Compassion for Fashion~ my inner designer awakens!

These are two amazing photos by Hoddick Photography , of models David Cadran and Meyru Bhanti strutting their stuff on the runway of  Experienced Goods Home Furnishing 's "Wild Night on the Catwalk: Compassion for Fashion" ~ A benefit for Brattleboro Area Hospice.  The suit on the left was designed by Cindy Leszczak, an outstanding and talented woman whom I've known my whole life (her husband, Rick Veitch worked with my father, Stephen Bissette illustrating Alan Moore's Swamp Thing ).  The ensemble on right one of my first ever fashion designs created from re-purposed clothing that came from the Experienced Goods Home Furnishing store.

One of my original design sketches. 

These original design ideas where reassessed as I sewed the final pieces.  Much of what I ended up with was guided by the process of creation.

Model Rebecca Savage Keppler and I have been friends since 4th grade, and she looked amazing on the runway wearing this classy little black dress that I created from a shawl.

Models Maggie Bernhard and Meyru Bhanti rocking my designs on the runway.

The back view of the little black dress I designed on model Rebecca Savage Keppler.

Backstage with the Mellow Maidens: (right to left) Rebecca Savage Keppler, Maggie Bernhard, Meyru Bhanti and myself pose for our hair and make-up artist Joanna Terry, owner and operator of "Natural Beauty"; a wonderful little salon located in Guilford, VT.  Joanna also designed the necklaces featured on Meyru and Maggie.  Her talented vision completed my designs and her relaxed attitude made my night.  I hope to work with her again in the future.

Nemesound

I am looking to vocalize, to coo over tracks that you produce. I want to sing with your sound. Your devotion inspires me, baby. <3

Reflection

Astronomers have discovered that we are, in fact, composed of stardust.  Our molecules were derived from the explosions of supernovae, otherwise known as the catastrophic moments when stars die.
 
In my early childhood years I spent a great deal of time outdoors.  Though my parents were nearby I recall experiencing tremendous adventures traversing the strange parallels where the edge of the wood coincided with my own imagination.  It was in these fantastic places that my identity was born.
 
In my adolescence I became lost. 

As I crossed into adulthood I had given up on myself, and in many ways I was slipping away. 

Golden by Maia Bissette 2011

Then I met a good man.  Over the past seven years my love and I have struggled to find peace and resolution, and by golly, I think we've done it.  We have discovered a means of recognition, finding comfort in the fact that our existence is intertwined with the vast network of the universe.  Understanding the importance of these findings and clarifying a dynamic between us has allowed us to maintain a balance in our lives. This in turn has provided strength in the establishment of our own maturing identities. 

Boundaries

Sometimes it is necessary to draw lines. I need to protect myself and understand my own limitations.  I need to make certain that I am clear about what I expect from the people around  me.  I demand respect!  This world only gets more ridiculous each day.  My perspectives are consistently challenged by the trials of the human condition.  I am becoming more assertive.  I will no longer allow myself to be manipulated or taken advantage of.   The lines are drawn. They are thick, heavy and unwavering.

Relief

The Mock Turtle by Maia Bissette

Watercolor by Ruth Garbus, created onsite at the Festival of Endless Gratitude Vermont Flood Relief Benefit

My brother Daniel performing with Christina Schneider at the Festival of Endless Gratitude Vermont Flood Relief Benefit

This has been a serious week, at the end of a weary summer, in the midst of a relentless year. Yet today I am persistent and continue to hold fast, confident that the sum of our creative endeavors will thrive and discourage those who threaten the stability of our lives. We broadcast our local achievements across continents and communicate what matters most. We revive the reason and wisdom of ancient tribes, their ghosts rediscovered in traditional and technological experiences of artists committed to their work.

Nostalgia

the light of an overcast morning

crept like a child into the bedroom.

True Love

A practical escapist saved me from myself

and reawakened the dreaming

that once governed my fear.

Composure

Haunted by echoes of a reckless past

I keep my composure, I acclimate.

Identity

Artist Statement
Spring 2011

I am an artist. In my work I explore images that reflect fantasy and the subconscious mind-scape, generating portraits of generalized memories intended to illuminate emotions and personal mythologies. By integrating styles of abstraction, graphical stylization and realism through assemblage and collage, my technique becomes a catalyst for conception.
Using this process the illusion of distance is cultivated by infinite horizon lines. In the spaces I create I use figures to infer foreground and background. Illustrative portraits of characters captured in momentary actions express emotions and contemplative moods. In my smaller series their vellum forms are mod-podged atop chimerical grayscale mindscapes similar to earth and sky. When my method progresses to a grand scale, large creatures loom as though suspended in water against bold colors that amplify the massive drawing installations. They are a menagerie of textures and rhythms of brushwork interlaced with soft swarms of clouded, paper-towel softened, watery ink blots. To juxtapose the apparitions, figurative realism is captured with vine charcoal to manifest a gentle self-portrait trapped in nostalgic reflection.

Backdrops suspended from nails with grommets' have been embellished by the captivating twirl of a toy mouse' tail tooled with sumi-e brush hairs. The whirling contraption has flung black ink across the surface, at times dispersing where water was sprayed. What forms is the loose impression of willowy flower blooms and botanical patterns that emerge in a dance of orchestrated pictorialization. The substrate is then saturated with sepia ink and watercolor horizons.

My process is what delegates the success of each piece. The line work is gestural, describing the splatter and bleed of marks explored by nuances of energy, focus and emotion. Ink lines twirl and waver from heavy, dark and smooth to light and translucent. At times the brush strokes are dry and broken, contrasted by fluid lines that are multiplied by tapered hairs. Biomorphic forms are identified, selected and cut with x-acto blades. Colors are applied methodically using pencils, paints and markers. The integrity of the work lies in the final throws, where the composition is derived in the assemly of it's manufactured elements. Each decision is driven by the excitement and discovery of underlying themes that materialize organically. I allow myself to feel compelled by the essence of my subliminal self. I reawaken the dreaming that once governed my fear.

Expose

In the wake of the aftermath we assess the devastation and rebuild.  Though I am safe and dry, the world in which I have grown as an artist and individual has been massacred by rainfall.  I am in awe, distraught by the implications.
In order to avoid becoming overwhelmed I have decided to focus on the goals I set for myself prior to the flood.  As an artist I have decided to take the initiative and establish my online presence.  This is the first post of what will become many in the sharing of my creative endeavors and observational speculations.