What the Art Teacher Wore #54

 Valentine's Monday: This week I decided to get into the Valentine's Day spirit. Which for me meant I wore just a pinch more red and pink that usual. This was a little DIY dress and collar I crafted last year. You can check it out here if you wanna. dress, collar: vintage dress, DIY'ed by me; tights, red shirt: Target; boots, belt: Anthropologie

Hey, dudes. I hope this Sunday evening finds you relaxed and ready to start the new week. I've got the relaxed thing down...it's going back into the art room that concerns me. I've got so many big plans for upcoming art adventures I just hope I can keep up!

Somehow, while spending entirely too much time online, I stumbled upon the photo below. I think every art teacher needs a little Dior palette hat in their lives, don't you? This hat reminded me of how much I love Christian Dior and his New Look which took fashion by storm in 1947. I thought I'd share just a few photos from that era with you this week. 

Until then, I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day week!

Stephen Jones for Christian Dior Haute Couture, Autumn Winter 2007–08 I love that this model is not only meant to look like she is from the New Look era but she is also painted black and white. Genius. I've loved and collected vintage fashion since high school. Back then I was really into the hippie look, complete with giant bell bottoms and platform shoes. I even painted daisies and the Beatles on the bottom of a pair of my dad's old jeans. Wore 'em, like, every day. But I always picked up dresses from the 50s when I found them at the thrift store. I wasn't interested in wearing them at the time, but I knew they were special.

Candy Cane Tuesday: None of the kids were getting the Valentine's reference with this outfit. They just old me I looked like a candy cane. sweater: vintage, thrifted; dress: Germany; tights: Target; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: Softt; flower: H&M

Renee, The New Look of Dior, Place de la Concorde, Paris, August 1947 by Richard Avedon Not until The Golden Age of Couture exhibit at the Frist Center for Visual Arts did I find out just how special these dresses were. Not only did the exhibit showcase photos like the one above but there were also dresses galore from the New Look collection. I went to that exhibit at least four times. I just couldn't get enough. It was then that I really began wearing my, at the time, small collection of dresses from the 1950s. That collection is now beginning to look like an episode of hoarders but we'll address that another time (read: never).

Richard Avedon Self-Portrait, 1963 Oh man, can I just take a time out from Dior and tell you how much I love the photography of Richard Avedon? Dude, I mean, seriously. Google his name and some of the most amazing images you'll ever see will pop up. I think I need a coffee table book of his work, stat.

Lame Hair Wednesday: Seriously. I've been slacking in the hair department of late. I'm enjoying my sleep more than I am a good 'do. When is bedhead gonna become stylish, anyway? I mean, this morning when I awoke, I was totally rockin' the Mel Gibson Braveheart hair look. Shoulda went with it. sweater, tights: Target; dress: Buffalo Exchange, Anthro tags; belt: Anthropologie; shoes: Dolls by Nina; necklace: created by a friend

Left: Christian Dior {New Look 1947} in front of the Eiffel Tower ~ Paris, France; Right:  Christian Dior measuring a hemline. Dior's New Look line dramatically increased the length of women's skirts. During World War II, regulations were issued by the U.S. government to set skirt lengths at 17 inches above the floor in an effort to conserve textiles. Women were entering the work force more than ever and this length seemed to suit them and their ability to work comfortably. After the war and the regulations ended, Christian Dior lengthened hemlines again. This infuriated many who saw this not only as a set back for women but also as wastefulness. 

Thursday: After a bumpy class, I received the sweetest email from a mom who said that although her kindergartener was out sick, the little one was still able to teach her mom all about tints and shades with a landscape painting lesson. The photo that was attached to my email immediately cheered me up and was just what I needed to readjust my mood. sweater: vintage, gift from MIL; dress: Anthropologie ($19, yo!); tights: Target; shoes: Indigo by Clarks

Male students protest against longer hemlines at Michigan State University, circa 1947

 Yeah, leave it to a bunch of guys to protest longer hemlines. If it's one thing I learned in college, never trust the dudes who claim to be feminists. But I digress. Is it just me or isn't the idea of people protesting over clothing being too long just fascinating? If you search the internet, you'll find images of women wearing the New Look and other women ripping their clothing off or throwing water at them. It's amazing that a hemline the goes down could cause such an uproar.

Women protesting Dior’s long skirts. Chicago, Illinois - September 22, 1947 Despite the protests, women everywhere fell in love with the designs of Dior (even if one unfortunate lass in Cali got her hemline caught in the door of a bus as she exited. Poor thing had to run along side the bus until the driver noticed and set her free). For this reason, Dior became an overnight sensation and was able to help revive the fashion industry in Paris. 

Do you Dior, Friday? My wanna-be Dior inspired look. I am completely in love with wearing a crinoline under my dresses now. Not only is it warm but it's so full and fun. This one I am wearing is just some cheapo thing. I think I'm going to put a temporary halt to my dress-buying-disease and save up for a real crinoline. Any suggestions from you crinoline wear-ers out there? sweater: vintage, thrifted; dress, belt: Anthro (dress, $29! Seriously, if you don't get there and scoop up some of those sales, I'm going to end up buying everything!); tights: Target; shoes: Softt

 New Look, Christian Dior, 1947 On one of the occasions when I went to the Golden Couture exhibit, I had the chance to hear one of the curator's speak. She told us the story of how she went to an auction and saw a lump of red fabric with a Dior label. Despite the fact that the dress was a mess, she bid up to $3000 of the museum's money on the dress, thinking she was getting the bargain of a lifetime. Turns out the museum had to spend about $8000 just to repair the dress. However, if it's a Dior, than it's worth it, right? You just can't pay enough for that much glamor.

 A Typical Weekend: Speaking of glamor, would you take a look at this little Dior-inspired number. Hubs, who has to deal with me looking like this more often than not, insisted on snapping these photos of me today. I cannot believe I'm actually sharing these photos with you...I mean, there are strings hanging off my butt! I have tape stuck to my jacket and my socks don't even match. But, since I'm all about full disclosure, here you go. If you "accidentally" stop following my blog, I completely understand. jacket: Mountain Hardware: sweats: borrowed from hubs; mismatched socks: Thorlos

 Sigh. Only on this blog will I take you on a trip from Christian Dior to linty sweats. You're welcome.

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What the Art Teacher Wore #53

Oh, Monday: A coupla weekends ago, I dug some dresses out of my closet that I had never worn. Some were holey, too summery or just a pinch too tight. I forced myself to try them all on and see if they should be sold, kept or donated. I always thought this one was too tight but a lil Spanx came to the rescue. dress: vintage, thrifted; brown tights: Target; sparkle fishnets: TJMaxx; booties and belt: Anthropologie

 Well, kids, I finally got my wish: I scored a Snow Day this past Friday! How many weeks have I spent whining about getting gypped outta a day of freedom? Apparently the Snow Day Gods were just so sick and tired of the endless bellyaching, they threw a day my way. And, lemme tell you, I totally spent my time wisely by enjoying a bubble bath, catching up on Project Runway and sewing (read seam ripping) up a storm. What a gift.

But now it's back to reality. Wah-wah-waaahhh. So I'm doing a little multitasking with this here blog post: I'm sharing what I wore as well as a brief history of wool and weaving. My second and fourth grade students are ready to leave our study of Germany and travel to the United Kingdom where we will enter the Wild World of Weaving. We're trying some new things this year so wish me luck. 

Until next time, enjoy your week!

The story of man-wearing-wool began way back before recorded history with the primitive man. Not wanting to waste any parts of the animals that were hunted for food, man discovered that this fur could keep him cool in the day and warm at night. And because no other fabric has been able to match it, wool is still just as popular today.

Mary Poppins Tuesday:  Several students commented that I looked Mary-Poppins-esque on this day. Which I totally took as a compliment. However, that afternoon when I was walking to a coffee shop, a group of teenagers stopped their convo when I walked by. When one started belting out,"Just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down!", it just wasn't as cute. dress: vintage, picked up at an arts festival in Memphis; sparkly tights: TJMaxx; shoes: Softt; belt: Pin Up Girl

Wool is a part of Britain's history and heritage more than anything else produced in the islands. They began weaving it into cloth during the Bronze Age (which is in between the Glitter and the Bedazzled Ages) around 1900 BC.

Wood Panel Skirt Wednesday: This funny skirt spent time in my donate pile before I returned it to my closet. Which, according to The Secret Lives of Hoarders means I have a problem. One of many, I'm sure. sweater: felted by me, DIY here; wood panel skirt: Target, super old; boots: Frye

How is wool made? Why, you looking for a new hobby? Well, okay then, first get yourself a super furry sheep. Or goat, camel, alpaca, llama -- many animals have fur that can produce wool. Then shear them. I'm guessing with a shearing tool like that above, not your Bic razor.

Once the wool is sheared, it must be cleaned and carded. In the painting above, you'll notice the woman is holding two large wooden carding combs. The wool fiber is raked through these combs to alight the fibers of the wool. This makes it easier for spinning the wool into yarn.

I mean, look, doesn't that look so super easy? Can you imagine how precious your possessions would be to you if these were the lengths you had to go to create them? From shearing to carding and spinning and still nothin' to wear. I could have never survived back in the day. It's no wonder their lives were short-lived.

Midway Thursday: On this day our school was hosting a carnival in the evening. I'd never heard a carnival called a "midway" before. I'm curious about the history of that name. I decided my Fulla Hot Air Frock would be appropriate. dress: DIY here; sweater: thrifted; tights: Target: scarf: Urban Outfitters; belt: Anthropologie; shoes: Opposites Attract

Somehow I ended up in the Throw-a-Pie-at-Your-Teacher booth! I was supposed to sit behind that banner and put my head through the hole but that just felt like a cop-out. However, after ending up with stinky whipped cream everywhere, I realized that would have been a pretty good idea.

Weaving Cloth for Battle, 1940. Sadly, the artist is not listed on the website. This would have been every wool fiber factory in the United Kingdom during the war. All normal production ceased to create military uniforms. Clothing and fabric were among the many things rationed during World War II.

Art Museum Saturday: That's right, I skipped Snow Day Friday. Because I was in my pajamas all day! So here's what I wore to the Frist Center for Visual Arts. Only ten of my amazing little artists had their works of art featured there along with the other chosen artists in my school district. It was an exciting day for such hard working artists. suit: vintage, thrifted; tights: Target: shoes: Anthropologie

 Of course, I just can't introduce the United Kingdom and weaving without a nod to the woolen woven kilt. Men have been wearing kilts since the 16th century. The first worn was something called the great kilt which is more of a full length affair. Those featured above are called small kilts or walking kilts. The word kilt means to "tuck up the clothes around the body." I'm thinking this is just what the hubs needs to complete his wardrobe.

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What the Art Teacher Wore #52

Tuesday is the New Monday: We had Monday off which completely confused me all week as to what/when/where/why/how I was teaching. I never did get it sorted out. Surprised? sweater and skirt: Four Seasons Vintage in Knoxville; necklace and fishnets: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

 Well hello dere. Whatcha been up to this week? Ah, that sounds delightful. Me? Funny you should ask cuz I was just about to tell you. My dear ole hubs has been out of town and I've been livin' it up. And by that I mean, hosting a mini-dinner party, dinner'ing and brunch'ing with long-lost-friends and throwing a craftastic afternoon party. It's been so much fun but I gotta tell ya, me and the cat are starting to miss The Bearded One. Thankfully he returns Monday.

This week I also visited Nashville's art museum, The Frist Center for Visual Arts. They currently have an exhibit on German Expressionism and I fell in love with that group of painters and their work all over again. I was a big fan of that bunch in college, especially Paula Modersohn Becker. I thought I'd share her work and life story with you. But, I gotta warn you, have some tissues handy as her life was a sad one.

Photo of Paula Modersohn-Becker and Self-Portrait with Red Hat and Veil, 1906 Paula was born in Germany,  the third child of seven. At the age of 12, she had her first drawing instruction and was hooked. At 22, she encountered the artistic community of Worpswede (a northwestern part of Germany famous for its long tradition as an artists' colony). In this area, artists had retreated to protest against the domination of the art academy and life in the big city

It Might As Well Be Spring Wednesday: In my art room in the mornings, I've been playing a CD of music from 1945. One of the songs is "It Might as Well be Spring". Check out this rendition by Clifford Brown, you'll like it. dress: vintage; fishnets: Target; shoes: John Fluevog

Little Blonde Girl, 1905. It was in Worpswede that Paula met and married the artist Otto Modersohn and became a stepmother to his daughter. Soon after, she began making numerous trips to Paris and was strongly influenced by such post-impressionists as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh.

Girl with Flowers. In 1906, Paula took her last trip to Paris. She began painting many nude self-portraits which was unheard of at the time. Personally, I am in love with the color palette in this painting. That icy blue and coral pink is such a beautiful combination.

New Background Thursday: My art room is currently in such a state of chaos that this is the only clean clutter-free place I could find to snap a photo. Yowza, I need me a maid! And a life coach. Probably some therapy. Maybe a tête-à-tête with Dr. Phil? sweater: my put-a-bird-on-it number, DIY here; dress, belt and booties: Anthropologie; tights: Target

Girl with a Cat. One of the things I really love about her paintings is the density in her artwork. Objects look heavy yet there is an air around them. I'm trying to figure out how she is creating that look. Is it the strong outlines around objects? I'm not sure, but I love it.

Fluffy Friday: I cannot stop wearing my crinoline under my dress! Even if I did knock some clay projects off a shelf (no worries, they were just my old examples I'd been hoarding). Not only do I love the added fluff but it's also pretty warm. sailboat shirt: Old Navy; dress: Issac Mizrahi, thrifted; tights, booties, belt: Anthropologie

 Farmer's Wife and Portrait of a Girl in Brown Dress and Black Hat, 1907. After returning to Germany from Paris, Paula discovered that she and her husband were pregnant. After many years of trying to conceive, this was an extremely happy time for Paula. Many of her nude portraits were of her growing belly.

  Saturday Brunchin: I had the chance to spend the afternoon with my first student teacher. I've been so lucky to meet such great young women. jacket: Lucky Brand; scarf: Urban Outfitters; dress: vintage, gift from a friend; tights: Target; booties: geez, I love these things! Anthropologie

 Self-Portrait, 1900. Sadly, 18 days after her daughter was born, Paula died at the age of 31. She died of something called embolism which, in her case, may have been related to her pregnancy. When I initially heard this at the art museum, I was so sad. However, when you see what joyous paintings she created when she was pregnant and even after giving birth, you know that Paula would not have had it any other way. She was meant to be a mother even if only for 18 days.

Paula painted these portraits of her good friend poet and writer Rainer Maria Rilke. When Paula passed, Rilke wrote the poem "Requiem for a Friend". If you've ever lost someone, this poem (it's called a poem, but it's more like prose) will most certainly strike a chord.

Geesh. Sorry to leave on you such a sad note. Thankfully, Paula Modersohn-Becker left behind an enormous body of work that I find to be just beautiful. I hope you've enjoyed it as well. 

Until I get a chance to share my students latest masterpieces (the fourth grader's castles are amazing!) and my newest DIY (one that I began two months ago and finally finished!), enjoy your week.

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DIY: Anthro-Inspired Sweater and Skirt

What's this?! A DIY Double-Header? That's right, just for your DIY'ing pleasure, I bring to you a double dose: my felt -n- applique sweater along with my tulle-tastic skirt.

You know that whole "you can do anything you set your mind to" crap they tell you when you are a kid? I remember the very moment I realized that was all a lie.

 I grew up a pretty lanky and unsightly teen. Adolescence painted a particularly ugly picture complete with those giant round glasses all the hipsters now wear, braces/headgear and a feeble attempt at 1980's tidal wave hair all on a flat chested 72 lbs frame. There was not doubt: I was Freak Show Fugly. And, like some cruel joke, my family decided I should send in photos for Seventeen Magazine's Teen Model competition. 

Needless to say, setting my mind to becoming Seventeen's Next American Super Hot Top Pre-Teen Model just wasn't enough to make it a reality. After such a traumatic experience, you'd think a relatively intelligent person would have learned their lesson and stop wishing on a star. Since there is no intelligent life here on this blog, the wishful thinking continues in the form of the bottom half of this Anthropologie knock-off: The Tulle Skirt.

 When I first spotted this skirt in Anthropologie, I knew I had to have it in my life. I mean, look at it, it's all fluffy and soft like some sort of magical 1950's cotton candy skirt. However, the $188 price tag was enough to make me slap my mama. It was then I knew I had to attempt my own version.

When I purchased the tulle at the local craft joint, I asked for all that was on the bolt. After measuring, the fabric cuttin' gal informed me that I'd be purchasing 17 yards of the fluffy stuff. That's when this convo transpired: 

Fab Cuttin' Gal: 17 yards is a lot (duh, lady). Are you sure you need that much?

Me: Well, yeah. And it's only like a dollar a yard so I'll just take it all.

FCG: What are you making? (do they pay them to ask that question?)

Me: Oh, a tulle skirt! I'm so excited.

FCG: Oh, for some little girls? That will be so cute. Little girls just love their tutus!

Me: Oh, I know. Don't they though?!

Humph. Tulle skirts are for kids?! Me thinks not. 

After some serious trouble shooting, I decided to create my skirt using the same pattern I did for this DIY skirt. I layered seven pieces of tulle for each of the three pattern pieces (one large front panel and two back panels) with a gathered-waisted slip underneath. Now the thing about working with tulle is that is should come with some warning labels. Might I recommend the following:

WARNING: So Super Staticy. Like, super duper. A close look at my skirt and you'll find thread, bits of paper and maybe a cat hair or twenty between the layers of tulle-tasticness.

WARNING: Do Not Iron. Okay, really, I know I should have known this but I thought a quick hit on a low setting would be okay. Turns out it's not. 

WARNING: No Tools Should Work with Tulle. And I am a serious tool. I realized that when I was seam-ripping the waist band, my hand slipped and I put a hole in the front of this skirt. It was then that I put down the seam ripper and said, "Tulle, you've won." And I decided the skirt was complete.

Thus ending my long-winded story of my DIY tulle skirt. I'm happy-ish with the end result but most excited that I never-ever-ever have to work on it again. 

Can we please talk about happy DIY's now? Like my latest felted sweater (you can see my other felted creations here and here). I know it doesn't look a think like the Anthro-version (which I spotted on the sale rack for the still-too-high price of $69) but I wasn't in love with that one anyway. I mean, those little gold thinger-mabobbers just look awkward. To me. Pardon me if you are a proud owner of said Gold Thinger-Mabobber Sweater. 

But I do love the idea of having three-dimensional flowers on an otherwise boring gray cardi. Which is how my version came to be.

 AND just in time for Valentine's Day I decided to add a little love to the back of my sweater. What's that Gold Thinger-Mabobber Sweater? You don't have anything on the backside? Oh, too bad.

 Because this sweater was pretty easy and trouble-shooting free to complete, I thought I'd share the process with you. I began by purchasing a couple of 100% wool sweaters at the thrift store. I scored a green sweater for the leaves and a dark gray sweater that I used for the flower pedals. I washed them both in hot water which felted the fibers. This made it so I could cut out the leaf and petal shapes and without fraying. From there I used 100% wool yarn and needle-felted the veins of the leaves as shown above.

 I felted some buttons for the sweater also. For this process I took an inch wide button and wrapped wool roving around it. Then I began the process of wet felting it. Using hot water and soap, I gently rubbed the button between my hands until I felt it shrink. Those dried overnight.

 After crafting a dozen leaves, a half dozen flower petals and a couple buttons, I set to work adding them to my thrift store cardi. Using an applique stitch, I added the flower petals and leaves. I was concerned as I sewed because the the shapes looked warped. Thankfully a hit with a hot iron flattened it all back out.

 Felting the spiral design and the word love were relatively easy. I had originally picked up this wool yarn back in the day I had the silly notion I could knit. Turns out I can't knit but I can felt. As you can see above, I just spelled out the letters of the word and started punching it into place. If you are new to this lil ole blog and you'd like to see a more detailed description of needle felting, please read here.

 Ya see those spirally lines on the sweater front? Those were needle felted in the same way.

 And Ta-Da! This Tutu Skirt -n- Sweater Combo is done. And I think I'm finally ready for my Seventeen Magazine Mid-Aged-Lady Who Thinks She Can Sew closeup!

When I showed my skirt off to hubs, he said, "Oh, is that something you'll wear under your skirt like a tutu?"

Why do I suddenly think that he and FCG are in cahoots together? 

Wow, sorry for the long-winded post, ya'll! If you made it this far...thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your week.

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