cocciacostumier
spreads herself over several genres of design.
A years submersion in Kent countryside has inspired extreme amounts of laborious handsewing and the long awaited start of lacemaking evening classes. Coralline Swansong emerged - a collection of five interactive, five untouchable and three miniature costumes. Fine entertainment was enjoyed in Mascalls Gallery in June of this year as hundreds of pupils, teachers and public dressed in coral inspired clothing. See a selection in Performance Costume.
To escape from the solitude of a large but cluttered studio, it is a welcome
break to spread out into the community. Residencies at Armadale, Bathgate
Academy and Mascalls have led to both the spread of textile mess and some millinery and costume making skills. Full admiration for all the teachers
encountered, much enjoyed encouraging new skills, getting the boys to
sew and the girls false nails covered in latex and plaster… See community
arts.
Pleasure has beed gained by childlike frolics with Hopscotch
Theatre Company. Luminosity reigned, as cocciacostumier's studio
was transformed into pantomime production, historical reproduction,
sweaty nessie monsters and sci-fi. With the invaluable help of tolerant
costume assistant Vicky Young and, for pantomime, lovely queenie Isabella,
much cavorting in white rabbits, legomen and the infamous hopscotch breeches,
took place.
In a need to dress as many people as possible, cocciacostumier
sometimes finds it necessary to sew them in, or provide an interactive
costume so that the public can be tempted into performance
(see Coming To Our Senses and Please Dress in performance
costume). On occasions, cocciacostumier has herself been cajoled
into performances, largely courtesy of spotov
without whom life would be quite dull.
Made to measure is where tailoring gets an airing. C.C. has rescued some
of Scotlands finest ladies from meringue-land and provided wedding dresses
with a 1930's bias or a cinched corset waist and voluminous (though not meringue-worthy) skirt. She has tailored suits for the fine Mr. Prentice and collaborated with Elaine Boyd to make elegant wheelchair rain mac and corset.
Metacorpus (aka corpses to some senior members of the Cocciadiferro clan…)
undertook two shows and numerous workshops, in an attempt to redress the
power balance in the theatre and equalise everyone's importance. Established
by Chloë Dear, Jeanette Sendler
and Anna Cocciadiferro, musicians, set and lighting designers, performers
and costume makers used costume as the starting point, developing work
on the themes of positive ageing, migration, foetal hearing and the anatomy
of the ear. See performance costume…
Inspired by the flighty Jennifer Paterson, C.C. has been dabbling in aerial frocks and combinations. silks are surrendered to the necessity of lycra; the rewards of such a sacrifice are sufficient. Look to Theatre for the lady, and several more who spin and whorl.
|
