In an attempt to reach more customers I’m now posting some pieces on Etsy and some here on my website. My shop name on Etsy is Christian Joy Costumes. So if you’re shopping, look me up!
Surface Design
Surface design has always been a major part of my work. In the beginning of my costume design career I painted, stapled, and taped fake dollar bills to prom dresses and glittered the names of ex-boyfriends over blue satin skirts to create a collaged appearance that was messy and raw.
In 2005 I began working with custom screen printed fabrics in a desire to mimic Kansai Yamamotos’ bold looks for David Bowie. I also became fascinated with Japanese woodblock prints and the way the colors, patterns and flow of the line created movement within the work.
Screen printing became my go to technique for many looks. I loved the way a print bounced off stage and the idea that even a simple shape could become unique when brought to life with high contrast color combinations and sharp zig- zag designs.
In 2012 I was invited to show at the Diesel Gallery in Tokyo. I was showing five of Karen O’s costumes but the gallery also wanted pieces that could be sold, so for the first time I made prints on paper and canvas to be hung on a wall. This experience made me realize that more than creating clothing, what I loved more was painting, printing and collage. It was where my heart felt most at home.
These pieces are meant to represent my love of print and collage, bold color and the movement that can be created with shapes and tonal combinations
Iowa Joy at Secret Project Robot/ Summer 2018
Last summer I did a show at the DIY space Secret Project Robot, in Bushwick. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the space I didn’t get a lot of great photos. DIY spaces can be difficult because they’re not always well lit and there tends to be a lot of other stuff sort of hanging around in the space. Basically, it’s not a gallery so you’re just kind of going for it. However, Eric and Rachel are always so awesome and really great about supporting artists so it’s always a fun spot to show.
I didn’t have much time to put pieces together, just a month. I think i had asked about having an exhibition and then a bunch of other work came up so it didn’t give me a lot of time to make new pieces. I love a deadline though and the more hectic the better I seem to work. Of course that does not mean I want to work that way all of the time, but in most cases this tends to be the situation.
The concept for the show was my upbringing in Iowa and I called the show Iowa Joy, however I don’t feel like I was able, due to limited time, to really explore the whole concept. I mean that’s an idea I could explore for the rest of my life. I kind of skimmed the top and created a bunch of imagery using corn.
When I was a kid I used to detassel corn in the summer. I feel like i must have been only 12 or 13 when I did it, possibly older, but I think it must have been before I got a work permit at age 14. I’d get up every morning around 5:30 and go meet a school bus that would take us to the field and then from around 6:30 or 7:00 am until 3:00 pm we’d walk through huge fields detasseling corn. Sometimes, if the corn was tall enough, you’d take a tractor through, but you’d have to work much faster and be more aware. I’m a little surprised that they had such young kids doing the job. Here’s the basic definition of detasseling that I got from Wikipedia. Quite honestly I never knew what it did. I guess i didn’t pay enough attention.
“Detasseling corn is removing the immature pollen-producing bodies, the tassel, from the tops of corn (maize) plants and placing them on the ground. It is a form of pollination control,[1] employed to cross-breed, or hybridize, two varieties of corn.”
I also used as inspiration, Playtime Poppy, a giant ear of corn that was the mascot for a children’t theater in Iowa. This song still goes through my head although I never knew it to have so many lyrics.
“Playtime Poppy”
I’m a playtime, Playtime Poppy
A cornfield is where I was born.
I’m a playtime, Playtime Poppy
Happy little ear of corn!
I love to sing and dance and play
Most every kind of game.
The Children’s Theatre is my home
And Playtime Poppy is my name!
Oh I’m a playtime, Playtime Poppy
And never will I be forlorn.
We’ll have a great time with Playtime Poppy
Happy little ear of corn!
i remember feeling sort of bad about the show because I wasn’t able to put in enough time and effort. I spoke to a friend who is a professor at Parson’s and she gave me the best bit of advice. This is from an email that I wrote to her asking again for the advice so that I could remember it for the future.
“Yes, it's actually a two-part piece of advice. The first part is that you just have to get some work out there for people to see. It doesn't have to represent your final, completed creative process. Rather, your life's work is that thought process. You will have time to review and revise what you present in the next body of work you make. The second part is that releasing work into the public often makes it easier to see it and reflect on it. Sometimes when you're making it, you're too in it and can't really see the forest through the trees. When it's out there, it gives you a different perspective, helps you push the bigger project along. Each project is part of a bigger goal.”
Even though I feel like I just hit the tip of the iceberg with Iowa Joy it’s actually a continuation of my previous work, but told using the basic imagery of the Iowa landscape. I’ve realized as I’ve re-read the statement from my friend that my work has always been told from the point of view of my Iowa upbringing and since the beginning I’ve used the examples of growing up with little money and using creativity as a necessity. I’ ll explore this more in my next post.
Here are some photos from the show. Some are in my studio and some are at Secret Project Robot. I also tried to incorporate my love for capes into the show and used corn cobs with stars and lightning bolts to reflect my costume design work.
Iowa Joy, my alter ego.
This cape looks a little drunk to me so it’s the drunk dude cape. The soda can is from Aldi’s in the 1980’s. I ordered a set of 4 on Ebay. We always drank Aldi’s pop (Iowa for soda).
The Corn Cape. I used the same methods for this cape as I did for Karen O’s Hand Cape from It’s Blitz
I made these pieces about a week before my show. They were inspired by Iowa summers, the quiet, being lost in the flow of energy as you ride your bike, and the tornadoes that would change the color of the sky to unearthly tones and swoop in with great gushes to create frightening near misses that were soothed by my mom’s belief that God would spare us.
August 20th, Thread Drawings
In June I spent three weeks in LA looking after a friend’s dog. I am very enthusiastic about LA at the beginning of every stay and my husband and I always talk about moving there. This time finally felt like the right moment and we began looking at neighborhoods but It only took one time for me to realize that no, I couldn’t just hop on the bus or subway or walk home, I would have to catch an Uber. I hate taking Uber’s especially in places that I don’t know well. I get that they have GPS but I just feel weird about being in a car with someone I don’t know. Oddly, I actually feel safer in a regular cab and also I feel better in NY because I know the routes well. Needless to say I won’t be moving to LA anytime soon, but I did have an amazing time reconnecting with old friends whom I love dearly.
The place where I stayed in LA had a really lush and magical backyard with a tree growing up through the deck and dense and fragrant plant life that made you feel enclosed in your own secret world. It felt good especially after being in NYC where it was hot, sticky, stinky, grey and loud.
Normally, I work nearly everyday either laying down an image to an ongoing piece or experimenting with new ideas. My main mode of creating is screen printing and over the years I’ve developed ways to print without having to burn new screens which can get very expensive if you don’t have your own set up. I either use construction paper or sticky paper to create stencils and then lay down the image onto canvas. I don’t really have a set up for printing meaning that i don’t do any registering of prints. I sort of just lay the canvas on the table and go for it.
i developed a love for printing around 2006 when I was creating new costumes for Karen O for the Show Your Bones tour. I remember looking at the costumes Kansai Yamamoto created for David Bowie and realizing that creating your own textiles was a good way to keep a look singular. Now it’s a major part of every ensemble. I love the way a graphic print looks on stage and how a textile can tell a story.
As my love for printing grew I began to collect books on the subject and some of my favorite go-to’s were books from the 1960’s and 70’s on textile printing. This one in particular is still a favorite of mine just based off the amazing photos of textiles in nature.
It’s always been a dream of mine to have a place where I could set up outside and print and the house where I stayed finally gave me that opportunity. I set up a table and a clothes line and watched my prints dry in the warm sun and flap in the wind.
I happened to also have my sewing machine with me, an old Pfaff that weighs a ton but does the job better than anything new. I bought it for $300 off Ebay. It needed a minor repair but I have to say if you need a machine and can’t afford an expensive one buy an old one off Ebay. The new plastic ones fall apart in no time and it’s difficult to sew anything more than a light cotton.
Out of my studio and in a new, slightly more confined space. (I don’t mind making a mess in my own space but I want to be respectful of friends homes) I began to create with the tools i had with me and I began to experiment with drawing with my sewing machine.
Drawing has never been my strong suit. My brothers drew like crazy when we were growing up but I was never interested and even now it feels like a chore. I’ve also realized over the years that I’m better with cutting out shapes. Somehow I can see the image more clearly when i’m using an Exacto knife or scissors. The same goes with the sewing machine. What I’m actually drawing with the machine is fairly exaggerated and undefined and really meant to compliment the print but the combo has turned into something I really love. Stitching a line creates the same clean, graphic style that I desire most.
i also had a show up while I was in LA at the OHYA Gallery owned by my friend and former Liars drummer Julian Gross. For the closing show I exhibited some of the new pieces I created during my time in LA in the magic garden.
August 5, 2019 Painting
So as I mentioned in the previous post I began painting at the end of January 2019. I basically discovered that I just needed to find my own form for painting. I love a graphic line and I love lots of color and shapes. I like to create with shapes. I've never been much for drawing and I feel like I can express myself best when i can cut out paper or cardboard. Even when I screen print I mainly print using stenciled shapes. So, I decided to use the same methods for painting as I was using for creating the cut out cardboard characters. I began by cutting pieces of cardboard to create a character or shape and then using it as a stencil for the painting. I guess it’s probably more like coloring in a coloring book. I layout the painting by drawing around each shape and then when it’s assembled I fill it in with color.
The painting below, called “This Love Lasts Forever” was created when I began to think about how we can hold onto the ones we love even after their passing. I was trying to create these beings that would always seem singular like they could always be identified as you or as part of your world. i thought about avatars and living forever inside the internet. I thought of these beings drifting through tubes and wires and living like microscopic water bears. This painting is about never losing someone you love. They’re part of you like stardust.
This Love Lasts Forever
I hit a real five pitch once i realized that I could indeed actually paint and I began to create one painting after another rising early in the morning to work. These paintings are mainly about these clawed, humped and somewhat amphibious or alien robot creatures loving one another or falling through space.
I also began to post works on process on my Instagram which was a learning lesson. A lot of people responded to the half made works but then less to the fully realized pieces which could have something to do with the algorithm. However, the people who were commenting were people who’s tastes I very much trusted. It made me think that maybe I needed to leave things with a bit more space. My desire is to always fill the entire space. It just feels good. So, I’ve quit posting the half made pieces, but I still desire the compliments of my peers.
I feel like this sort of creating and then it immediately being presented to the world has happened to me before when I began to make Karen O’s costumes. I had just begun to experiment with making clothes and then suddenly they were in magazines. i look back on it now and it was almost like presenting your freshman year collection. The only difference is that when I was making those first prom dresses I was 26 and I was just kind of going for it like the rest of my friends. No one cared that I had no idea what I was doing and i though it was hilarious. Now I’m 45 and because i feel like I have an awareness of what makes good art i feel a deal more insecure, but fuck it. It’s better to put stuff out there and have it crushed or praised then hide it away.
This painting below has given me a great deal of insecurity because part of me feels that it’s too naive but another part really fucking loves it so much. I think what’s tripping me up is that it seems too joyful. Hahhahahaha! Why on earth would that ever be a problem? But how many really happy paintings have you seen? I can’t think of many. Anyway, this is one of the last paintings I’ve created in awhile. I’ve made others but none that I really love. I’ve been printing a lot. I loooove to print. I’ll talk about that the next time.
July 31, 2019 Cardboard and Stuffed Creatures
It’s another hot day here in NYC, but i have to say not as near as it has been. We’re lucky to have a cool (ish) day. The summer is slow as summer is meant to be. I’ve started to update my website and I’ve decided to use this blog to talk a bit more about my work. I make work all of the time and many times it just gets thrown up on Instagram where i don’t feel like i can really speak about it. (I’m not a fan of long captions. )
At the end of January of this year (2019) I began to paint. I had never painted before although I guess a lot of people have mentioned that some of the layered prints I’ve made could qualify as paintings, but this was my first time actually brushing paint to canvas. It began after I had read the Jerry Saltz article “How to Be an Artist” in New York Magazine. Here’s the link if you want to check it out. https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/jerry-saltz-how-to-be-an-artist.html I know I’ve been creating for a long time now but that doesn’t mean I don’t need some inspiration and encouragement. One of the suggestions he gave was to copy something by your favorite artist (or something along those lines). I had been obsessed with this giant cardboard cut out by Claes Oldenburg that I had seen at his show at the MOMA in NYC. When my husband and I saw it we were both totally blown away because we only knew Oldenburg’s soft sculptures. Here is a photo but I think it doesn’t really show the size well. It’s the dude on the right that I loved so much.
So I decided to try to make my own version.
The first one looked like a robot or android. I have an obsession with otherworldly creatures.
These are the 2nd and 3rd versions. They’re all hot glued together and I began to realize that there would be nowhere to put them. They’re each about 8 feet tall. My husband and I now sleep with them in our bedroom. They’re sort of our protectors i guess.
Next I began to make some moveable pieces. I put them together with brads, but I have to say they’re not the greatest either. I haven’t really made too many since then because I’m running out of space and I’m worried they’re going to get wrecked in my storage space. I really prefer the hot glued pieces but I think I may also try some industrial strength Velcro.
Finally i’d had enough of the cardboard (which by the way is everywhere now so if you need a cheap project just walk down the street.) so I decided to make a soft sculpture. I’m beginning to realize that perhaps Claes realized the same thing I did and wanted something that would last. But first here is a weird headpiece I made at the Painted Cloud in a class taught by Nick DeMarco a master of cardboard. It was meant to be turned into a paper mache but It would have taken way too long and I didn’t want to bring it home so i threw it in a dumpster.
Here is the soft sculpture it’s in many iterations. I can’t stand to keep anything minimal or white even though sometimes I feel like it might look best. it’s just not my thing. i like color too much.
Anyway, creating these pieces made me realize I could paint . I’ll talk about that more in the next post.