RCGD and Clipa Tel Aviv

I got into the top three final contestants for the Red Carpet Green Dress competition!!! Received very encouraging words from the panel of judges, so will definitely be back next year.

I thought I might add a couple of words and pictures here about my unforgettable experience in the Clipa Centre for Performance Art in Tel Aviv, Israel, where I worked on the revival of their show Orpheus, as Design Assistant to Idit Herman, the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the theatre, throughout December 2011 and January 2012. 

http://www.clipa.co.il/main.php#/en/productions/ongoing-shows/orpheus

I basically helped to bring to life several costumes, accessories and props which provided quite a variety of challenges. Ranging from creating a full length sequin dress with a long train, turning a rug into a functional cloak and recreating an old blouse with intricate pleated details from scratch. 

The budget was tight of course and I had to work with less sophisticated equipment than what I am used to... For example, creating a makeshift dummy stand with a torso tied onto an old wooden stool, cutting fabric on the floor or using an old Singer machine which only allows straight stitch, for stretch!

I loved that I was allowed space, time and trust to work on my own and this was constantly put into perspective through daily discussion, experimentation and fittings. 

The best part of this experience though, was, by far, the fact that I slept in the theatre  during the time I worked there! This meant that I was fully immersed into the world of visual theatre and got to meet many exciting and talented people, night and day.

Truly an all-round, hands-on, unforgettable experience.  

Red Carpet Green Dress

Finally sent my designs for the Red Carpet Green Dress http://redcarpetgreendress.com/
competition last week - winner to be announced this Friday! Lots of ice coffee and sun in this incredible city that is Tel Aviv helped to let the ideas I had in my head blossom... 

Research into sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics was also fascinating and eye-opening. My designs would be made with vegan peace silk - silk which is produced without killing the worm inside -, bamboo fabric - made from bamboo cellulose - and milk fabric - made from dried milk, from which the proteins are extracted and then whirled into fibers, a very soft fabric that captures moisture and hydrates the skin. The final touch would be sequins cut from recycled plastic bottles.  

Tel Avivians throw their empty plastic bottles into these metal cages for recycling

Fabric samples dyed with curcuma and tea, embellished with plastic sequins and origami maps 

After I saw Wasteland, the brilliant documentary by Lucy Walker, a couple of weeks ago, this is exactly the type of project I had in mind for my 2012... Fingers crossed!

Wasteland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNlwh8vT2NU


Saw this fantastic documentary last night, Wasteland, directed by Lucy Walker. It tells the story of the project Pictures of Garbage, which Brooklyn-based Brazilian artist Vik Muniz carried through in 2008, in collaboration with catadores (trash pickers) from Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill, outside of Rio. He created gigantic portraits of these larger-than-life characters using recyclables from the landfill, involving them in the process and later, giving them the money from sales of the artwork. 


This is the type of project / documentary that sets my heart racing - a project that seems too huge to be possible, that seems like it will never take off because the difficulties it faces from the start seem unsurpassable... but somehow, it happens thanks to a determined, ground-shaking collective effort and produces something no one would have even dreamed of in the beginning. 


This is a direction I hope to keep in 2012 : to create and to participate in projects that will enthuse, excite, include, unite... Using recyclables and clever ways to minimise damage done to the environment... And to create sustainable and durable solutions which can benefit all involved in the process. 


HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012.

Coming soon to a screen near you

My most recent work as costume designer, for the beautiful short Girl in a Bubble - coming out early 2012. Trailer coming soon. 

The Travel Collection

Have been selling bits on Etsy for past couple of months and have decided to now focus more intensely on developing a new collection of upcycled jewellery. 


Check me out on http://www.etsy.com/shop/joanova?ref=si_shop


Taster images below!

The Girl in a Bubble

Have just finished working on a charming little short for which I designed costumes. 


The Girl in a bubble is the story of Shizuko, a sweet seven year-old girl who is struggling to find inspiration and excitement inside her suburban home. Her mother is obsessed with trying to fit in with her neighbours and suburban London life. But one day, Shizuko stumbles across a musical on television, which inspires her to create a costume and surprise her mother with an impromptu routine from the musical. 

To make her final "centurion" costume I tried to put myself into her shoes, thinking that, as a way to rebel against her mother and assert her identity, she would have tried to gather materials from her mother's cupboards - cardboard, cupcake holders, icing nozzles, feather duster... and tried her hand at Japanese origami. 

A lot of fun to make - tricky to maintain on set!! Pictures below show some of the characters - and a taster of the final costume, which I cannot reveal just yet... And yes, I made the dog slippers!

The SPA

Just finished working on The Spa, a short film by Louis Paxton and students at the NFTS http://www.nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk/index.php?module=Frontpage&flashinstall=no, which we wrapped Thursday evening. 

 Dirk Fair - the one and only

It was the most hilarious and exciting production I have worked on so far, with a brilliant laugh-out-loud script, three different sets custom-built at the school in Beaconsfield, an uber-professional crew... - just ACE.

In terms of costume, it felt so good to be drawing again, then making costumes to measure and fitting them - all in the space of three weeks!   

Sakura 

Crystal

Sleep-deprived me