Through creation, I find a doorway into new worlds and technicolor utopias. My practice as an illustrator is that of creating portals to see into these dreamscapes. I bring objects from these undiscovered worlds back into our bleak reality. In bringing these artifacts to life, I invite others to abandon the confines of our physical reality and escape into a lucid dreaming state. My work manifests a sense of frivolity, whimsy, and a hint of delusion. Play is imperative to my process. Influenced by my background as a hairstylist and drag queen, I find curiosity in the spaces between wig-making and millinery. My practice typically involves hand sewing materials like flowers, feathers, and most recently jewelry, into wig caps to create maximalist illusory headpieces that vaguely resemble hair. These elements all work together to create an elaborate and astonishing game of pretend.
Where the Wild Flowers Are, 2022, Watercolor, ink, and color pencil, 15 x 20 in.
Fashion illustration of garments by Richard Quinn
Une Journée au Jardin, 2022, Watercolor and ink on left, marker and color pencil on right. 12 x 16 in, and 14 x 17 in.
The drawing on the left was prompted as "your idea of fashion illustration", and was our first assignment. The drawing on the right is a redo of the same drawing at the end of the semester.
Untitled, 2022, Marker, each drawing is 14x 17 in.
Cleo, Look At My Hair!, Vol 1, 2023, Found jewelry handsewn into a wig cap. Modeled by Mrs. Veronica Sinclair
Cleo, Look At My Hair!, Vol 2, 2023, Found jewelry handsewn into a wig cap. Modeled by Mrs. Veronica Sinclair
Chic, Look At My Hair!, Vol 3, 2023, Jewelry, false nails, sequins, and chains handsewn into a wig cap., photo by Zac Togami
Chic, Look At My Hair!, Vol 4, 2023, Jewelry, false nails, sequins, and chains handsewn into a wig cap., photo by Zac Togami
Chloe, Look At My Hair!, Vol 5, 2023, Jewelry, vinyl, and false nails handsewn into a wig cap., photo by Zac Togami
Chloe, Look At My Hair! Vol 6, 2023, Jewelry, vinyl, and false nails handsewn into a wig cap., photo by Zac Togami
Having been a drawing student through high school until graduating in 2015, I approached my fashion illustration course with a fresh fervor for illustration. Having a newfound understanding and appreciation for fashion illustration, and rediscovering my love for painting led to me often making illustrations more complex than necessary for no reason other than for a fun challenge. My final project, Where the Wild Flowers Are, was composed as a game of “How Complicated Can This Be?” by picking only head-to-toe printed looks with small minute details while operating within the framework and mode of my aesthetic.
Sewing unconventional materials into wig caps as an outsider’s approach to millinery is a technique I have worked with since 2019, my first year working behind the chair as a stylist. In the creation of the series of headpieces of Look At My Hair!, the project began as a response to a thought of hair as a treasure. Beginning in a space that sought to manipulate the jewelry into looking like hair, the project later turned into a game of achieving height and coverage. This challenge of moving away from the headspace while using a technique that so closely conforms to the head forced an evolution that expands the realm of possibility within this approach. Chloe sees a closer more technical handstitched manipulation of the jewelry that achieves height through the addition of gathered vinyl, while Cleo sees the hoop and clip-on earrings strategically stitched into the wig cap base in a way that makes them stand directly outward. Chic achieves height through a bridal headband tilted on its side and sewn into the wig cap to create the feeling of a tiara. The creation of this series has been eye-opening, thrilling, and aesthetically informative in my unfolding journey as a fashion student.