updates + in progress body work

it's been awhile and a lot has happened since my nails were gold armors. i got accepted into the juried undergrad show (such a fortune), and have been working on my senior show line. it's been crazy + slow at the same time, but always a good time. lots of writing and sketching but also lots of tumbling... haha it's my comfort zone when i'm stuck (or bored) but usually i go there because i follow tons of amazing blogs that help inspire me when ideas are comin' slow. 

for the show, it was my first time applying so it was a really awesome experience to be accepted. 

in-progress photos

in-progress work. don't mind my messy floor. haha

detail shots of my digital print project. i printed three versions of x-rays and made three garments based on each one. i did so much hand embroidery that after a while i realized i was slowly becoming cross-eyed aahaha it was a bad experience. i was dizzy for about 30 minutes and had to stop + chill. -_- not cool.

hand-embroidered + smocked detail

hand-embroidered + smocked

this is what my life is right now. focusing on garments inspired by body functions. carpal tunnel, anyone?

love,

mk.

gold armor nails

sooo i was sewing with gold thread and had a lot left in the bobbin. i didn't need it for sewing so i was figuring out what to use it for and started cutting the thread into little pieces. and then i thought- why not put them on my nails? duh. haha. i sealed/mixed them with my favorite nail polish- O.P.I.'s Only Gold For Me top coat, anddd i decided to take some pics during the process- enjoy!

-mk

shibori

detail shots of some of the pieces from the show. 

arashi technique on silk chiffon

detail of ombre dyed crochet pieces. i made half of these sitting in the mica cafe and the other half in my room watching michelle phan videos. one night it was until 4am and the count was 23 videos d:

batik

so i documented some of the pieces i designed + created this past semester. this junior year i've fallen in love with the very time-consuming technique of BATIK. batik is a surface resist technique where you "draw" with wax on fabric. the areas covered in wax don't get dyed, therefore keeping the color the same while the uncovered fabric is dyed. all of these consist of multiple dye baths (usually 3-4).

my friends would see me walk around the studios in station with the batik wax pot and yell out "why are you batiking again!!" - it's such a time consuming process- but i can't help but love it haha.

 the photos are seriously ROUGH quality. but i wanted to show them process-like so here they are! i plan on professionally documenting them this summer.

one of the patterns i created. for my fashioning culture class i batiked and sewed 6 tank tops in a week. i was crazy and sleep-deprived but it was worth it.

detail of the second tank- i love this effect.

dress #1 for my fashioning culture final. batiked china silk, ombre'd top bodice. personally, it turned out a bit too feminine/girly but i couldn't NOT use that batiked silk. it took too long haha. plus- i love it the print.

dress #2 for my final. i wore this during my final crit...then wore it for the rest of the day haha. i love this dress, it's a perfect length (right in the middle of my knees and ankles) and the ombre effect is so subtle. i actually ombre dyed this in a jet black dye bath- i guess the silk does not approve hahah.

the back- not ombre'd.

one of the nerve patterns i've been obsessed with. i used this one in my fashion show!




conclusion: batik will always find a way to come back into my life. every new project that came my way this past year, i always went back to batik. I learned it recently (first semester of junior year) and it has changed me as an artist- and i'm so glad. thank you chrissy day for teaching me such a beautiful process!

-mk

fashion and heavy metal

So as shown in previous posts, I was one of the designers for MICA's fashion show- Transcend. Here are some photos of the sketches (more like process) from my line!

 some of my sketches are really rough, and some of the actual garments didn't come out how I originally had planned. I'm a very intuitive/improvisational worker, so if something happens while I'm making the garment and I like it, I get re-inspired and sometimes change the whole design haha. It's how I like to do it. Some of the dresses in my line were put together simply by being inspired by different parts of things I made. 

 also, as you can see [above], my mind has too many ideas and thoughts and at times I find myself piling one idea on top of the other..which results in me making a new sketch completely...but hey, it's all about the process. seriously though, there was a point where I just couldn't make anything tangible because there were TOO many ideas and I couldn't settle for anything less than the perfect piece. It all came together in the end, and I wouldn't want my line any other way. 

on a side note: my friend got me the new Godsmack album anddddd I love it. It has some of their old songs along with covers of other songs. can I go see them again in concert? thanks:) haha

this post makes me happy because it involved two of my loves: fashion and heavy metal. perfect way to start the night-- haha my nocturnal self is coming out again...let's hope this doesn't become a problem (we all know it's going to be a problem).

- mk.