Rachel 5/5/10

In keeping with the theme of using highlighter pens, Sharpies, and interesting cardboard salvage, here is a design rendering for the character of Lydia Languish in Sheridan's The Rivals.

This background is from the packaging for a bicycle helmet, and much like with the Yoox box i used for the Hair designs, i couldn't bring myself to throw it away. Unfortunately, there was only the one piece of the box big enough to draw on for a rendering, so this will likely be my only sketch in this series.

As with the Hair series, i've been looking to these projects as straight-up rendering practice rather than exercising design choices. This one is based on the beautiful photograph of 19th century actress Elsie Leslie in the role, taken by a woman i truly admire, pioneer photographer and milliner Zaida Ben-Yusuf.

I became aware of Ben-Yusuf when doing some research into the documentation of historical millinery methods, as both she and her mother Anna Ben-Yusuf wrote extensively on the methods of construction of late 19th century hat styles. If you are interested in learning more, start with Frank Goodyear's Zaida Ben Yusuf: New York Portrait Photographer; and, many of you probably already have seen her mother Anna's book Edwardian Millinery. They both were lifelong milliners and millinery instructors, in addition to Zaida's work as a photographer and travel writer. Fascinating ladies!

Anyhow, Lydia's impulsive and silly, so she's got these pink and orange value levels. I deviated from the original costume of Elsie Leslie's by making her sleeve ruffles pleated, and making the fabrics used in the skirts and overrobe crispier and loftier. Leslie's underskirt looks to have some kind of delicate embroidered net or lace in a knee-deep ruffle, and i hate cutting the lower half of the body off there with a horizontal line, so i went with a plain wide striped taffeta. The overrobe is some kind of large scale rococo brocade, like the motif of the background print.

Also, what i wouldn't give to make this hat. I wonder, now that i consider it, whether Zaida didn't make the one in the picture. I have NO documentary evidence to confirm it, but i'd be surprised if she didn't do stage millinery for the actresses whose portraits she made.

This one was a great time to draw. I'll be moving on to something else...what, i don't know. I realize i got all wooby and sentimental yesterday about saying goodbye to Hair, but today, i'm all, "Whatev, this is good because it's forcing me to be detached from my subjects." Maybe that's just my mercurial nature. So we'll see, what will tomorrow bring?