Mardi Gras - The Art of the Costume

Mardi Gras is all about the art of the costume as well as everything else. Some costumes take a year to put together. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras Indians sometimes work on their costumes until they walk out of the door on Fat Tuesday. Costumes get to represent what the artist is thinking. Sometimes the costumes are humorous and sometimes they are weird. The idea is to be something or someone you’ve always wanted to be. These photographs speak for themselves.

Every Krewe has to have a Queen.

Mardi Gras morning begins with the Mardi Gras Indians. They are up bright and early to meet up with other Indians and battle for the best costume.

You can be a superhero like Wonder Woman.

You can show off your body and piercings.

You can make yourself a part of your favorite work of art.

You can be a sex crazed gladiator or a nun that looks like Ellen Degeneres.

Most costumes are made by the people who wear them.

As a photographer no matter what the costume you want to try to be in a position where you can do justice to the costume and capture its essence.

 In this case I did the best I could. The wing span was so large an there were people walking on each side.

When considering a costume, one should think about being comfortable. The weather can change in an instant and you want to consider the crowds. Mardi Gras is all about having fun.

The Goth, vampire look, it just looked striking and those contacts added the final touch.

If you want people to stop and take you picture you need to wear the costume. You want to have lots of color and strike a pose that will be memorable even for the novice photographer.

Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras.

Check out my other blog for more on Mardi Gras.

http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by; and keep an open mind.

Happy Mardi Gras

I've decided I would connect all of my blogs with the theme of Mardi Gras. Each one will cover Mardi Gras in the sense of how it connects to New Orleans.

This image is a drawing I did many years ago. It was just a doodle and then it turned into this elaborate piece of art on a little piece of paper. I want to try and redo it on a larger piece of paper. Maybe I'll even put it on canvas.

Mardi Gras is as big of a deal to some New Orleanians as is Christmas or Halloween to others. This photograph represents a home in a which someone probably belongs to one of the Mardi Gras organizations.

      In New Orleans the Carnival season begins on January 6. It is also known as Twelfth Night. The season comes to a close on Fat Tuesday, but in between there are parties, balls, parades and fun.

            Mardi Gras in New Orleans is something everyone should experience at least once. There is nothing like it anywhere else. The entire city gets involved. The Krewe - this is the organization that puts together a specific parade. They select a theme and then sketches are created to bring that idea to life in the form of a float. The number of floats that will be a part of the parade depends on the number or members. Some parades have as little as ten floats and the larger Krewe’s can have up to 30 or more.

Some of the Krewes throw unique items, such as this stuffed animal.

The floats started out as paper mache coverings over wagon bases. As time went on and technology progressed so did the artist value of these floats. As newer Krewes came on to the scene fresher ideas were introduced and by the early 70’s something known as the Super Krewe was created. Endymion and Bacchus began the competition to see who would put on the better show.

Night time Parade goers throw their hands up for beads. "Throw me somethin' Mister." is the signature phrase. The beads that were thrown from the floats were once made out of glass and over time they were made out of plastic. It was a little less dangerous. Some terminology to know: Krewe beads are beads that have a medallion with the Krewe's name on it. Doubloons are coins with information about the Krewe. The theme of the parade, the year and if you're lucky you made get a special dabloon from the king, captain or one of the co captains. Some organizations have doubloons representing the Mardi Gras colors, purple, green and gold. Purple represents Justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. I'll be writing on the main blog about Mardi Gras ending on Tuesday just as it all comes to an end. I will include some of my favorite images and the stories behind them.

Find out more at http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by, keep an open mind.

December's Art

I've been working on these pieces for a couple of months. First the drawing was created. I had selected a frame many months ago and then when I was getting ready to work on the matting the glass broke. Something else took the spot and the drawings were just sitting there. About two weeks ago I began working on adding some color to the drawings and every so often I took a photograph to show the process. All of the drawings are different, but you get the idea. These photos do not reflect the finished pieces, but if you're interested let me know.

They all began as sketches and then outlined with a black marker. I liked the effect that came off with this as the drawing was draped on a chair.

This is part of a larger picture what I liked the pose and thought it was interesting. I also wanted to show the stages of going from the outline to adding color.

This is another drawing which is the third one before the finishing touches. All tree will hang side my side in a salute to fashion.

Thanks for stopping by, keep an open mind and let your creativity shine.

Painted ornaments

The above design is one that I did for a tee shirt many many years ago. It actually glowed in the dark. I decided I wanted to keep the design and I framed it.It was during my time of creating one of kind pieces of fashion and art. The image was inspired by a Nagel lithograph I saw in a book.



The above is a cross that I'm working on to give to someone as a gift. When I arrived in Austin I noticed that a lot of Hispanics have crosses on their walls and so a collection was formed as people were giving me crosses to hang. Then I started making them. I've always had a fascination with the crucifix.



These ribbons will adorn my Christmas tree once I am finished and I put the tree up. That will probably be the project for the weekend since it will be cold.

Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind. I hope to launch Nexx Fazz again and share some of my art tips via video.

Nagel Inspired

I was always fascinated by the female form and Nagel certainly captured that in his work. I first became familiar with this artist through his work in Playboy magazine. I found a book of some of his drawings in the 90's and I also purchased one of his lithographs that I found at a garage sale. I couldn't pass it up.

I continue to discover artists that I relate to or like the style of their work.

Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind.

Artist Trading Cards (ATC)

I'm not sure if I've mentioned Artist Trading Cards here or on my other blog, but I've been working on them for quite sometime. I've decided that I will have 50 that will be available for anyone that would like one. Some are already created for specific people. If you'd like to receive a card, send me your email address.
Send emails to Photo1960@aol.com and in the subject put artist trading card. If you see one that you like, let me know and if it isn't already reserved, I'll send it to you.
If you are an artist and you have an ATC let me know how I can get one of your cards.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Two new paintings

The beginning of the painting Venezia



Venezia



The beginning of the painting The Cross



The Blue Cross

My creative process seems to be unique. I don’t know of many people that can write a poem or create a piece of art in one sitting. It’s almost like a creative rant. I might write six or more poems and they’ll be good, but one or two will stand out and I will create a series around those two poems. I usually write poems that are several pages long. I rarely edit anything unless it doesn’t flow well. When I was with the New Orleans poetry forum I began calling the poetry that I did, “Poetry With An Attitude.”

My paintings are all different, but I’ve noticed a brush stroke technique that continues to be seen in my paintings, along with the colors that I use. My latest paintings I worked on at the same time. They began with a sketch on a piece of paper. I then decided I’d like to see how it would look as a painting. I was not sure where it would go. I just let the paint and my mind bring the image to life. They both have a surreal effect as well as seeing an image that the viewer can see.

Once I give my work a title then I don’t expect to explain its meaning. It is up to the viewer to make their own opinion. I realized a long time ago that art is not for everyone and either you get it or you don’t.

Thanks for stopping by; do come again. Keep an open mind.

http://www.dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=58144381
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=54325957
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=54365247