A few weeks back, the news was broken to me that a kendo party I was to attend, was infact a fancy dress occasion. I was mortified!
To my shame, at the age of 30, I still have to be dragged kicking and screaming to shop for new clothes, I loathe dresses and for the entire duration I am forced to wear a 'smart' outfit, I complain endlessly, sulk and task myself with spoiling everyones day.
So, as you can well imagine, wearing fancy dress is not my idea of fun (even though I must own up to delighting in small children and dogs being stuffed into ridiculous outfits).
In a cold panicked sweat, I began frantically researching nautical-themed costume possibilities.
My options included:
Don't dress up at all: The most desirable and comfortable option but I risk looking like a very bad sport indeed.
Mermaid: Displaying copious amounts of white flesh so late in the year could be chilly and slightly upsetting for the other guests.
Sailor: A sensible choice with not too much fuss involved. Unfortunately, my fiancé had the idea first and with his slim, tall frame, would look far better than me in the costume.
Person being eaten by a shark: The very real fear that even an XXL shark costume could not fit something my size into it's sharp maws.
Pirate: I guessed this would be another popular choice and feel I lack the flamboyance to effectively pull it off.
A fish: The thought of squeezing like a fat sausage into a shiny, scaly, obscenely skin tight ensemble was a revolting thought even for me.
Seaweed: Fast running out of ideas now.
Jellyfish: EUREKA!!!!!!!! Jellyfish are COOL!!!!
With an umbrella, 3 million staples, needles and thread, bubble wrap, several meters of iridescent fabric, reels of ribbons and some patience, I managed to cobble together my very own jellyfish. The most wonderful part of the whole costume was that I could wear my scruffy old jeans and t shirt underneath, hidden by the swaying tendrils. What a cunning interpretation of a fancy dress costume, if I say so myself. Amazingly, I must add, I won a bottle of prosecco and a super-cute, Sensei-signed fish hat for the best costume prize of the night.
Here is a photo of me modelling the outfit in the garden (yes my neighbours are no longer surprised at the bizarre things that go on at our house) and a small video of my jellyfish floating in a pretend sea.
Whilst researching my costume I became rather captivated (and more than just a little obsessed) with the magical colours and beautiful sweeping shape of the jellyfish. Thus I began creating more jellyfish………..
An attempt at improving my digital art work.
A pencil study
A little feltie Jelly
Something from last year, but hey it has jellyfish, so onto the blog it goes.
All images Copyright HKJ
