London Fashion Week

What goes better with art than fashion?  It's like peanut butter and chocolate, or rye, sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters.  Ok, maybe rockstars go with art equally well, but that's just like switching the rye for bourbon: you still get an amazing cocktail.

Anywho, a couple weeks ago, my friend Kelly McCallum (whom I'm staying with in London) got a call asking her to create some sculptures for the upcoming show of designer Saloni's fall/winter 2011 collection.  So she created these amazing flamingos with crystals growing on their feet, referencing a natural phenomenon that happens to baby flamingos as they grow up on the African salt flats, to be used in the styling of the room.  And let me say (not just because she's a good friend) but they looked fantastic.

They were the perfect backdrop for Saloni's beautiful designs.  And although my pictures are a bit blurry (cell phones are only so ideal for documenting moving models) this next image gives you a little bit of an idea of how it looked during the show (plus, it's also my favorite outfit from the collection)...

But we had a blast, Kelly wound up being interviewed on Fashion TV, and both of us would up doing a small blog interview about a show you have coming up next month in Shoreditch, which I'll tell you more about when I'm not about to run to the studio.  Between all the free champagne and adorable little fanciful cupcakes and all the fabulously dressed people we met and chatted with, it was one fantastic afternoon.  Although I will say, next time I'm invited to a runway show, remind me to dress up...I was one of maybe 2 people in jeans, and possibly the only woman not in heels...sometimes us artists play our part a little too well and forget that sometimes even we have to clean up a little bit.  At least I'd showered and remembered to put on deodorant.

But you should check out Saloni's fall/winter line:
http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers_catwalk.aspx?designerid=1790&seasonid=23#pic0
And if you really loved me, you'd buy me a piece or two to wear to my upcoming opening in March.  Or at least invite me to more fashion show, because they can always use more artists in the audience, right?

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Just to prove to all of you that I'm one of the greatest friends of all time, I present this exhibit of awesomeness:


Bleeding Heart Cakes from Lili Vanilli (www.lilyvanilli.com/)


Kelly McCallum, the awesome friend that I'm staying with while I'm in London (making this whole trip possible) saw a blog post about these amazing cakes that look like human hearts and then you cut them open and they bleed red raspberry and currant wonderfulness.  And she was so excited about them that I tried to get a few for Valentine's Day...but poor Lili was completely sold out.


Well, a lesser friend would go, 'hey, I tried..."


But I'm an awesome friend...and 22 e-mails and 2 days later I found myself in the possession of 4 of these fantastic confectionary creations.

And Kelly was so excited, she gave me a hug.


And then we ate them after a healthy dinner of fresh pasta with mushroom ragout.


Before:

Thirty seconds later:

After:

Turns out it dyes your mouth red.  But man they were good. red velvet cake, with red glossy cream cheese frosting on the outside and berry goo...now that is love on Valentine's Day.