The Painter's Studio

 

All photos from this shoot are self portraits taken by myself.

Lately most of my inspiration that I've been looking at have been paintings.  My mom is a painter and she still has all of her painting reference books from college in our house.  I've slowly been reading through them and have found so many amazing artists.

One painter who I've been looking a lot at, and also inspired this photo shoot is Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec.  He painted several different portraits of a red headed muse named Carmen Gaudin. Her portraits feel so relaxed.  It's almost like you're getting a glimpse into a time of day when she's taking a break from work to reflect.  

Also, I need to mention that Lautrec painted a whole series of posters and paintings for the Moulin Rouge in Paris.  I'm a huge fan of the director, Baz Lurhman (he directed the movie Moulin Rouge), so looking through those paintings completely brought me back to how visually magical that movie was!

 

 

Outfit: 

White shirt - H&M

Black suede maxi skirt:  DIY Esther from the Sticks

Necklace - My mom's hand me down

I made my maxi skirt specifically after looking at the above paintings.  It's just a simple gathered skirt with a 1.5 inch waistband, but I added hidden pockets in the side to make it a little special.  I hardly ever make a dress without pockets.  I made a tutorial for the Drifter and the Gypsy a while back showing how to sew hidden pockets.  You can check out the tutorial here.
 

 

These photos were shot in my mom's art studio in our house.  When I was younger I always loved spending time in her studio and watching her paint.  I thought it was magical watching how color came out of her paintbrush.  Even now I get good feelings whenever I walk out into her studio, even when she's not painting.  Here's a link to her website if you'd like to see more of her work.

Tutorial: Kaftan Throwover

Good afternoon!  Today I'm going to share with you how to make your own kaftan throw-over.  A kaftan is such an easy garment to make, and you don't even need a lot of sewing experience to make one.  If you can sew a few inches, then this will be such a fun, short project to make!

Step 1.  

First you'll want to choose a fabric that's lightweight and has good drape.  Some awesome choices would be chiffon, silk, or a jersey knit.  Also, be sure to check out the scarf section at thrift stores!  Sometimes you can find some beautiful vintage silk scarves that are wide enough for this project.

Once you've chosen your fabric, cut it into a rectangle.  My fabric measured 38x45inches.

Step 2.

Find the center of the top edge of your fabric.  This will be your neckline.  With a piece of chalk or something you can see, mark the center.  Measure 5 inches down from the center and mark again.

Step 3.

With chalk, mark 4.5inches into the side of the top edge of the fabric.

Step 4. 

Now connect the two marks so that it makes a neckline that looks like a boat.

Step 5.

If you're using a fabric that frays easily finish the raw edges by either sewing a 1/4 inch hem, or take a cigarette lighter and burn the edges.

 or

Step 6.

Now make a new mark that is 22inches down from the top side.  Next line up the top mark (4.5in at the top) with the side mark (22inches down). 

Pin and sew a line that is 1 inch in length to connect the two pieces together.

And look at that, you're finished!

Try experimenting in different fabrics like jersey knit, or for the chillier months, try using a lightweight wool with a good drape.  Maybe add some lace or fringe trims to the bottom edges.  Experiment and make it completely your own vision!  And if you do, be sure to post photos somewhere and send the link to me.  I'd love to see what you come up with!

The Secret Garden

All photos from this shoot are self portraits taken by myself.
What I was listening to while editing

 It feels wonderful to be doing more with photography again.  While I was in school this past year all of my time went into drawing assignments, and I didn't have a lot of free time for other personal projects like photography.  I forgot how much photography is still a big part of what I love to do.

My inspiration for this shoot came from this Robert Lewis Reid painting.  He has other beautiful paintings that I recommend looking up as well! 

 

Dress:  Sheinside,  boots: thrift store,  jewelry: vintage hand-me downs.

Next week I'll finally be posting the kaftan tutorial that I promised a while back.  It's great to have a summer break where I can catch up on all of the blogging that I've missed!

Process: Cardboard Room Divider

I thought that I'd share some process photos of a prop that I'm making for a photo shoot that I have planned later this week.  A lot of time goes into the props that I make for my shoots so I thought that I'd start sharing how I make them.

I made an oriental room divider from a cut up cardboard box.  I cut the box up into four pieces, then I primed them all with white paint.  Once it dried I went over the pieces again with a few layers of watered down acrylic.  Then I added the bamboo foliage using a blue ink.

Here are some photos as I was painting:

^My younger brother came to hang with me in the garage as I painted.  We were quite the sight together in our garage at 12pm at night. 

 

Instagram

 Once everything dried I went on the backside with package tape and connected the pieces together.  Above is an Instagram photo of the final piece.  I can't wait to share the final photos with you!

Also, thank you to everyone who suggested an artist to my previous post.  I did more research with the suggestions and they were all so good!

Inspiration: Painters

I've been home from school for the past few weeks now and it's been absolutely wonderful to be back in Indiana!  After being required to pour out so much creativity during the school year, I've used these first few weeks to catch up on time to research new inspiration.

My mom received her degree in painting so I've been looking through her old reference books.  Here are some paintings that caught my eye:

 George Hendrik Breitner

  

 Charles Webster Hawthorne

 

   Robert Lewis Reid

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Are there any artist that you would recommend for inspiration?  I'd love to look them up!  

Daniel's Piano Song

Two years ago on Memorial Day, May 28th, 2012 my brother Daniel died by suicide and went to live in heaven.

At age 16, Daniel was diagnosed with schizophrenia and went through his first psychotic episode. He loved to play the piano, and he was gifted in the ability to hear a song on the radio, find the tune easily, and play it without any sheet music. He also liked to create his own songs. He had one song in particular that he composed and would play almost every day for years to an annoying degree.

After he passed away, an e-mail was forwarded to my parents from one of his friends.  It included a cell phone recording of the song that he always played. In the e-mail, Daniel told his friend about a time that he was in the hospital and found an open piano in the patients’ common area. He sat down and started playing his song, when after a while he noticed that all of the patients had stopped talking. He wrote that the room fell silent and there was a sense of peace. From then on, whenever Daniel was anxious he would play this song.

Below is a surprise film that I made as a gift for my parents that is set to a re-recording of the song that Daniel used to play. After the film is the original cell phone recording of Daniel playing.

Daniel's Piano Song from Esther Boller on Vimeo.

I am so thankful for my friend Jonah Baker, who did a beautiful job of re-interpreting and recording the song for this film. You can check out his work here.

Thank you to everyone who has said such kind words of support to my family and me.  The amount of love that has been shown these past two years is really beautiful and has been so appreciated.   

Green Thumb

Wow, it has seriously been too long since I've last shared my work with you!  To play quick catch up - I'm now in the third quarter of my freshman year at SCAD.  I only have 8 more weeks to go till I'm back home to the lovely fields of Indiana.  Savannah is gorgeous, but I'm starting to miss open space, and the smell of dirt, and the sound of birds as they start to migrate back north.

During my week of spring break I started planting a small garden and fixing up my backyard.  I wanted to start a project that gave me a break from creating constantly.  I forgot how much I missed the smell of dirt as one works with it.  There's nothing better than a slightly rainy day in spring and working in the garden and feeling satisfied.  I still have a lot to fix up, but I'm hoping by the time I go back home the backyard will look brand new and there will be a few vegetables for my roommates!

 

Outfit:

Kaftan:  Handmade Esther from the Sticks

Maxi dress and necklace:  Red Clover Boutique

 

 

Photography:  Esther Boller

I made my Kaftan throw over just the other day.  It''s made from chiffon and I'm thinking of making another one in a jersey knit.  I'll be posting a tutorial on how to make one in my next post!  A Kaftan is such an easy garment to make and you don't even need a lot of sewing experience to make one.  If you can sew a few inches, then you can definitely make this garment!

As far as other projects, school tends to take up most of my work time, but I have made a couple dresses that I'm looking forward to sharing with you!  I also have some school projects from last quarter that I plan on sharing soon once I find the time to document it all.
I hope you're all having a fantastic spring so far!