Teamwork: Our Collaborative Group

Here again is our team...this photo shot during the video session.


Left to Right:
Andrea Marx, Duke Windsor, Susan Lazear, Osbaldo Ahumada

At the Shoot

We had a great time at the video shoot (see the YouTube video in a prior entry).
Here are a few shots from that day.

Duke talking to Patricia. Note Duke's paintings in the background.

Osbaldo being taped, holding his sketches.


Andrea and Susan, waiting to be taped.



The venue for the filming.

Men at Work!

Osbaldo and Duke... both artists in their own right. Osbaldo in fashion design and Duke as a fine artist painter.

Here they are together, and each working.

Osbaldo... drafting patterns

Duke... mixing paint

We are on YouTube!

Recently, our La Femme Noir team was featured in a video promoting the Art Meets Fashion collaboration, a project of the San Diego Visual Arts Network.
http://www.ArtMeetsFashion.org.


Here is a YouTube video where you can learn more about our project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjs8R4WJnTE

Theme Philosophy

Our approach to the Art Meets Fashion challenge revolves around a fusion of our artist’s and designer’s unique styles of work. Both are very organic in their approach to design and both use texture heavily. For Duke, this involves not only his painting techniques, but his choice of mediums. For Osbaldo, this is seen in his sculptural and dimensional garments that demonstrate his ability to transcend us to another time and space as we watch his work move down the runway. Black is a prominent color used by both Duke and Osbaldo, and they share a love of fantasy and the sci-fi world. Thus has evolved, our theme and approach for this project, “La Femme Noir”. This will also be our team name.

As the plan currently stands, Osbaldo will design sculptural pieces of clothing, and portions of these will be painted by Duke, after the garment is constructed. For Duke, this will involve engineered painting in the round, and he looks forward to the collaboration. As the group looked at Osbaldo’s sketches, we saw elements of sculpture and fantasy. Susan and Andrea are opera-goers, and the sketches brought forth memories of Mozart’s Queen of the Night. Once we played the music from this famous aria in The Magic Flute, we all agreed that our approach was set. We would create La Femme Noir, fashion and art’s counter to Mozart’s Queen of the Night.

Initial Sketches

Here are a couple of early sketches from Osbaldo. It was with these sketches that we came up with our theme: La Femme Noir.

Team Member: Andrea Marx

Andrea Marx

Andrea Marx is a Professor of Fashion at San Diego Mesa College. She has degrees in Clothing and Textile from Michigan State University and Russell Sage College. At Mesa, her blend of industry experience and education training allows Andrea to train hundreds of students in the areas of patternmaking, construction, draping, and design. She is currently the Chair Person of the Consumer and Family Studies programs, and is a member of the Fashion Group International as well as the International Textile and Apparel Association. Andrea has overseen the development of curriculum and course materials in Fashion at Mesa College as well as Palomar College and the University of New Hampshire. She has won several Outstanding Teacher of the Year awards and is highly respected by not only students but her peers.