Keeping it Green

This is the view out our front door. It's been this same view all winter.  Some of the time bright like this, but more often grey'd over and dim.  The snow has been there pretty much since Winter Day 1. And it's been cold, really cold; all crisp and edgy cold with that strict and icy blue scent that the makers of men's cologne try to capture as that last final edge.

It's been beautiful this winter.  This image is a bit misleading, though. It shows what is not what it has seemed. The beauty holds itself in the sheer drama of biting cold and clear everywhere-white.  But the feel of it has been increasingly hard on the soul. There is so little color other than the white snow and grey skies.

So Beloved Spouse and I treasure the two things that have kept our souls reminded the colors we are missing: our houseplants and a painting by my late sister, whom I have referred to in this blog as Artist.

  

Poplars
Jan Marie Jablonski

 

Hurry Spring!

The Red Death Comes to the Midwest

 

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I was invited to the Fire Ball Masquerade at rather short notice last week - and had barely 2.5 days to come up with a costume for the event.  And in that time I had two 8-hour work shifts and 2 nights of sleep!  And unlike Hoja, my friend and colleague in things creative, I do not have a stash of costumes. (Just some wigs and accessories.)  

One thing I do have, however, is lots of miscellaneous fabric.  So I opened the closet and fabric bins to see what would impress itself upon me.  What I noticed is that I have an awful lot of RED stuff at the moment.  So I let the color marinate in my imagination while I went to work and to sleep.  Halfway through, Hoja texted me to say that the theme of the Fire Ball this year was Gods and Monsters.  Images and themes began to burble up.

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Masque of Red Death by Greg Hildebrandt

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The Masque of the Red Death

Used by permission of pareeerica  

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The Making

The pieces immediately to hand were:

A reversible cotton artist's robe.

A brocade dress jacket from which I'd removed the sleeves some time ago.

Two sets of brocade window valences.

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 A bell-shaped lamp shade (mine had beads on lower edge).

Red brocade drape that matched one of the valence sets.

 A bright red, shiny dinner napkin.

Then I went to a local party supply store and bought a mask, a black feather boa, a black fabric rose, a pair of black lace fingerless gloves, and white greasepaint and black lipstick.

  The Cogitating

 The Assembling 

The Reveal

Unfortunately, only a single picture was taken of the final costume. 

(The event venue was so crowded that there was no space to take photos.)