Category — Belly Dance

Again, along the line of a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the lovely Halyma spreading some silk wings that we created together. I dye and fret about details, construction and functionality; she’s an ingenious and nimble seamstress (who also frets about details) ; the relationship works!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful summer. It’s pretty steamy in the workshop!

… just one : stunning.

This great shot of Oklahoma dancer Arastya with her “Mythical” silk veil is brought to you by photographer Ryan Potter of Lrn2Go.Photo.

They have names like :

Firebird
Blue Bayou
Beautiful Dreamer
Burnished Wine
Madame Bleu
Monet’s Garden
Blushing Silver
Baby, I’m blushing
Golden Pond
Slash
Dream Catcher
Crushed Orchid
Moroccan Stripes
Scarlet Runner
Out of the blue …

Yes, I am. Frenzied, that is. If I’ve been a bad, quiet blogger, that’s why. It’s not just because it’s the middle of a very long winter that takes its toll on my energy levels either.

Twice a year I go through this. Dye every piece of silk I possibly can so my local dancers can get their pick of the crop. Try out new things, pull out some old but loved techniques. Run the gamut of every colour scheme possibly imaginable. By the time I hang every thing on the rack ready to go, I’ve bewildered myself with the available selection.

Last weekend, I had an attack of the oranges. Orange makes me happy. It’s not a colour that people first think of, but when you see it splayed out in an interesting combination on a fine piece of silk it can be more than a little glorious. In costuming, it goes through phases; a couple of years ago I spent 3 months solid dyeing nothing but custom veils that were orange based. I didn’t like orange for a long while after that. I do very little custom work now so I don’t get caught stuck inside the box. The whims of fashion can be creativity killers.

So yes, I love orange, and I love mandalas too though I haven’t made very many veils in this technique for a long while it seems. I only made a couple so far, but damn … I’m good at it! I needed a reminder it seems. Somebody on eBay started selling mandala veils and the like a few years back for a disgraceful pitance, so that pushed my interest away from this technique. A shame really. There should be more of these beauties gracing the stage. Done well, they look like stained glass rose windows; quite stunning really.

Anyhow, to make a long story short, if you’re wondering why the blog nor the for sale page are being updated right now with the new pieces : it’s because I’m busy making and hording. For those of you in the region, do please come and see me Sunday, February 22nd at the Ottawa Dancer’s Bazaar. There’s lots of other vendors and artisans too presenting their wares for your sparkly shopping delight. Just follow the “events” link in the navigation bar for the where and when details.

The “For Sale” page is now up to date, by the way.

I had an excellent day yesterday, but I admit to not being as young as I used to be and I find Dancer’s Bazaar weekends quite exhausting. I do work myself up into a frenzy of dyeing and preparations making sure I have a little bit of everything and a big sale day goes as smoothly as possible. I’m just about as organized as I can get about most things and I do not fret anymore about whether something I made is going to sell or not right off the bat. If it does, that’s nice — I adore seeing my “beauties” at all the dance shows –, but if it doesn’t, well that just gives a chance to others who don’t get to see my veils live to get to sample my wares. Life is good, no complaints.

I’m still surprised sometimes at what sold and what didn’t. I know half circles are not particularly popular in this area, and pairs of them are even more of a specialized purchase; I’m not surprised there. But when it comes to rectangles, there’s always some surprises. Things that I thought would be too outrageous or too subtle get snatched up, when veils that I thought would be a sure thing lay idle. I’ve been told that the selection is just too bewildering to choose from; it’s good to have something for everyone, no?

For example, there is no reason in the world in my mind why this, or “Fallen Angel” (the veil in the next post) should still be on my rack. All the better for my loyal online buyers then, I suppose. It’s a big world and the world is my oyster.

Click on it for a larger view.

The eBay store is not updated yet. I’ll get to it soon, really. If you see anything on the for sale page in the meantime that interests you, just drop me a message, ok?