Mother of Pearl.....A simple story

Mother of Pearl
Ysabel Lozano

Call your Mother!

The only time I've seen my Mother (Ysabel Lozano) wear a strand of pearls was for a family portrait we sat for in my teenage years. In that photo her natural beauty is apparent and she looks so happy. This short post is made in her honor, today is her Birthday.

The photo above is one I took of her back in the day at a Chicago street fair in Pilsen where I grew up. She is wearing a lovely top with a storied past. We used to share clothes at that time, like I did with my stylish girlfriends and this was one of her favorites.

My Mother has always said of her personal style that she "is a simple Women". It's true, she likes to look good and takes good care of herself, but she's not flashy. She does however take an interest in fashion and is fun to go shopping with. I know she gets a kick out of my fascination with clothing and has always been supportive of my passion.

I found out the following about what Mother of pearl does: "A pearl grows when mother of pearl surrounds and builds layers around an object that's inserted into its shell by nature or humans." That's exactly what my Mother did for my siblings and I over the years. We have grown into our own because she built layers of safety and support around us in her own loving way. What a precious jewel she is in my life. "The Most Beautiful Women I know always wear Pearls of Laughter." Happy Birthday Mom, I hope it is filled with Laughter and smiles!

With Mother's day quickly approaching, the telephone photo is a visual reminder to call your Mother. If for some reason it is not possible for you to speak with her try to recall a favorite memory or photo where she is sharing her Pearls of laughter!

Shedding Style....A Curious Observation

Paintings by Artist: Gregory Siemasz

If you haven't noticed the growing Pet focused service market in America over the last decade you might not appreciate the Brilliant Whimsy of these paintings. Detroit Artist Gregory Siemasz is the mind and talent behind their creation. With his recent exhibit at Flip Hair Salon http://flipsaloninc.com/ "I should have been A Stylist" these paintings captured a wonderful mix of ideas in a distinctly humorous manner.

From a Style perspective I could not help but wonder about our common grooming experience. Who amongst us can ignore the needs and condition of our hair? Our Hair Stylist and Colorist are entrusted with it's health and beauty. We choose wisely and pay dearly don't we. It's worth it to have this help and expertise. It's relaxing and renewing to visit a salon and be groomed. Isn't that what our pets do every season? Some more than others of course. I'm told by conscientious dog owners that when they brush them out, it helps the natural shedding process and seems to be a form of message therapy.

Biologically we are told our cells reproduce and replace themselves everyday...so we understand CHANGE is in our DNA, even if only on a subconscious level. Perhaps our need for Novelty in fashion and style is a different form of natural transition, an outgrowth of our inner genetic evolution...it's one way to understand the drive.

Now that I think about it some owners and their dogs have an uncanny similarity in appearance. What is that?

Looking at these paintings transported me to an alternate fashion universe where I began to connect some obscure and wonderful dots. It certainly shed new light on the phrase "Animal Attraction" in a fun Beverly Hills Chihuahua kind of way.

American Fashion: Deviance and the Law

Freedom In Fashion?

Just say NO in Mobile, Alabama
Just Try it in South Padre Island, Texas

Cultural Norms and those who make the Law

"Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" is the best known phrase of the Star Spangled Banner. In America, it all depends as it turns out, on who has the Power in the land and how Brave you're feeling about your fashion choices.

Why you might ask? Well according to my Sociology text book, 'Deviance" varies according to Cultural Norms. Let's face it, when it comes to fashion who is Normal? The Quakers? How about the Native American Indians? What about our Dear Lady Gaga? It seems silly I know, but if you study clothing and fashion as I do you know the wheel of history keeps turning and that means our knowledge of the world of clothing grows and changes with it. Alexander McQueen was an Alien in the fashion world light years ahead of the best and he was labeled a "Deviant" personality. Good thing for us his work was never out-lawed!

Back to my Textbook...Cultural Norms and the way people define "rule breaking" involves Social Power. The Law, claimed Karl Marx, is the means by which powerful people protect their interest." His thoughts are the perfect segue into the obscure and curious fashion related laws we have here in America. "Mobile Alabama for instance has outlawed the wearing of "Stiletto heeled shoes." I'm sure you have noticed the Art Shoe above and wondered Is this A deadly Weapon? Who knows...I'm sure there's a story, a rational philosophy behind this fashion enemy. We can only imagine the fetish witnesses and dancing that finally brought it to justice! How about "South Padre Island, Texas and their legal banishment of neckties?" Sure it can be used to strangle someone, but do we really need to add disclaimer language to this timeless fashion staple?

How about live and let live? I say we allow people to make fashion fools or stars of themselves in every state in America without concern for these strange unenforceable laws. Last time I checked freedom of Speech was still protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution. Sure the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as on "hate speech". Who is "Hating" who here?

Besides when it comes to Social labeling in Fashion, Prada and Burberry enforce Style by the power of their Beauty. Beauty is timeless, it's egalitarian and it's very American!

Camille LaMontagne: Changing the Face of Art and Identity

Artist: Camille LaMontagne

Photography by: Graham Meyer

When we think of Fashion it's easy to overlook the work of A Make-Up Artist. In some cases that is precisely the point. The Clothes are the focus, unless you are watching a John Galliano production that is. His work is pure theater, high Art Fashion at it's best. Camille LaMontagne is a fan of Galliano's work and has plans to make her own mark on Fashion runways around the world.

As you can see she explores "Identity" through Illustration, Make-Up, Sculpture and Modeling. Camille is also an accomplished Portrait Artist working in Oil and has won numerous competitions for her work over the years.

She admires the Art work of Nathan Deyoung, Levi Van Veluw, Cindy Sherman and her Father, Paul LaMontagne who is a retired Commercial Artist.

When Camille talks about her work as a Make-Up Artist, her face lights up like a Solar Panel. Her Vision and energy is refreshing and so is her work. The black and white photograph of two Women in knitted headscarves speaks to her complex creative abilities. It stopped me in my tracks when I spotted it on display at 515 in Royal Oak. I will be adding a copy of this photograph to my collection in the near future. It has the quiet impact of a hundred secrets waiting to be told.

The face sculpture made of tissue paper required creative engineering and a lot of patience to produce. It's clever and intriguing. The same is true of the dotted self-portrait project. Her black and white illustration book is a study in transition. Camille modeled for the full body black and white shot and altered the image to create an eclectic visual story.

Author Leonard Koren, wrote "Beauty is an altered state of consciousness, an extraordinary moment of poetry and grace." Camille works in this realm fluidly and with boundless passion.

Keep an eye out for her work in galleries, runways and in print as she further explores the Art of Identity, Make-Up and Fashion Illustration.

Camille can be contacted at cla@collegeforcreativestudies.edu

Light, Line and the Power of Discovery...

Artist: Jon Pickell

Jon Pickell is one of those people who works deliberately with "Organic Energy". He's an Artist with many passions. These include photography, print making, fiber print work and Reiki energy balancing.
He admires the work of Fashion Photography Artist: Deborah Turbeville, Lucas Samaras and Helmet Newton. His work however includes a distinct and careful balance of light, line and energy. "Creating ambiguous spaces for his figures to occupy is part of his skill. Many of his portraits imply a situation or activity beyond the viewer's knowledge." Jon has no desire to tell you what to think. He respects what you bring to his Artwork. Viewing his work is a fluid process between Artist and audience. Fashion is an integral element of the above selected photos, but it is by no means the whole story. There is so much more to wonder about in these pieces. I love that about Jon's Artistry, it's a process of discovery.

"Discovery is a sociological cause of change. It involves recognizing and understanding more fully something already in existence. The first image is the result of my Internet research on the characteristics of Radium. "In 1898 Marie Claire unintentionally left a rock on a piece of photographic paper, noticed the emissions from the rock had exposed the paper, and thus discovered radium (Ra 88)." I was struck by the organic line work of the Radium salt alpha particles. Notice the line work in Jon's photographs.

"Pure radium metal is brilliant white (I'm thinking about the flash of a camera bulb), but blackens when exposed to air. Radium is luminescent (giving a faint blue color)." Notice the similar luminescent faint blue color in several of Jon's hand painted photographs.

Discovery....Serendipty.....Coincidence? I'd like to think it is all of these things. It's difficult to fathom how this happens. But it is delightful to wonder about how it might all work together. The Art of the universe is a mysterious and creative energy source. How perfect it is that Jon included Superman in one of his photo stories. His Model marvels at his power and energy and you I hope will appreciate the power of Jon's unique fashion photography. He can be conacted at jonpie at aol.com.

To Bid or Not to Bid...This is the Question

Hudson's Mink Stole: DuMouchelles On-line Catalogue

Auction houses have a historic and distinguished presence in the market place. Sotheby's and Christies are known world wide, but here in Detroit, we have DouMouchelles, Fine Art Auctioneers and Appraisers, in operation since 1927.

Earlier this year I searched their on-line catalogue http://www.dumouchelle.com/ to get a feel for the type of clothing items to be found. I was happy to spot this Hudson's Vintage Mink Stole in the lot. The bid price range for the piece was reasonable to my thinking so I made a special trip to 409 East Jefferson in Detroit.

There it was in the gallery hanging on a mannequin ready for me to inspect. I studied the lining, seaming and condition of the fur. It was well cared for over the years. I tried it on for fit, and quickly began to dream of owning a piece of retail history. Hudson's was a retail gem back in the day and has a special place in the memories of many native Detroit families.

I could not be available to attend the actual auction so I decided on a "Telephone Bid" process, and filled out the necessary paperwork to participate. I found the staff to be genuinely helpful and attentive. This made my first splash into the world of auction bidding easy and enjoyable.

Long story short, I lost the piece to another bidder with deeper pockets. I had a definite price limitation going into it and quickly lost my dream in three bids.

I was told by a staff member at DuMouchelles that they don't normally get large amounts of clothing or collections come to auction. I hope this will change soon. I just know there are so many collectors of Important Fashion in the Detroit Metro Area. Those who collect, take care of the investment and understand the value of buying and selling it. Those of us who hunt for fine Vintage Clothing are links in the recycling chain of history and Style. Clothing is a Cultural element of history and DuMochelles has a special place in both the past and future of Detroit's fashion runway. Happy Bidding!

The Painter's Apprentice: Emilio Rojas

While traveling through life, Little Friend came to know a wanderer called the Painter's Apprentice. This man was always surrounded by people asking him about paintings he had yet to paint.

The paintings he described were so ethereal that they resembled music forming in air. The Painter's Apprentice said that the timeless and the eternal could be captured through feeling and sensitivity, releasing the soul toward the spirit's essence. He described a painting of dancing in which the body was a connection between the earth and the soul.

Then he envisioned a painting made of embossed letters - each one a word, a sentence, a prayer, a book wherein the author had woven tales out of history, imagination and dreams. He wanted to create a painting in which the brush strokes and colors were the essence of all that could be ordered and balanced. He also described a painting in which the motifs were feelings formed from the tiniest elements of life in the depths of the interior world.

Then the Painter's Apprentice said that his true aspiration was to paint people. Not those who claimed greatness and then sank into the mud of oblivion. Not those who spoke hurtful words or performed acts of hypocrisy. Not those who used others to climb to the top or exchanged Love's treasures for trinkets, popularity or material wealth. The people he wish to paint were simple folk without disguise, those who were at once ethereal and steadfast. They were the ones whose wings could carry them to the horizon.

Such people teach us how to walk through the valleys of each day. They draw a smile from our hearts and say to us: "To Live is to learn what we were, what we are and what, with the setting of the sun, we shall be. To live is also to understand the human being and the universe, and thus to become a maker of stars. To live is to look at our outstretched hands, one of which contains nothing, the other, everything. To live is to be the immortal energy and light that flow from the Rose of the Heart."

This is how the Painter's Apprentice talked about the pictures he was going to paint. But he never made a single sketch. Curious to see what these paintings would look like, Little Friend followed the Painter's Apprentice for a long time. Finally, when the Painter's Apprentice produced nothing, Little Friend, disappointed, left him. After some time had passed, Little Friend realized that the word was the brush of the Painter's Apprentice and each person part of his canvas.

Poem: by Emelio Rojas, Beloved Author of Latin America. This allegory captures the essence of my passion for this blog. I could easily swap out the word Painter, for Writer, Muscian, Photographer, Fashion Designer, etc......