Engaged, Married, Thrilled!

Time has passed since my last entry, but so much has happened! With a joyous wedding having taken place, I can now return to my blog - a happy, refreshed, marvelously married woman. I also want to take this opportunity to feature a few of the engagement photos that our dear friend Brittany Oswald took, just a week before the wedding - Matt and I couldn't be more thrilled. But first, the nuptials...


Matt and I were married on June 12, at the Unity Church on Greenville Avenue. The ceremony was officiated by Matt's youth minister, Andy Stoker - he was wonderful. Surrounded by our loved ones, and accompanied by our closest friends and family in the wedding party, the event was incredibly beautiful. And now for the creative, blog-focused aspect of the wedding - the gown!


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was miraculously fortunate enough to acquire exquisite materials for the gown - silk duchesse satin, crepe and impeccable soutache lace went into the construction. The pattern itself is an alteration of a late 1990s Simplicity costume design, based on the film "Titanic" - the piece is affectionately called the "swim dress". The veiling tulle arrived the morning of the wedding - I whipped up a piece immediately. Although you cannot see it well here, the headpiece is a band of petersham ribbon, trimmed with vintage earrings and nazar boncuk charms.


The gown is a bit more visible here - you can also see more of the bodice front, finished with my late mother's antique cameo. Matt's handsome, circa 1938 tailcoat tuxedo is just marvelous - our dear friend Robert stands to my left. He provided the ragtime selections for our ceremony, and the exquisite lilies I carried down the aisle. I was lucky enough to find the perfect satin heels at David's Bridal - I had them dyed to match the gown, and finished them with petersham ribbons (ideal for fox trotting). I'm very proud of this piece - the hand-finishing through the lining is wonderful, and the fit is perfect. Just enough of an architectural nature to shape the body into that ideal, late Edwardian silhouette.




And now back in time, to see the engagement photos! Brittany Oswald is a deeply gifted photographer, and her sense of aesthetic came into full play with our shoot. We started out in Oak Cliff, a Dallas neighborhood - a lakeside park served us perfectly. We brought along our own props - as you can see, our love of vintage musical instruments, phonographs, antiques and ephemera tends to follow us around! Despite the simmering Texas heat, we had a great time in the park... Brittany had us laughing (and spooning) to beat the band...



Funny enough, until now I had forgotten that this dress is one I made two years ago. A Vintage Vogue reprint of a 1950s pattern, in white eyelet - one of my favorites. And now to the next location, Curiosities - an eclectic antique shop in the Lakewood neighborhood!



We changed beforehand - Matt into his 1920s beltback suit, and I into my walkaway dress (another one made at home). In this environment, we wanted a truly Technicolor experience, and we surely achieved that!



The above shot was initially unexpected - I had bumped into the corset just before, and in my enthusiasm, tried it on. Brittany hopped in as Matt lifted his cuff to show off his garters (an enormous weakness of mine) - and I lifted my skirt in a sense of unity. A power couple? You tell us.


I'll include the last photo - in fact a completely candid one, taken at Campisi's, a local Italian restaurant. This was between locations, giving us a chance to cool down and have a nibble. Matt did exactly that, and Brittany caught the moment.



He is an utterly wonderful man, and such a joy to be married to. Here's to an enchanting life together! And, for good measure - a photo of us, at the Singapore Slingers performance that took place three days after the wedding. Matt's playing "Mariutch" on the Baldoni accordion, and I'm doing a hootchy-kootchy dance, while wearing a circa 1912 bathing suit, and early 1930s egret fascinator. Such a beautiful life...

The Home Stretch!

At last, Matt and I are pleased to announce the newest member of the Tolentino family! As dyed-in-the-wool independent artists, we refer, of course, to the new Singapore Slingers CD, "When Summer is Gone". The album features a marvelous collection of works dating from the late 1800s to the 1930s - the orchestra sounds superb, and I'm awfully proud of the cover art:


As it happened, Matt and I both had this image in mind before discussing the matter - a like-minded couple, to be sure. While I've seen my work on many types of publications/media, this is my first album cover, and I couldn't be more pleased that it's Matt's first industry-standard CD.


And so, on to our news from New Orleans! Although the real reason for our road trip was for Matt to play at two gigs in Florida, our souls were thrilling for weeks beforehand - not only to see New Orleans, but to meet Matt's oriental foxtrot idol, George Schmidt. As a founding member of the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra (PLEASE look them up, their work is exquisite), Mr. Schmidt would surely have so much to share about music history, the character of his city, as well as art - he's also a wonderful historic painter.

We had no idea how delightfully enthusiastic, creative, and hilariously wacky George would end up. We were blessed with several audiences at his Julia Street gallery, talking about nearly everything under the sun - the aforementioned music, history and art - but included too were good cocktails, fine foods, embroidered underwear, public reactions to the orchestra's often politically-incorrect tunes, the importance of "educated amusement" (George considers himself the "Adolf Hitler of fun"), the woeful lack of nitrous oxide in modern dentistry... and, well, myriad other subjects. We were also treated to a sneak preview of the orchestra's upcoming CD - a joyful and surreal moment, in that our own album was still on the presses, being manufactured. At our final visit, Matt brought along his Petosa, and serenaded George with favorite rags and foxtrots. Jack Stewart, a fellow NLOFTO member, stopped in to watch the shenanigans. George sang "Palesteena" as Matt played - a photo will have to stand in, until I can upload the clip:


It's doubtful I've seen anyone sing with such animation - this is a man with a great sense of passion for life. In retrospect, I can see why I immediately had such a fondness for George - he reminds me deeply of my late father, who was full of wonderful stories, endless humor and joy. George treated us to several of the orchestra's albums, and I promised a good handful of voodoo lilies for the courtyard garden behind the gallery, as well as a more personalized gift. I'll be making a sheik's robe for Matt after the wedding, and offered to create one for George, too - he was thrilled, of course. In all, New Orleans was incredible - and I promise to write a blog about its uplifting, creative energy. But on to other matters!


Over the next two weeks, I'll be in garment heaven - I've at last found the materials for my wedding gown. And how. Yesterday brought news both positive and negative - one of the only fine fabric stores in town closed its doors for good, after 40 years in business. An upsetting loss, as it becomes more and more difficult to find couture-grade materials... but there was a silver lining. I managed to pick up scintillating duchesse satin, crepe and lace for my wedding gown - there wouldn't have been the slightest possibility of my doing so at retail cost. Everything in the store was 90% off, so Matt and I went a little crazy, snapping up yardage for future use. But what excites me at the moment is that I can push ahead with my gown... and it will be even more beautiful in its ragtime-era simplicity than I had ever expected. The lace alone, shown above, makes me melt...

So if I lag a little, it's because our wedding is less than three weeks off, and we are in the Home Stretch! However, I'll do what I can to post that clip of Matt and George - it's WELL worth viewing. If I don't hop by beforehand, look for engagement/wedding photos in a few weeks - I'll be posting them here!

Bit by Bit, it Comes to Fruition!

At long last, our wedding invitations are being processed! This took a tad longer than I'd planned, but nearly every step has taken place in-house - the illustration, layout, printing, addressing, and mailing. I'm very happy with the results:

I decided to represent our union with a decorated Edison "Opera" model cylinder player - Matt and I crave early popular music - and the RSVP card features elements of Coney Island - the Steeplechase pavilion, Parachute Jump and a Traver Circle Swing ride. This is what happens when two old-world nuts get together and make a noble go of it - we know how to throw a captivating party, and create more-than-suitable invitations for it.

Meantime, another Slingers show took place on February 2nd... enjoy the following photos, taken by Thomas Garza (tgarza, on smugmug.com). A gal needs to step away from her drawing board from time to time, after all - no better way to do that than with a Charleston and mooch dance. As well, just for good measure, I thought it would be sensible to include at least one photo of my handsome fiance´ - sporting the aforementioned Odd Fellows Hall hat. You don't put forth the effort of such a restoration for Nothing, you know. As a deeply endearing aside, I should mention that Matt is holding my late father's conducting baton - he has led the last two Slingers performances with it. And although my pop was much more classically-oriented, I'm sure he would have been thrilled to know that his baton is still keeping rhythm. Here's to you, Tom Bennignus...

The Hunt is On...

This morning, a moment to check in, and state that I've given up my otherwise frugal practices... in order to go lamp-hunting. I've gotten as far as I can in the sketching phase, and finally admitted to myself that I'm spoiled, and require a halogen-based, magnifying affair on my work desk to proceed to the ink stage.

What's funny about this is the true nature of the spoilage... both of my lamps, before their timely deaths just prior to my Dallas relocation, served me well - but were salvaged from trash bins at the start. I never quite took them for granted, despite the low cost of investment, but hadn't considered the inevitable feat of replacing them someday. They showed up like Manna from Heaven - perfectly-suited accessories to my work. So, off to Ikea today, to get moving along with The Hunt.

A random, silly post I know - but I won't pass an opportunity to post a drawing or two, every couple of days. Here's to the next one - Success in the Invitation Department.

From 2 to 3 - An Illustration Becomes an Ornament

Tonight, I'll have a bit of fun by featuring one of my pieces that was fortunate enough to make the leap from being a work on paper, to a beautiful little Christmas ornament. In other words, I was responsible for the initial design - it graduated from that point into another artisan's hands, to bloom into a more solid, tangible object. Thus, from 2 to 3. Dimension, you know.

It all started with this charming drawing - a bride and groom, celebrating their first Christmas together...
The illustration was designed with relative simplicity - minimal shading, clean silhouette and an absence of detailed embellishment (particularly on the bride's gown). Imagine my delight upon seeing what the sculptor accomplished with my work:

Although admittedly an amount of the subtlety is lost, the overall effect is great fun to behold. The ornament was made through a technique known as "puffed" metal - two layers are bonded along the edges, making a relief-style object. This ornament, measuring just under four inches tall, was part of Waterford Crystal's "Giddies" collection - named after my bubbly personality. I thought that was more than a little sweet...

Made to Order - Two Commissions

This morning, I thought I'd share a couple of commissioned pieces - illustrations I created for a couple of particularly engaging clients. The above confection belongs to a personal fitness trainer (I can't help but have a fondness for anyone who approaches sweat with a sense of whimsy), and the following for Wedgwood China - the piece was enlarged, and featured in the windows of their Regent Street, London shop. Each was a joy to create, as the clients' needs lined up perfectly with my illustrative style. A simple subject for this entry - sharing a bit of the fun that resides in my portfolio.