens of details like that to make a successful cockade.

These four days of ribbon work were indescribably delightful.

I valiantly tried to keep up and complete all the samples but, 

there was never any down time to catch up.

On the last day demonstrations actually speeded up because 

Candace's wealth of knowledge outpaced my fumbling fingers.

And although cockades were interesting…

 give me a flower any day.