Jazz like Dat

 

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

I've really been in love with the 60s/70s style kimonos that have been going around lately.  It's so easy to just throw one over a tank top and jeans and feel put together.  I got this kimono from Choies.com and paired it with this dress that I made a couple of years ago.

 

 
Outfit:  

Dress:  DIY Esther from the Sticks (for sale here)  

Kimono:  Choies.com

Necklace:  My mom's

I thought that you might enjoy the photo below.  On the left is the first self portrait I ever took in front of my garage in 2009.  On the right is my most recent self portrait taken in front of the same garage.  My kung foo ability has drastically declined since the 8th grade.

Also I wanted to give a shout out to all of the awesome kaftans that y'all have been making!  It makes me excited that so many different people have already tried out the kaftan tutorial!  

 Jen of iCandy-Handmade  made two beautiful versions!

Also, check out Morgan of Thread Theory who used such a lovely fabric!

  I'm currently sewing a series of swimsuits.  I can't wait to share them soon!

Process: Ink Splatters

I'm currently working on a photo series involving ink splatter overlays on top of my photography.  My favorite technique for finding the perfect splatter is to take two brushes full of ink/paint, and tap them together.  This creates more of a speckled look which is really fun.  I also find that I have more control to keep the ink from going everywhere when I do this.  Here are a few behind-the-scene photos.

 

Here's an instagram preview of a photo from the series.

I can't wait to post the rest of this shoot!  It should be up by tomorrow. 

Also, I've been listening to a lot of jazz this past month - specifically Chet Baker.  What been your go-to music this month?

Sarah

 

 Photography:  Esther Boller

Model:  My beautiful best friend - Sarah

This photo shoot was inspired by this painting (below left) created by George Breitner  Right away my eye was drawn to it.  The composition feels so intimate and the shapes are simply elegant.  When I first had the idea to recreate this painting, I became super excited when I realized that I had the perfect beaded dress that I found at Goodwill a few years back.  I was saving it for the right photo shoot, and finally found the reason to bring it out after looking at this painting.

 

 

I've been really excited with the way these painting-inspired photos have been turning out.  They've been so much fun to shoot, and I've noticed a change in the way I look at compositions now.  I have some new photo projects coming up this weekend.  Can't wait to share more with you!

Drawing: Sketchbook Journal

One of my favorite classes this past year at SCAD was my Drawing 2 class.  The class explored a lot of mediums, and we were given more creative freedom with assignments than in other classes.

As a part of homework everyone had to keep a sketchbook journal based upon a theme that we came up with.  The theme that I chose was the word nostalgia.  To convey my theme I walked around Savannah and drew the different houses around town.  After I drew a house I would write a fictional story on the same page of a memory that could've happened in that house.  The journal was relaxing for me, and it became what I looked forward to most during my week.

 

  

For the class's final assignment we had to create a piece of artwork inspired by the theme of our journal.  I decided to recreate one of my journal pages into a larger size with more detail. 

This class made me love sketchbook journals, and I now try to draw at least once a day.  It forces me to slow an hour of my day down, and also they're a lot of fun!

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.