Entries tagged with reticules

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Decorative Arts class: gloves and period accessories!

I've been lax at sharing student projects, probably due to having taken up Instagram, but hopefully this post will remedy that a bit. This semester's graduate crafts course is Decorative Arts, but what that tends to mean is a catch-all for craft topics that don't fit neatly into one of my other three classes (Millinery, Dyeing/Surface Design, Masks/Armor). So far, we've made it through two projects--gloves and period accessories. Check them out!

Top: ultrasuede gloves with beaded trim by first year grad Erin Torkelson
Bottom: burgundy leather gloves (replica of antique pair) by second year grad Emily Plonski

Left: blue knit gloves by second year grad Max Hilsabeck
Top right: crepe knit gloves by first year grad Robin Ankerich
Bottom right: rick-rack inset gloves by first year grad Erin Torkelson

Top: royal leather gloves with cutwork by first year grad Robin Ankerich
Bottom: coral leather gloves with cutwork and ruffly by first year grad Michelle Bentley

Sequin lace fan by second year grad Max Hilsabeck

Beaded reticule by first year grad Michelle Bentley

second year grad Emily Plonski designed the frame for this velvet reticule and had it 3D printed by the makerspace at the Kenan Science Library here at UNC. This purse is now featured in a display at the library on using 3D fabrication technologies across arts and science disciplines.

First year grad Erin Torkelson designed the rigid base for a gambling purse and had it 3D printed by the makerspace at the Kenan Science Library here at UNC. She then ombre-dyed the print to get the blue halo at the bottom shown here.

Then, she created a crochet pattern and made this sweet gambling purse!

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Decorative Arts: Period Accessories Part One

The second unit in my Decorative Arts class is formally called "period accessories," but informally called "propstumes"--items which are sometimes considered a prop, and sometimes considered a costume, usually aesthetically determined by the costume designer, and sometimes made by the costume production staff. The point of the project is to explore the creation of an item which often has a very specific function within the context of a theatrical production--reticules must contain other props, housekeepers must unlock doors with the keys on chatelaines, fans must easily and smoothly open and close (and often stand up to abuse like smacking a fellow actor with them!).

So, since i have eight(!) students this time--i'm overenrolled by two, my normal course max enrollment is six--i'll share these projects in two separate posts, split by theme. Today features three handbags and a fur muff.

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class: small hand props

My decorative arts students have just finished their second round of projects, for a unit i call "Small Hand Props." This is a new project topic i added this year, in place of a former unit on jewelry for the stage. I was never happy with that project or topic in general, jewelrymaking being one of the areas in which you can often find plenty of documentation and local classes and such, and my philosophy of graduate coursework in crafts is that it needs to cover topics and artisanship study you cannot likely find elsewhere.

So, the Small Hand Props unit was born of the inspiration that, in my career i have often been asked to create items which were essentially props--fans, chatelaines, reticules and other period bags--simply because the costume designer oversaw the design of them in tandem with the clothes. I wanted to offer a project which would address those areas in an atmosphere of guided study, with emphasis in both the aesthetic of the final product and the functionality. Here are some images of the projects they did!
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Crafts overview for The Importance of Being Earnest, PlayMakers Repertory, Chapel Hill NC

The Importance of Being Earnest is in its final week at PlayMakers Repertory Company; i just had some time this morning to sit down with the photo call disk and go through the crafts items, nearly all of which were made for the characters of Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell.

( stage shots and discussion )