Misia Sert 1872-1950

Reclining on a thrift shelf in her polka-dot, mega-mutton-sleeved dress - this doll immediately reminded me of Misia Sert and her Gibson Girl visage. Immersed in studies of Les Nabis artists Edouard and Pierre Bonnard, my eyes were immediately drawn to this porcelain person. I finished my artist room study assemblages, shifted gears from painting to sewing - producing an Art Fashion Creation fashion exhibit, then cooled my jets by returning to the mini Misia. For her here, you'll see I kept Misia in the comfort zone of riotous florals, ruffles, and a high collar - but brought her into the present with a slender sleeve cap and some latex capris. Perhaps we'll revisit those mega-mutton-sleeves later with another update. The real Misia was a talented pianist, but her namesake's hands are like mittens. With imagination, the leggings might allow Misia to jog up and down the keyboard creatively. 

For my fellow feline-focused, I've included a photo of Misia outdoors with Number One - my tabby assistant. You'll notice what looks like a piece of the sky unraveling, which is actually a strand of blue tarpaulin unraveling from an artsy bird family's abandoned nest.

Misia with my artist room study assemblage for Edourard Vuillard's "Misia et Vallotton a Villeneuve". Jennifer Hawkins Hock artist room study.

Number One and the unraveling blue sky. Photo Jennifer Hawkins Hock

Misia in the Victorian-inspired minidress with latex capris. Doll ensemble and photo - JHH

Misia on the piano keys - mini ensemble and photo, JHH

"Vallotton Chez les Natanson" - Edouard Vuillard, 1897

Art Fashion Creation Fashion Videos

Most recently, from Knoxville Fashion Week 2017: The Kamama Hanamichi: Butterfly Flowerpath Art Fashion Creation show is here at this Youtube link.
And, my original fashion shows - posted in the pen-name Toile La La - were created with dolls of ceramic or paper and with small-scale toiles. The 2015 Spontaneous Now fashion video is here. Thank you for attending my video runway shows.

Edward S. Curtis Photographs of Native American Women

Though nearly a century old, Edward S. Curtis' photographs of Native American Women spoke to me - with no words - more understandably than most day to day face to face conversations of the present, or certainly more intelligibly than most clipped, abbreviated texts. I had the opportunity to enjoy Curtis' photographs the last day of their exhibit at Booth Western Art Museum and was so struck by the faces, clothing, surroundings and handiwork of those women of the past - I was inspired to further study them. 

If you have the opportunity to view the exhibit or to see these photos online, do note Curtis' ability - through his photography - to connect people despite the seeming limits of time. 

Snips of Fabric, Glitter, Dust, and Petals

During the process and behind the scenes of my very first Art Fashion Creation show - which was beautifully and artfully presented by professional models this time, instead of dolls of ceramic and paper:

Number One Employee Cat is discovered napping on the Art Fashion Creation flower train!

Number One was fascinated with this dress from its conception. She also wanted to trod upon the satin of the Pink Paris Moth Dress (the same satin also used in the Butterfly Frock and the Butterfly Empress dresses). As my worktable became loaded with partially-finished headpieces, brocade seed necklaces, and obi sashes - I had to cut and piece together many of the dresses on the floor, which delighted Number One - although she many times had to be banished from the workroom : (

After finally handstitching the color-blocked and piped lining to the top of this flower train, I took a much needed break - as 2.5 months of sewing begins to tighten neck and shoulder muscles. This is what I saw upon returning. What an accessory Number One would be! Ha ha, I can actually imagine the model trying to navigate the runway with a striped tabby accessory happily riding the flower train. Please don't rush out looking for your own tabby accessory, unless you have plenty of time and sufficient money to care for it : ) 

Now that the show's over, I enjoyed looking through the little snipped piles of fabric I saved during the creation of 12 dresses (and the accessories). You'll see bits of lace, brocade, satin, netting, and even some small practice samples - such as the caterpillar striped tube I assembled after designing the fabric by stitching ribbon stripes to satin. I dressed a pencil in one half of the caterpillar sample. And the bands of fabric are part of a sample I created while deciding the order of fabrics for the hem of a skirt.

Art Fashion Creation photo

Here, you see some brocade and some glitter fabric from obi bows, and some glitter and veiling from headpieces

The small fabric triangles were snipped from the seam allowances of curved areas within the Obi Bow

Tube made from ribbon stripe fabric I created for the caterpillar ensemble

Sample created to determine order of brocade and lace fabrics for Kabuki Skirt

Threads I save in a jar, which are later added to collages

Photos of the Art Fashion Creation Spring 2017 Kamama Hanamichi fashion show garments are posted here.