Studio-Phoenix Blogspot

Friday, January 20, 2012

Jillian Maslow: Q&A

S.P-Cover #3

Jillian Maslow: Q & A. Photos and interview by K.K.W

Educated in NYC and Paris, her work has been exhibited and published internationally. With a background in custom couture tailoring, millinery, and now coming into her own more then ever, its hard to believe she was Pre-med in college. She recently finished her involvement in the filming of "24 hour Catwalk" which is currently airing on Lifetime network. 8 of her stylish hats will be featured on the show.

SP: I recently caught up with Jillian @ The Flatiron Hotel, then we walked over to the lounge @ Ristorante "Aselina", for a beer & a bite.

Ristorante "Aselina"

Ristorante "Aselina", Ahi tuna tartare
with robiola cheese, black truffle
and spring onions.

The amazing Jillian Maslow, photo by K.K.W

SP: What got you to start pursing design and fashion seriously?

JM: I started out in pre-med, loved math and science, but was very jealous of the artists and creative people around me. I was a closet sewer:) So I transfered from Suny Purchase University, to F.I.T(Fashion institute of Technology).

SP: when it comes to art, influences are all around, what's one of your strongest?

JM: Alexander Calder. His work always induces happiness, it reminds me of the magic of art.

SP: How did you get involved with "24 hour catwalk"?

JM: I answer the Ad for the show, and did the pilot for it last Oct, it was more or less for the money, but I think its great and the contacts I've made are wonderful. Later on they called and said the show would be on the air.

SP: What do you like about it the most?

JM: It was a tiring situation, but to meet others who have similar skills and passions is amazing. Its great to be in a place with people like that. And the networking has been really helpful.

SP: Any side benefits to speak of?

JM: I got to work on "World of Jenks"(more on air sewing)and "The revolution" with Tim Gunn, behind the scenes stuff. Networking has been really great.

SP: Your gown 'Target:Peace', the best part of the "No Comment" exhibit, any interest events surrounding it?

JM: Bill Shipsey wanted it to be involved with a campaign against small arms, "Control arms"-Amnesty international. But the whole thing was put on hold for a vote until 2012. Also its going to be in a photoshoot in the desert, which will involve stop motion, where you see gun-power residue build up and it turn into flowers, war into peace.

SP: Jillian, great interview & thanks so much for taking the time, I know your very busy. If you would like to know more, go to:www.jillianmaslow.com "24 hour Catwalk" is on Thursdays @ 10 pm on Lifetime and features Jillian as one of the on-air seamstresses in 8 of the 10 episodes, each time wearing on of her amazing hats. "Art is the reason, art is the way"

Jillian Maslow,
Photo by K.K.W

'Target:Peace' by
Jillian Maslow,
Photo by K.K.W

Jillian Maslow,
Photo by K.K.W

The amazing
Jillian Maslow,
Photo by K.K.W

Jillian Maslow

S.P-Cover #3

Jillian Maslow: the talented, the amazing, the wonderful. Article & photos By K.K.W

Walk down the right street in New York City and you can find anything. At the time, it was Wall street, the "No Comment" exhibition in support of the "Occupy Wall street" protesters(Oct 2011). Before then I wouldn't have thought 48 lb's of bullets and 'dog tags' could be made into a gown; but then again Jillian Maslow is no ordinary designer, or woman for that matter.

The Amazing
Jillian Maslow.
Photo by K.K.W

'Target:Peace'(the gown in question)was by far the most interesting, innovative, engaging piece at the exhibition. A perfect expression of style and social commentary. "Based in NYC, Jillian designs art which provokes awareness and thought, through unconventional means"[1]. You can see in Maslows creations the same inventiveness, creative impulse, and daring of Charles Frederick Worth, Caroline Reboux, Coco Chanel, Amy Goodheart, Sanja Velickovic, Erin Schultz, Olga Mill, Adrianne Carney, or Melani Dimitrovska.

Her gown 'Target:Peace' in many ways is a visual representation of the great changes that came about between W.W1 & W.W2, and after the second. Many great changes in society and fashion are often the result of war. Her gown proposes an inventive non-violent use for ammunition, which I've seen in slight ways before, but never as cool and sexy as this. Of course you can also see the spirit of the late twentieth century fashion: 'The spectacle'. 'Don't Fret', another gown is made of 2,531 guitar picks and a lot of brass. Its inspired by a 1930 bias silk gown. The look is stunning as it is some-what revealing, stylish and powerful. The color choice of the picks and the material their made of works with the design, allowing its color to be slightly altered by the light hitting its surface.

Aside from all this there's a highly sensual undercurrent to Maslow's 'sculptural gowns', a playfulness seeking to draw you into a fantastic world were art, fashion, political/social commentary, and sex intersect and become one. And then of course there's the music connection, lets not by-pass that. "Art is the reason, art is the way". Jillians designs also include millinery confections-'love owl's, fox heads, olives, tomatoes, articulated gloves, and many more'. Her amazing hats run the spectrum from casual-cool to the spectacular, but always with great care, design and style. Jillian Maslow is without a doubt one of New York's finest. A truly talented, amazing, beautiful, extraordinary woman.

"With a background in custom couture tailoring and millinery, Jillian's avant•garde creations take the form of 3-dimensional assemblages blending couture fashion silhouettes, precision craftsmanship and common objects with powerful themes.

Two sculptural gowns recently exhibited in NYC galleries include, 48lbs of bullet shells & dogtags in 'TARGET:PEACE!' and 2,351 guitar picks linked together in 'DON'T FRET'. Her millinery confections include love owls, fox heads, olives, tomatoes, articulated gloves, and many more! JiLLiANMASLOWhats.com.

In 2012 look for Jillian's hats in Marie Claire magazine (Spring 2012 issue, 2 hats), and 8 new hats featured on Lifetime's 24 Hour Catwalk. Jillian's costumes are also featured in the eagerly anticipated music video by THIS IS FIREHORSE (Leah Siegel)"[2]. If you would like to know more, go to:www.jillianmaslow.com "Art is the reason, art is the way" #1&2 taken from Jillian Maslow's website.

'Target: Peace' by Jillian Maslow.
Photo by K.K.W

The Amazing
Jillian Maslow.
Photo by K.K.W

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Ratka Bogdan-Sailboat

This months cover,
photo by K.K.W, taken @
the D.I.Y show at Dash Gallery,
Sept 2010. Topcon Auto 100,
56mm lens Ilford 400 film

Ratka Bogdan: "Sailboat", by K.K.W

"...Sometimes I wonder who was that stubborn donkey that godfathered our half-awakened agony?"(from "A day after" pg 26) Perfectly wonderful, deeply sentimental in a personally touching way, while giving rise to similar feelings deep within. Ratka Bogdan's "Sailboat" is an extraordinary collection of poems.

Ratka Bogdan, photo courtesy of the artist.

Ranging from playfully thoughtful("Idyllic night")to seriously personal, or critically hilarious-"...All it takes is two fingers down your throat, then all the bad stuff's out"(from "Relieve"). Through her poems you can see she's commenting on social situations that crossed her path, speaking about herself, or her environment. Some are elegantly sensual, or have that feel within its context. The poems are imbued with the strength of her zeal for life, so much so that the words take on a life all there own, from the page to your mind. Along with the poems there are amazing abstract illustrations by the artist Irena Andonova(http://studiophoenix.blogspot.com/2011/09/irena-andonova-beatutiful-art.html).

Bogdans poems are the product of a mind that's obviously sharp, very perceptive, and in-touch with its environment. She's able to see something in almost anything, extract and interpret its greater meaning, from the lofty to the seemingly mundane, or the everyday. The reflection on the surface of a cup of coffee, or the gleam in the eye of a small bird. "Sailboat" is the reflection, and reverberations of her life and times. Its like her, truly amazing. At some point its no longer just poetry, it becomes a meditative journey.

"I cut the lunar crescent, from the sketchbook and go on searching, for the unknown challenge, illuminated by the glow of the spotlight, infused with passion from the sip of Thalia's cup, in the labyrinth of corridors, of the magic temple. Sweet dilemma, awakened the uncertainty, that waits in vain from behind the curtains, with a rising heat, that electrifies the senses with excitement. O, the power in the applause, that ignites the wonderful ripples, of the heart...Beautiful sweet sounding harmony, and a tide of feelings, that wash over me".("Applause", pg 12).

"There are days- The bitterness burns your taste buds, the decay leaves you hungry for change, you are sickened by the stale smell... Listen, why squirm with nausea then? All it takes is two fingers down your throat, then all the bad stuff's out"("Relieve", pg 22).

Ratka Kolev Damjanovic-Bogdan was born in 1965 in Radovis, Macedonia, she immigrated with her husband and son to south Africa then Florida, U.S.A in an attempt to escape the economic and political instability of Yugoslavia(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslavia) in the late 1990's. She started writing poetry when she was eight years old and got her first poem published in a children's magazine. During her senior year in H.S she hand wrote in a notebook, her first length poetry collection of heartfelt stanzas. That original volume was recently expanded with more life inspired poems and finally published under the symbolic title "Sailboat: sailing through the ocean of life". If you would like to know more, go to:www.facebook.com/pages/Ratka-Bogdan/174707729280635?ref=ts, or to purchase a copy of "Sailboat": http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-0104381049/Sailboat-Sailing-Through-the-Ocean-of-Life.aspx or:www.amazon.com/Sailboat-Sailing-Through-Ocean-Life/dp/1465368795/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326651619&sr=1-1&fb_source=message "Art is the reason, art is the way"

Ratka Bogdan, photo courtesy of the artist

From the album "promocija Korab/Jedrnjak/
Sailboat, Skopje. Photo courtesy of the artist.

From the album "promocija Korab/Jedrnjak/
Sailboat, Skopje. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Thats Irena Andonova with short-cut
blonde hair. She created the abstract
illustrations for the book.

"Ragjanje", tush vo boja
19x29 cm. This is one of
the abstract illustrations for the book,
by Irena Andonova.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Abede lovelace-T.E.M.C

This months cover,
photo by K.K.W, taken @
The D.I.Y show at
Dash Gallery Sept 2010.
Topcon auto 100, 56mm lens,
Ilford 400 film.

Abede Lovelace: T.E.M.C (The Earth Man Chronicle's). By K.K.W

Abede lovelace, photo
courtesy of the artist.

He's lived in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. He's seen the sun rise over the Mediterranean and roamed the beautiful night-time streets of Paris. A graduate of S.V.A(school of visual arts), he is one of the strongest supporters of comics, one of its toughest critic's, and an amazing artist.

Main Character from T.E.M.C,
"The Earth Man". Image
courtesy of Artist.

SP: Where did you get the idea for the chronicles?

AL:
The Chronicles originally came about many years ago. At the time it had no name or structure just an awesome idea!! A good friend of mine actually came up with the premise. We were walking down the strip on the west side, over by where Tirbeca officially begins and China Town ends. We were talkin and he says that he had this idea for an amazing story. So he spits me this concept. The whole crux of the concept for me revovles around this being a Superman level character but the concept and the world was gritty and definitive; like our shared sensibilites. Literally the instant he pitched me the concept my mind started racing and we broke out into full development of the idea as we were walking. We never got further then that though. But the thing was so fresh that it was all still very much remembered by both of us. So fast forward many, many years later and I have now turned the corner and in the process of completing my first mini series and I have this visceral compulsion to start my next project more or less. I felt that I finally was ready to do a project which was a super power based story and immediately almost in the same moment, I knew that I wanted and was going to do the Chronicles(which still had no name). And now began the task of actually building and creatings the series. From story to characters, to structure and format, to history, the whole damn thing! ha ha ha.

SP: The story seems more action oriented then "City of Walls",

do you think that's a result of having worked on a story that's more drama?

AL: Not really. It certainly has an effect in terms of certain structural or format decision's. But all those are surface, nothing in terms of actual story and character." City of Walls" is a drama and I am very happy about that. The Chronicles are action oriented but its still dramatic, that's the glue that gives the action impact.

SP:  What's the basics of the story-line so far?

AL:  Hmmm how to do this without spoilers. Well the underlying force of the series is time and change. You have a man who at his lowest point after losing basically everything but his life, undergoes a quite miraculous journey at the end of which he has become much more then a man. In fact he is no longer a mortal man at all; and when he and his new found powers are discovered the reaction is immediate and violent. So that you have this situation in a world where too often, might makes right, is confronted with a force that is truly mighty!

SP:  Are there any elements of the story that separate the chronicles

from conventional sci-fi/action stories?

AL:  That's hard to say really. I definitely think so, but I'm the creator so I am biased. ha hah. I think what separates it most are the very real world physics of the series. Our main character is not a hero or even an anti-hero for that matter. In fact when u are introduced to him in the first Chronicle he is a soldier. And as a soldier his ideals on right and wrong and how one deals with ones enemies are that of a military man, at war, fighting for his side! And this soldier in particular happens to have powers akin to a demigod. But he still thinks, and often acts both fortunately and unfortunately like a man. Which makes for some potentially horrible consequences. I think that's the big difference. The world of the Chronicles mirrors the extreme, complex and disjointed world we ourselves live in. Very little is black and white; so very much is relative to the given characters point of view.There are definitely story and plot elements that are unique, how he gets his powers, the format of the series, which is out of sequence, but in time. But the real heart of the series which I think will make it stand out are the very real world physics of the environment itself and the entities involved. What happens when a mortal man finds himself with the powers of a god but still the mindset of a man of his time? What happens when the world reacts in a predictably fearful and violent fashion? And, what happens then when this man-like god then reacts and declares war on earth? Everything is on the table. And I think that, and my skills as an artist are what the series will thrive on.

SP:  Will the chronicles be a series, or just a mini-story included in "City of Walls",

or on its own?

AL:  The Chronicles are completely separate from "City of Walls". The First Chronicle does make a cameo in one of the upcoming issues in the series. But it does so literally as a comic book one of the characters are reading. Just me having some fun and continuing a story telling dynamic in "City of Walls" that I've been doing since the beginning of that particular series. But other then that there is no relation between the 2 series. The Chronicles are an on going series without a real predetermined length. I know what happens and more or less how this journey eventually does end but the story takes place over a LONG time. And the format is moment to moment orientated; which allows me to really pick and choose my spots so that I can really dive into the many facets of this world and whats happening. From the seemingly mundane and unimportant stuff to the explosive battles to the very dramatic character moments. And again the format allows me to touch it all without the pressure of a categorically sequential narrative. I think it will make the series very engaging because the reader will get to taste everything and enjoy all the aspects and variables in the story; instead of potentially being mired down in a long but needed plot and character development, stunned or shell shocked into apathy by endless over the top fighting sequences.

SP: Lovelace, that was a great interview, and I'm looking forward to reading T.E.M.C and seeing it grow. Cheers! and thanks for taking time.

If you would like to know more, go to:www.facebook.com/earthmanchronicles "Art is the reason, art is the way"

T.E.M.C, image courtesy of the artist.