Handmade in France

If you spend some time on Etsy you will find that there is an amazing amount of creative talent out there. I'm sure Etsy doesn't even scratch the surface, but even so, I am overwhelmed. I love clothes! Since moving to Vermont, you wouldn't know it to look at me. Frankly, if my hair is brushed and I have something on my feet, that's a well-dressed day. I sometimes bemoan the fact that living out in the country there are so few places to go that require much more than a pair of jeans and some Muck boots. That doesn't mean I have stopped dreaming, or perusing the sites of those more fashion wise than me. You never know when I just may need to give myself an overhaul and visit the city. So, in the back of my mind, I keep talented fashion designers in a spot that I can easily retrieve should the occasion arise.

Because, as they say, the French have good taste, first on my list would have to be a French fashion designer. Meet Emmanuelle Marie, indie French designer, who is savvy, saucy, free-spirited and oh so talented. Not only does she have an enviable knack for clothing design, she is also multi-lingual. Who do you know that can draw up a skirt design while speaking French, English, Russian, German, Polish or Czech? I barely speak one language well!



Marie's designs are showcased under her independent label "Malam." The style is very distinctive. Her designs range from gloves and gauntlets to wedding gowns and everything in between.




She has a wide range of dresses and coats, many of which feature her signature extra-long or flared sleeves and goblin hoods. She has a certain knack for making things fun, flirtatious and feminine all at the same time.



Her designs are very limited edition or often one-of-a-kind because she uses fabrics she finds in very limited quantities and often dyes or embellishes them to make something even more new and unique. If you see something you like but have a different fabric in mind, Marie will even take custom orders. She is willing to work with you to create something original that you are guaranteed to love.




Did I mention, her clothes are shown in castles?! REALLY!



Not only does Marie design her own clothes, she also models most of them. The resulting pictures are simply fabulous! And wouldn't you know, her fiance'(I am picturing a fabulous wedding dress in Marie's near future!), Yann, is a professional photographer:

http://www.yannpendaries.etsy.com


He is responsible for most of the photography, featuring Marie in artful poses, bringing out the artfulness of Marie's style (he also models from time to time, and obviously is quite smashing himself!).




Marie and Yann have also collaborated on some artwork which is featured on Yann's own Etsy site. The pieces they create together feature a combination of Marie's drawings and Yann's photography. The result is limited edition pictures that are very original, fun and fresh, a lot like Marie!



Marie, you've got me thinking about my wardrobe now, that's for sure! Keep on cranking out the good stuff!




I'll leave the rest of you with some more photos of Marie's wonderful fashion style.

Please go over to her Etsy site, her website, and her blog, and check out all she has to offer. It will be well worth your time, I promise.

http://www.malam.etsy.com

http://www.poupees-perdues.com

http://malam-paris.blogspot.com




Thanks, Marie, for offering the world a chance to dress in style!

Merle's World

What every creative person needs is their own fan club. Having a young, hip, decidedly cutting-edge fan club is quite the best, dontcha think? It assures your longevity as an artist and just makes you feel warm all over :)

Meet my next fabulous friend, the Marvelous, Multi-talented Merle Pace, AKA Rowan DeVoe de Le Fresne Chateau. She actually calls it a "castle", but I like rhymes :) Merle has her own fan club. REALLY! I am now a card-holding member.

Okay, perhaps I am not that young, hip or cutting edge. But certainly in my own mind I am all the rage! Merle is a lovely gal, whom her fans love, and she's also quite beautiful (she will fiercely deny it), and nice, too. She's letting me join the club.

I know Merle because my friend Ivy introduced us. It turns out Merle and I have some things in common. We both make dolls, for one. We both love mermaids and fairies and believe in them, too. We both like bright colors and fancy shoes. She believes a fine lady should wear a crown, tiara or other mark of royalty. I believe each one should wear a hat.

Where Merle stands out, though, is in the amazing number of materials and processes she has mastered to evolve her impossible to imitate, singular style.

Merle is a self-portrait artist/photographer. She belongs to a group called The Female Self Portrait Artists Support Group. They put out books featuring self-portraits created by their members. Merle is included in their works: "She Took Her Own Picture" (http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/312943)and "In her Own Image." To be honest, before meeting Merle, I didn't even realize there was such a thing as a self-portrait artist. I had no idea there were so many talented people working in that genre. Apparently I don't get out much!


Merle also paints. In that arena, she is unbelievably prolific. Her paintings, which I ADORE, are a bit hard to describe. You really just have to see them.

Merle's paintings impart the imagery of folklore, fantasy and magic, of cats and ravens. She draws from the Gothic and Greek, Roman and Egyptian, Medieval and Pre-Raphaelite, and even Art Nouveau, mixing them together to create her own very unique style. Her colors are sometimes vivid, sometimes muted, sometimes blackened. She uses an array of materials to create her original paintings. The base is done primarily with watercolors. She may add gouache, metallic inks, pastels, and/or colored pencils to the mix. She tells me she has made paintings using even Crayola!






She also makes monotypes, creating rich, deep colored monotype prints with her own printing press. Apparently this is a very complicated "312-step" process, as she has explained it to me 3 times and I still haven't grasped it!








From either of these processes, she will also make smaller reproductions onto archival paper that she then decoupages onto plaques of found wood, adding bits of
this and that to fancy them up further. They nearly jump out at you, depicting kings and queens and saints and cats.




Merle also creates dolls.

They are art dolls for serious collectors. They are intended to hold their own space and not the type of doll to be placed on a shelf. In some ways they are more sculptures.
She has done a series of birdcage ladies that combine her ability to paint, sculpt, sew and many other things. They were shown last year at the Indianpolis Art Center at her show "Love, Loss, Resurrection." If you are lucky, you can catch her work there from time to time.





As usual I've rambled on for my bit. I really just want you to see Merle's incredible work. I hope it inspires you to do your own. So, I'm going to leave you with some more photos to tantalize and arouse your interest.


Please check out all of Merle's available work at her Etsy site,
(http://www.pascal4aqua.etsy.com)
her blog
(http://www.rowandevoe.blogspot.com)
and her website
http://www.merleart.com/ArtistBio.html).




She's put out an amazing amount of work, some of it for sale. She is also happy to do custom work for those of you who require something in particular.




Keep on cranking out the good stuff! Thanks, Merle, for making the world so much more interesting! You rock!

Here's Looking at You!

"A photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you."

-----Brigitte Bardot

"Under the August Sun" July 1965 by Clyde Keller

I was saying to myself just the other day (yeh, I do talk to myself occasionally) that I wished I had better digital photography skills. The whole macro thing has got me in a spin, frankly. I love making dolls. Photographing them, not so much. Wouldn't you know just about the time I was feeling woefully inadequate in the photography arts, I ran into (no, not literally--on the internet, silly) the Fabulous Clyde Keller, Photographer Extraordinaire.

I initially found Clyde on his Etsy site (http://www.clydekellerphoto.etsy.com). I checked out his work and his profile and then went to his main site (http://www.clydekeller.com) looking for more information.

I am a people person. I love to see what people are capable of. I love being inspired by their seemingly endless creativity; but I also want to know all the tidbits. I want to get the real scoop!

For someone whose professional career has spanned 40-plus years, whose work has received world-wide recognition, I have to say, I don't think Clyde is one to do much flaunting. Maybe he prefers his photos to do the talking...In any case, after viewing an extensive selection of his photographs, I'm here to report that Clyde is a PHENOMENAL photographer, a true master of his craft, and should seriously consider doing a little flaunting!

What I like most about Clyde's work is that he seems to truly care about the people and places he photographs. His lens, as an extension, mirrors that caring beautifully. As the American photographer Paul Strand said, "It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness." In that capacity, Clyde Keller is unquestionably gifted.

Vancouver BC, VICTOR'S WORLD, Delany's Coffee House regular,
Clyde Keller 2007 Photo.

"One of my favorite images from the many trips to Vancouver, Canada... Victor offered great conversation and an undeniable graphic appeal with his checkered shirt and flowing beard. In this impromptu photo, I struck up a conversation with Victor and was able to photograph him as we made our exchanges."

Scoggin Valley Pioneer FELIX McCULLOUGH with 1925 Tractor,
Clyde Keller 1977 Photo.

"One of my favorite images from the 1978 Valley People Documentary Series, this portrait of Felix McCullough, was quite popular when it was featured in our "VALLEY PEOPLE" Photographic Calendar. Now, 30 years later, with much of Washington County engulfed by change, these photographs are a precious historical rememberance, capturing the unvarnished flavor of its heritage. Scoggin Valley in now under water... McCullough's farm no longer exists. I asked Felix if he would demonstrate his 1925 tractor for a photograph... the resulting portrait memorializing the event and the end of an era."

Clyde takes photographs of a lot of things. His home base is in a lovely, scenic part of the world known as Bend, Oregon. He has taken photos galore documenting his time with the people and landscapes in those parts. My favorites are the ones he has made of people. I get the sense from his photographs that he takes people just as they are, without judgement, finding their unique tendencies interesting and worth documenting.

Of special interest to Clyde has been photodocumenting historical political events. Many of his photos have gained him world-wide acclaim, particularly his extensive collection of Robert F. Kennedy photographs.In 2008 when the Triborough Bridge was renamed the RFK Bridge, Clyde worked with the RFK Center for Human Rights and the New York Transportation Authority in their promotion, thereby placing his photos throughout the NY subway system.

I'm going to leave you with a few of Clyde's non-people photos that I especially like so you can get a view of just how talented and versatile this guy is.
Please head over to Clyde's sites and take a gander at the incredible wealth of photographic art you will find there. If you love photography, I'm pretty sure you are not going to find a better bang for your buck.

Thanks, Clyde, for doing your part to make the world a more lovely place to be!

Here's looking at you!