The Mennonite Carmen Rose

I just posted this photograph on Facebook without comment, I'm really curious how my friends will respond.  I do hope that my conservative Mennonite cousins are not offended by it.  I grew up Mennonite and though my Mom and Grandmother wore a cape dress and covering, I never have.  I don't know what got into me lately, I ordered a covering online.  When it came I looked at it with interest and then packed it away.  Today I pulled out the dress I wore back in 1986 and 1987 when I was in Touring Choir and Chamber Choir at Eastern Mennonite High School.  I was surprised that I could still get into the dress, but that fabric is pretty forgiving.  There were about 40 of us in Tour, the women all wore matching dresses though they had a little lace collar which I turned inside for the photo.  After a while of wearing that dress for many performances, we ended up calling ourselves "the grapes" which we all thought was funny, but not flattering.  The men wore dress pants, a vest and a dress shirt.  I can't remember if they wore ties, I'll have to go back and look up my old albums that were recorded in those days. 

I went back to look up a photo of my Mom from the old days, cause when I look at this photo that's who I see.  Although after looking at their wedding photograph, I'd have to say I favor my father.  I've also been told I look like my grandmother Shenk, I need to find some photographs of her.  She was a gentle spirit with a beautiful alto voice and she played hymns on an old pump organ beautifully.     

Is it a costume?  That dress is mine, one I wore many times, and it makes me feel like singing to be honest.  The covering is perhaps the most "costume" aspect, I wore a lace covering when I was baptized but don't recall wearing one since that time.  It was *really* difficult to get my ultra short hair up in any sort of convincing way, but I managed it with *lots* of bobby pins!  I know that many of my friends will see this as a costume, and certainly there is that quality to it, but I don't feel that way about it.  I look at it more as showing a side of myself that exists somewhere out of sight.  So, I suppose I'm exploring my roots, in my own way.

And just for the record, I've taken off the covering and packed it away... washed my short short hair and am wearing completely "English" clothing.  I generally clean up to look a little something like that photo top right on the side bar.  And yes, I was a professional jewelry designer for years, there is  no turning back.  =)  

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose 

The Art of a Woman

A few photos from the publicity stunt at Oasis Gallery in Harrisonburg Virginia:  Some of them are cell phone photos of really bad quality.  I should have more soon and will share when I can.

That's me.  My phrase was "She is... Changing with the Seasons."  I was wearing some quilter's batting to look like snow, a handful of tulips and mask style makeup that went from purple to blue to turquoise around my eyes.  Those photos came from my husband's cell phone.

The following three photos taken by Frank Doherty. 

Ashley with her lovely lashes and peacock feathers in her hair.  She and her friend were "birds of a feather"

Laura, "She is... as unique as a snowflake!"

This is Barbara, "She is... mysterious."  She's also really good at creating cool poses!

The following two photographs from Charles Garratt, photographer for the project. 

Jill, Ashley and Juliette

Three frames with three live models in the display window. 

Ashley, Juliette and Barbara

Ginger Ferrel did such a great job creating the "set" for us in the window!

These final photographs also from Frank Doherty.

This is the only shot I have so far of all four frames, this shows the whole display window and some of folks who came to watch from the sidewalk.  The gallery is on a corner with a stoplight, and so we had a captive audience each time the light turned red! 

This was all of us lined up before the first performance in the window.  This is us, a range of heights, sizes and ages.  Youngest 14, oldest 54 and all points in between.  You can see two of the tags that we used to explain the facet of being female that we were representing.  Most of the clothing are pieces I had dyed. 

I think this photo was taken of the group of us before the second show.  The photographer was standing on the stairs in the gallery.  This was a publicity stunt for the opening of a show called "Celebrating Womanhood."

I also have an art quilt on display in the show for the next two months.  It's titled "Feed the Glow" and I'll never forget how much creating this quilt enveloped me in the creative process.  For a few hours in a row I was able to shut out the big bad world and find a place that was creative and wonderful and very much my own.  I think this piece will always have a special place in my heart for that reason.  I've never created anything like it before or since. 

So here's to woman and our many facets, and here's to the creative process!

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose

Women in Art

Interesting video here.  Sent to me by a friend who knows the "The Art of a Woman" project I'm working on.  No way to embed it that I can tell, but well worth the view.  Women in art through history.
Enjoy,
-Carmen Rose