Between travelling and packing to move, it’s been hard to get any work done lately! I was also out sick for a few days as well, so I’ve been especially non-productive.
While I recuperated, I lay around with my sketchbook, watching old episodes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race and drawing. That’s where my first fashion plate came from. It shows illustrations the first four queens from Season 10 in their entrance looks – and while I wanted to do the whole cast, I had to stop somewhere. I eventually gave into the temptation to un-pause and just started watching. The queens are watercolors, with the big pink background and sparkles are painted with gouache.
I was still in a fashion mood, though, apparently, because my next sketch this week was a bunch of ancient Sumerian fashions!
This drawing shows some very early women and men’s wear based on depictions by the people who wore them. During this time in ancient Sumer, fashion underwent a revolutionary transition! Although weaving cloth already done on a small, independent scale, industrial weaving took off with the formation of city-states.
Before woven cloth, most wealthy Sumerians wore Kaunakes – the elaborate skirts shown at the bottom left. These impressive, bulky garments were made by tying tufts of fiber or cords over a net skirt. This created the hanging, decorative patterns. The increased efficiency brought the price of woven goods down, making them more affordable to more people. Suddenly, the wrapped fashions like the ones at the top were affordable to the general populace. They left the skirts that gave you a large, feathery-looking behind… behind.
That’s all for this week. I promise at least one post next week in the next month while I pack the house up and drive it a few hours away. I’m so excited to set up my new space again, finally, for the last time in (I hope!) a long time!