Second Red Sari Poster Winner Announced!

A great big shout-out and congratulations go out to Ms. Donna Hawkins of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, who is the proud new owner of the Red Sari poster featured in last weekend's giveaway!  Donna was thrilled to be the winner- and I hope she enjoys her print!  She heard about the giveaway on the Delta's page on Facebook.  If you'd like to get in on the giveaways, just shoot me an email at info@caprichostudio1.com and I'll get you on the mailing list...and I will keep your info under lock and key, I promise.

I am absolutely beside myself...Spring Break is now less than 24 hours away!  Studio time!  Time to work on the website update...work on developing some new patterns and purses and a bunch of new stuff for upcoming shows.  I am planning a trunk show in late March/early April so stay tuned for more details.  I already promised Bruno a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo and the Childrens' Aquarium at Fair Park, and that is all he's talking about.  There are a few other little excursions that I am scheming on, too- so we'll see.  I don't DARE mention anything else or I can forget having ANY studio time! 

Winner of Red Sari Giveaway Announced! What the heck, let's do it AGAIN!

 This girl's got a new home!

Congrats go out to Sandra Pedregal, winner of the Red Sari poster!  Sandra was the first to locate the token on the Gallery page at the Caprichos Studio website. 

What the heck, let's do it again- I'm giving away a signed Red Sari poster to the 21st person to send me an email telling me where they heard of the contest. At this time U.S. residents only- sorry! Looking forward to hearing from you!!!

KANZASHI

Just the word gives me goosebumps.  I shoulda been a geisha so that I could wear these things!  Doesn't matter- I'm gonna find some kind of way to rock them with my dreads.  It's funny how I discovered them- Everything that I have been making lately has an Asian vibe to it.  I've been doing Bollywood for awhile now- but recently I'm doing purses with a lot of convolutions and folds, and I got the wild idea to research origami to see if I could find anything that would translate.  I found lots of stuff, but nothing really grabbed me by the throat and demanded that I explore it further.  Instead, I started encountering these FABULOUS images of geisha with these...well, delicate bits of magnificence in their wigs.  Like little bitty flowers which I later discovered were hundreds of tiny folded pieces of heavily starched silks and fabric called chirimen (rayon) designed to look like flowers- plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, all kinds of flowers.  Words escape me.  Look at them and GASP, like I did.  Awesomeness.

Anyway, the purses are still in the cooker but I had to digress a little to go on a crusade for tutorials for everything about them.  Spring break is coming in a week (THANK GOD!!!) and  I'll have a few minutes to rub together soon- hopefully I'll have time to make a few and share them with you here.

Red Sari Giveaway! Contest ends Saturday March 5

I'm giving away a signed print of Red Sari to the first person to give the location of the Red Sari Giveaway Token located on my website, www.caprichostudio1.com.  Just click on the link for the email and give the correct response.  If you're the first to hit me back, YOU WIN! 

 

This is what you're lookin' for.

I absolutely love this image.  It's one of my all-time favorites.  I'm a fanatic for South Asian fashion, fabrics, jewelry (gold and uncut diamonds and chunky natural rubies), the unusual and unexpected color combinations, you name it.  Indian and Pakistani Bridal stuff makes me SWOON, do you hear me?   Red Sari is a painting inspired by the understated elegance of  the sari- a garment that is thousands of years old and consists of like 5 yards of fabric wrapped around a woman's form in a way that utterly transforms her. I enjoy cultural exchange and I actively seek out ways to combine elements of diverse cultures in my work.  I thought that nothing would be cooler than to depict a graceful, elegant Sista crowned with long, flowing dreadlocks in a traditional red bridal sari.  Many bridal saris are encrusted with heavy zardozi embroidery involving delicate gold coils attached to silk.  I decided to keep this one simple, and to allow her graceful curves and gesture speak for itself.  I imagine her as a young bride, or a young Proverbs 31 woman in the works.

 If you're interested in checking out South Asian fashion, exclusively.in.com and  Silk Threads (owned by Ruby Bhandari, they're local, too, Dallas folks!) has some eye candy, wow, there are soooo many vendors of gorgeous saris, lengha cholis (long skirt and midriff top) and my personal favorite, the salwar kameez.  To me, the salwar suit is the epitome of modest elegance.  I went through a stretch where they were all I wore- dress 'em up, dress 'em down and accessorize with a billowy, diaphonous dupatta (a long shawl/scarf) that can be worn a number of ways to accent the suit.  

Anyhoo...go to www.caprichostudio1.com and be the first to find the token!  Time's a wastin'!  

Art Expose 2011 at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship

Today was the big day, and I am about to crawl into bed.  Thank God spring break is coming soon- but I doubt if I will spend much time resting up- gotta entertain the troops, i.e., Bruno.  That's not his REAL name, by the way- it's John, but I digress.  The art show at church today was a grand success- I introduced some new product- these cool little cut paper collage pieces with scriptures that have really been speaking to me lately.  Guess they are talking to other people too- they got snatched up pretty quick, so I think I will make more.  It is so funny how you can read or hear certain scriptures forever and you're like, aw, yeah, that's cool, and then God starts working on you and dag-gone, every time you turn around it's like the Spirit is talkin' to YOU.  Lately for me it's been relative to maintaining a positive attitude and remaining focused.  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  As a woman is in her heart, so is she...and so on.  Casting down crazy notions and subjecting them to Christ.  I'll have some pieces to put online soon- so much going on on the homefront lately that I haven't had time to really devote to developing ideas and when I get a few moments to rub together things combust and I just can't force myself to go to bed- like last night.  Finally crawled into the sack about 3 a.m. last night, set the clock for 6, made it up by 6:30.  Told myself I would call my play cousin Tammy in Hawaii tonite (that 5 hour time difference is something else!) and then crash at a reasonable hour.  Called Tam, but she didn't pick up- probably out paddling or surfing or something.  Laid down on the couch and just as I nodded off Bruno came calling for me and  I woke up just in time to keep from getting  hurled on. Got him cleaned up, but who's sleepy now?  So get ready for the upcoming week- and try to figure out how to squeeze in some time for art.