a thought

When I was a kid, my dad liked taking us fishing. We would get up ready early and stop for bait. We would also stop for snacks. Usually that might be a loaf of bread and peanut butter or cans of potted meat and crackers.  Cans were sealed and did not have to be kept cold. That was most convenient.  I used to take cracker crumbs and feed the schools of minnows in the water. And sometimes the duck too. My daddy said it was wasteful, I saw it as sharing. 

showcase my creativity

I’ve been trying to be more creative in my show costumes. I have been learning some better drawing skills for garment design.  I’m so proud of how quickly I have been able to sketch designs now.  Understanding the human form has been helpful.  I will try to add some pictures to this blog of my work with movement and form.

 I have been sewing more. I was kind of in a slump for a while.  One of my more recent concepts was an Asian inspired dress. I found an amazing heavy weight stretch fabric. It was white with a metallic colorful floral print.  Scott helped me mix the music. I ordered some hair accessories and even rhinestoned  chop sticks to put in my hair. I used the color red for a strong accent color. I wore bright red jewelry and red gloves and shoes.  I felt so amazing.  I even camped it up a bit and passed out fortune cookies when the crowd tipped me.  I played coy and placed them in their hands.  I really had a good time with it.  I felt beautiful and felt like no one could ever do what I do in that moment. I think that is the key to being a successful drag queen.  You have to find a way to do what no one else can do.  I felt original.

I have many other concepts that I want to try next. This will allow me to push myself.  One such idea is a star wars theme. I want to be Princess Leia. And I have some ideas for the music.   I also want to be Maleficent. In fact, the costume is now done and it looks great. The only set back is that Scott has been out of town, and I don’t have music for it yet.  Hopefully we can sit down work on it this weekend. 

I love to sew show gowns and character costumes. I have a Dorothy wizard of Oz costume that I made last year. I found a musical parody version and made the costume to go with it.  I even had a basket and stuffed dog Toto.  It was so much fun.  I even had ruffle socks and red glitter shoes that I ordered online.

I also made two puppets to use for a show. I did the opening casino medley from Sister Act the movie.  We ( the puppets and I ) were all dressed the same.  I learned to lip-sync and puppeteer with both hands.  It was so challenging. But I got really good at it.  A friend told me that my puppets were the best he had ever seen.  I too, thought they turned out great and looked professional.  The hardest part is putting on two puppets, it takes some help to make sure they are straight and the clothes are hanging correctly.  Scott was helpful the two times I did the act.  I have aspirations to do a similar concept where it is me and two puppets dressed as nuns.  I have the fabrics, I just need to get busy on the construction. 

Annie Jr- a learning expreicence

I was asked recently to help with a school production of Annie Jr.  My friend Kevin is the drama teacher at a local Fine Arts Academy.  I met him about a year ago.  He was at a drag show and we became friends.  He wanted some help with hair and makeup for his play.  The students were in charge of creating a look for each character.  I borrowed some wigs from a friend. It really made the characters looks very professional.  The kids had a four day run. Over all it was six performances. I enjoyed helping the kids back stage and getting to know the teachers from the school.  There was only one hiccup when a particular student was resistant to my suggestions.  She had some attitude about it. I spoke to Kevin, the director and he was able to speak to the students. It felt good to know he had my back.  It was resolved quickly.

We made it through the production without any other issues.  Except with the light went out.  On Saturday, I arrived at 1pm for the first show. The theater was dark, and it seemed odd.  I found one of the teachers, a friendly woman who was the stage manager for the play.  She told me a car accident nearby, knocked out the power for the nearby down town area.  The theater was on backup power only.   Kids were half in makeup but unfortunately the 2pm show was cancelled.  There was some confusion about if the 7pm would happen. The electric company was working to restore full power.  The kids, who had been double cast, were willing to let other take the role for the night, because they had family coming to watch. I thought that was very considerate.  I went for a late lunch with friends and by 5pm the power was back on.

  I worked with mostly with the principle actors. I help them don wigs and touch up makeup.  I got to know a few of them, and could tell they were very talented.  As a group the orphans were so stinking cute.  You could tell they put their hearts into it.  The Miss Hannigan actress was very professional. She had a big personality that really fit the character.  My favorite was the actress that played Lily. She was so nice backstage and looked so pretty with a face full of makeup.  She let me work on her wig and it really looked great.

It felt good to show my makeup skills and be among students who have a similar passion for creating characters and bring it to the stage.  After all that is what drag is to me.  I am an actor too.  The fine arts school is amazing. They nurture the students’ abilities in acting, dance and singing.  We didn’t have any schools like this when I grew up.  If they had, I would have wanted to attend there.  I guess not everyone has those advantages.  The closest I got was being in one act play.  I must not have been very good, I only got minor roles.  I wish my teacher had shown more interest in me. It’s great to see how Kevin relates to his students.  The world needs teachers like him. I hope he is pleased with my help.  It was a learning experience and I enjoyed it. 

I have some pictures, but I don't feel I should post them. The students are under 18 and I don't have permission. 

my sewing history

A little bit of my sewing history.  I started sewing at a young age. Maybe 5 or six.  My mom would cut fabric for blouses or sometimes pants.  I would take the scraps and make things that I thought would be useful.  She taught me how to sew by hand using a few simple stitches. I paid no mind to matching threads, but used whatever I could find in my mother sewing things. She had a pair of black handled scissors made of heavy metal.   I used them to cut the fabrics in to shape, I imagined was a good size.  I made small pouches about the size of an envelope. I remember one was made with red fabric, and sewn with white thread.  I would add a button to fasten a button to close the pouch.  Unfortunately, I learned that the stitches were too far apart and the money would fall out.  Like many sewing project, it was trial and error.  I would keep trying to make things, including clothes for my teddy bear.

My mother used an old black singer machine that I was not allowed to touch.  It was heavy and painted with gold scroll work and the SINGER name across the arm. It was electric, but belt driven. It had a funny looking plug with prongs on the machine end of the power cord. Another wire that led to the power pedal.   I’m sure she bought it second hand, perhaps at garage sale.  I really don’t know. And sadly she is not here to ask. I would sit and watch for hours. I was trying to figure out how it worked. Thread turned in to fabrics into garments. My mother made clothes for herself, mostly because stores did not carry plus sizes. And those stores that did, cost too much money. This was a problem, I can relate to.

 I learned that turning the wheel raised and lowered the needle.  The more you depressed the pedal, the faster it would sew.  Even today, I love to sew fast.  I imagine, it similar to the rush a driver may get from slamming on the gas on the straight away. I learned how to thread a bobbin. Which, as a kid, I thought bobbin was a funny word. Mostly because the guy at the full service station was named Bob.  He was friendly and good at pumping gas, but he didn’t seem like a guy who would sew. ‘Bobbin’.  I guess little things like this are funny when you are five years old.  My mother sewed for years. She would make curtains and jackets. She made scrubs for nurses at her work. She made aprons and smocks too.  She many times would buy fabrics for blouses and spend the money on store bought things like the pants.  

I learned to mimic patterns, the way she had. She might buy a blouse and copy style using other fabrics.  She would sometimes make her own patterns.  Today, I can look at something and go, I bet I can make that.  Then I will go home and make my version of it.  I learned a lot that way.

When I moved out, my mother had stopped making clothes. That was about 1997. Her eyes got bad and she couldn’t see well enough to sew anymore. She one day I asked if I could borrow her old machine.  This machine she had  then was bought about ten years old.  She gave it to me. She said, “if I need it again. I will ask for it back.”  I had the feeling that maybe she was not ready to give it up permanently, but it would be permanently.  I don’t recall her ever sewing again.  I used that machine to make some of my first dresses and costumes.  Like most everyone, they were very basic. I was teaching myself as I went.  I sewed on that machine for three years. On Christmas 2000, GW bought me a new one. Imagine my surprise!  Soon to follow was a cutting table. No more laying it out on the floor, like a cave man.  I was developing a skill that would allow me to make extra money and show off new garments that I had made myself.  I went from sewing homemade dresses, to a level of  creative custom dresses and costumes.