Saturday, January 30, 2021

Historical Humor

 

You know, I'm not much of one for these sorts of memes, but this one struck me as funny; and in light of all that is stressful in the world at the moment, couldn't we all use a bit of laugh? 

As an American who used to live in Britain as a child, I can kind of see the road to the revolution both ways. Of course, the British were only too happy to fight to protect their economic interests in the colonies, as the colonists were happy to have the help. C'est l'histoire. 

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Burgundy Riding Costume In Progress

 


As with many places and programs, we had to cancel two of our shows this year and find digital alternatives for the others. Sadly, one of the shows that had to be canceled was the production of Amadeus which has been an absolute wishlist show for me for years. Worse still, since the students who were most going to benefit from the opportunity to work on that show are graduating this year, we won't simply be able to reschedule it for next year, and because of leadership changes in the program we aren't likely to be able to do it for the foreseeable future. Join me in mourning.

There's always a silver lining though, and I picked one costume from the designs to have some of my more advanced students work on. It's a burgundy velvet riding jacket and skirt for the character of courtier Strack, who is usually played by a male, but which in our production was intended to be female. Students worked on panniers as part of their exploration of structured garments, and we utilized the mock-up of the jacket bodice to discuss draping and fit techniques. The wine velveteen over one shoulder in the photo is the fabric that the jacket will be made out of. 

One precocious student cut and put together the quilted velvet skirt using accurate 18th-century methods which, once hemmed, will be more or less finished. There's still a lot of work to do to make the jacket, trim it all in silver and purple passementerie, and create a little tricorn with plum silk veil, but I think they'll enjoy the process. Updates to come. This will likely take the better part of the semester to do as the students involved and I are only in the Costume Shop one day per week owing to Covid restrictions. It'll be like a slowly-unfurling flower. 

Sunday, January 10, 2021

For Your Chateau

 


If you're in possession of some holiday funds you're itching to spend, here are a few 18th century themed ideas for your home and personal enjoyment!

For Your Chateau

  With another successful Fetes Galante complete at the Chateau de Versailles, I thought we'd have a Versailles-themed FYC. Enjoy this d...