Category: On Location

Epaulement and Avant

12/29/2014

More photos from our 'Pas de Berlin' collaboration project, including the creation of Berlin's custom choker, cuff, and 'wings' which followed her through all three looks:

'Epaulement' set, 'Pas de Berlin' series 2014
model Berlin * photographer Todd Powers * MUAH Ande Castaneda
costumes, properties, accessories Jen Raven * concept direction provided by Jen Raven

Creating the choker and cuff accessories for Berlin's costumes:

'Avant' set, 'Pas de Berlin' series 2014
model Berlin * photographer Todd Powers * MUAH Ande Castaneda
costumes, properties, accessories Jen Raven * concept direction provided by Jen Raven

We shot all three of these looks, on two different locations, in one day ~in truth, it was a very long day. To compliment the costume changes, MUA Ande Castaneda also created beautiful, unique concept makeups for each of the three separate looks:

As always, I had plenty of assistance from the Studio Cats:

Follow the links to see more photos from our 2014 'Pas de Berlin' collaboration:
'Danseuse' set
'Joyeux' set
'Coda' set
Behind the Scenes, 'Pas de Berlin'
About the Artists: 'Pas de Berlin'

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Evolution of a dress

12/13/2014

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'Danseuse' set, 'Pas de Berlin' series 2014
model Berlin * photographer Todd Powers * MUAH Ande Castaneda
armor by Todd Powers * dress and shoes Jen Raven * concept direction provided by Jen Raven

Preparation for the 'Danseuse' set of our 'Pas de Berlin' series began several months in advance of the shoot itself. One of my greater concerns was safety: I wanted Berlin to pose en pointe for at least part of this set, which was to be shot outdoors --not an easy task, on its own. To avoid possible injury to Berlin, we decided to lighten the weight of the dress, and shorten the hems (of all seven skirts) by seven or eight inches. It killed me, the thought of cutting up such a lovely dress!

Model Berlin tries the dress with the pointe shoes for the first time. We all agree; the dress is too long and heavy for pointe work, especially outdoors, on uneven ground. The hems must be sheared.

Flashback: Todd and I discovered this dress at a local Goodwill in 2007, and it's been a useful addition to the costume closet ever since --from the Kern River to the cover of Bakotopia Magazine, this dress has been there, done that.

photos by Todd Powers
models Jen Raven, Devin Riane, Jaden Snow

I was loath to cut up such a pretty dress, and wanted to pull a few more great shoots out of it, before getting out the scissors. We asked model Lucy Cruz to do a final shoot with Todd, and I also asked Ande Castaneda to get a shoot in, with model Berlin.

Kern River Shoot
photographer Todd Powers
model Lucy Cruz

After Lucy and Todd were done with the Kern River shoot, the dress was beyond filthy. We gave it a hot shower, then soaked it in the tub with boiling water, laundry detergent, and oxy-clean. After repeated rinses, we wrangled the soaking dress onto a custom Berlin-shaped dress form, to dry. We had created the custom form a few weeks prior:

For our purposes, we made some changes to the recommendations given in this Threads tutorial. We used crumpled newsprint instead of poly-fill, for example. And we fitted a length of PVC pipe in the center, before closing it up at the base.

After the dress dried on the form, it was sparkly-white and fit Berlin's waist like a glove. One more shoot with the pretty dress, as-is, before the alterations:

Thank you, Ande!
Chaise Lounge Shoot
Photographer and MUAH Ande Castaneda
Model Berlin

A lot of work went into the alterations. Close to ten inches came off the hems (all seven hems), and even more came out of the front left side. I airbrushed the dress using fabric paints, and sewed nearly a dozen silk flowers just above the cut. We decided to paint the pointe shoes white, so that they would show up better on camera. After some experimenting with different paints on an older pair, I decided on Wolfe FX body paint in white; it performed the best out of all the paints I had to hand.

Day of shoot: Todd and Berlin nailed it. Our months of preparation totally paid off, and I was doing a happy dance behind the scenes.

'Danseuse' set, 'Pas de Berlin' series 2014
model Berlin * photographer Todd Powers * MUAH Ande Castaneda
armor by Todd Powers * dress and shoes Jen Raven * concept direction provided by Jen Raven

Behind-the-Scenes video of model Berlin, directed and produced by Ande Castaneda

Just before the opening for 'Pas de Berlin' at the TES Gallery, Todd further altered the dress and armor, to fit Lucy Cruz, who modeled the costume at the reception. He added black fabric paint to the dress, and new armor fittings.

Pas de Berlin Reception Shoot
Photographer Todd Powers
Model Lucy Cruz
Armor by Todd Powers

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Evolution of a skirt

11/28/2014

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Leading up to our shoot in Cambria, I had been working on this skirt, on and off, for over a year. And what a fantastic end result! With the right model, MUA, and photographer, a year of piecing and sewing is made well worth the effort.

'Joyeux' set, 'Pas de Berlin' Series 2014
model Berlin * photographer Todd Powers * MUAH Ande Castaneda
scale mail Todd Powers * skirt Jen Raven * concept direction provided by Jen Raven

But long before the construction of this skirt began, the fabric itself was being weathered for me by an unsuspecting army of models; the yardage for both underskirt and over-skirt have provided background,

property, and costume elements for dozens of Todd's photo shoots over the last seven years. This yardage has been through every kind of shoot, from studio to location; this fabric has been dragged through the dirt, drowned in the Kern River, wrapped around models, tacked against two-by-fours, and hung from the rafters.

I often prefer that my costume fabrics be properly worn and weathered before I begin construction; I like the way they drape, and move, after they've experienced the world a bit and have developed some character of their own. There are ways to speed up the weathering process in the shop or studio, but given how much shooting Todd does, it's easier for me to toss my yardage into his props bins, and let the Todd and the models take it from there.

After removing areas that were a bit over-worn, or torn, and cutting out the largest pieces for the two main sections of the over skirt: The smaller and connecting portions of the over skirt were pieced together using scraps culled from the remaining lace yardage. Over sixty different bits of lace were pieced together, to create the entire over skirt, which also has ribbon channels sewn into the front and back, so that it may be ruched higher for a different look. The three-tiered tail addition to the skirt, which is detachable, required an additional two dozen pieces of lace yardage for it's overlay. All of the trim was sewn on by hand. A black cotton underskirt, beneath the blue polyester skirt, provides stability and comfort for the entire garment --three skirts in all.

Of course, Studio Cat had her part to play, in this costume's construction:

I set out to create an elaborate costume piece that would adjust, to fit many different sizes; the side laces can be drawn tight or let out, and the box pleats in back can easily be let out or taken in; the waist in the cotton underskirt is quilted, partly due to the piecing of the lace yardage on top; this waist is strong, and holds basting stitches easily, so there is no damage to the outer skirts. Also, for the purposes of this shoot, the hem of the skirt was raised a full six inches --again, easily done thanks to the cotton underskirt, and no damage done to the delicate, weathered polyester. This skirt stood up to a romp in the ocean and the climb of a massive boulder, on location:

BTS: 'Pas de Berlin ' team on location in Cambria, Ca 2014
photographer Todd Powers * model Berlin * MUAH Ande Castaneda
scale mail Todd Powers * skirt and accessories Jen Raven
concept direction provided by Jen Raven

'Joyeux' set edits, 'Pas de Berlin' series 2014. photos and editing by Todd Powers

Want more? Full collection of BTS photos from 'Pas de Berlin' here!
Read more about this year-long project here and here!

Todd creating the scale mail top for our 'Joyeux' set

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Pas de Berlin: Behind the Scenes

11/9/2014

Our exhibit opens this weekend at The Empty Space Gallery, and we can finally share all of our behind-the-scenes photos, collected over the last twelve months!
This has been an incredible adventure. I love these people, I've loved working with them, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with them on this project.

Behind-the-Scenes photos from location shoots two, three, and four,
Hart Park, CA. April 2014:

BTS photos from location shoots seven and eight,
Cambria, CA. September 2014:

BTS photos from in-studio shoots one, five, six, and nine,
The Raven's nest, CA. Nov. '13 - Oct. '14:

Lovely Behind-the-Scenes video footage captured and edited by Ande Castaneda:

'Pas de Berlin' Photography Exhibit
Photographer: Todd Powers
Model: Berlin
Makeup and Hair Artist: Ande Castaneda
Concept Direction, Costume and Set Design: Jen Raven

Read more about this exhibit here!

Dandelion

5/16/2013

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Last month's JNT print, 'April Showers.' Photo by Todd Powers

Todd has been working with model Jin n' Tonic on a series of monthly print releases, and they asked me to collaborate on 'May Flowers.' Lisa Klassen-Barnes agreed to bring her skills to the table, and we had a concept meeting in April.

Jin and I agreed that It would have been easy to slap a few roses on her and be done with it; but we wanted something more meaningful.

Dandelion, we discovered, is a significant bloom for both of us, and worthy of a labor-intensive project.

Learning to capture Dandelion. Thank you, Lisa!

Dandelion is an outsider of sorts; a lovely wild flower, wrongly named a weed. Jin and I both appreciate Dandelion as an irreverent, tenacious little survivor --she flies on the wind and blooms wherever she lands; no shame, no apologies.

On the flip side; the Dandelion is tough to capture, visually. She's complicated ... One more reason to like her. I am still new to body painting, especially in color, and I had only ten days to research, sketch, plan . . . and practice, on anyone who would sit still (thank you, Lisa)!

Lisa created a uniquely Dandelion hairstyle.

The day of the shoot arrived, and I was nervous. The group had great energy, though, making it impossible to stay tense.

Lisa created something uniquely wild and beautiful with Jin's hair; And I was able to let myself get lost in the paint. The practice paid off, as I finished painting Jin sooner than I'd anticipated.

To complete her look, Todd air-brushed some blue-green into Jin's hair, and she was ready to go.

Jin, Todd, and Lisa had all been scouting potential locations, in the ten days I was learning Dandelion, so no time was wasted during the shoot, either.

Our collective efforts on this project have really paid off. The finished photos are amazing (see below)!

This has been a terrific collaboration, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it. This is definitely my favorite arts-mischief so far, in 2013!

(above and nsfw) behind the scenes video created by Jin n' Tonic!
(below) slide-show of Jin's four-hour transformation into the Dandelion:

JNT Print "May Flowers" for May 2013!

To view Todd's finished edits from the shoot, please visit
my forward motion gallery, here at jenraven.com.

For more on this project, visit A JNT Blog on Jin's official fan page!

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