My last week was when everyone was back in the studio after the holiday. Because Anton and Yoga and I had met that Saturday, I ended up getting quite a bit done over the weekend, so I was ready for feedback and next steps. The Saturday work session had been about the spine, ribcage and the hips, and I was ready to make the arms and the legs and get the knees and the elbows well jointed with a piece of narrow webbing. I made really good progress in the early part of the week:

I'm here in Jogja- Yogayakarta, Indonesia. I'm posting almost every day on Instagram, so you can see lots of photos about my travels there @costumedesignercm. For this post, I'm going to focus on my residency at PaperMoon, and building a puppet. I'm staying in their beautiful, very rustic, residency house, in a neighborhood that is just south of the center of Jogja. I managed to arrive during the biggest holiday of the year, but everybody's been awesome and welcoming, and the

The Casteliers Puppet Festival coincided with U-M’s spring break, so my family was able to join me for this next adventure! Montreal is a fantastic city, though the weather was all over the place- still quite cold some days, though we did see some sun. Also notable, the Byzantine parking system. We stayed in Outremont which reminded me a lot of the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, NYC, and managed to not get a ticket nor towed! There is a large Hassidic community there,

After the brutal cold of Chicago, it was lovely to spend four warmer days in Atlanta. I stayed in mid-town and was within easy walking distance of many museums, while also having some time to think deeply about upcoming projects. It was such an important reminder to be a sponge and recharge by enveloping myself in other arts practices. I planned to spend time at the Center for Puppetry Arts and the High Museum, but I also discovered the Museum of Design and the Breman Museum.

Costumes from Sleeping Beauty At the end of January, I braved the ridiculously cold weather (it was just as frigid in A2) to go to Chicago. I arrived a couple of days early to connect with alums and friends, and to see the Paul Tazewell exhibit  at the Museum of Science & Industry. Highly recommend! I really appreciate the emphasis on process, and how Paul uplifts his family, drawing on his lived experiences as part of his process, as well as the expertise of all of the maker

A couple of new things to show and tell as we continue our Automata workshops. I finished a “deep space” themed wave machine. Having learned quite a bit about axle alignment from the first test, I started from scratch to create a three step machine- the motion was not fluid or continuous, but it gave the effect that I wanted of a rocky terrain. I am also feeling bolder about integrating materials I’m more comfortable with and for this project I used artists' papers & collage

Jill in the Convent This past fall I designed The Convent by Jessica Dickey and directed by my colleague and head of the directing concentration, Halena Kays. The play is described as, “A group of modern-day women join a retreat in an old convent in the south of France and are baptized with ’80s pop, mysticism, hallucinogens, and sexual energy. The Convent is a dark comedy about desire, devotion, and the mystery of intrinsic divinity.” While each of the characters is on a j

Module 2-Jumping Mechanism Starting in September, I joined Puppets In Prague for their year-long workshops on creating automata- table top mechanical toys and figures, animated through the use of simple cranks, wheels and cams. Back in the summer of 2020, I was part of their first on-line marionette carving workshop and have stayed in touch, watching Mirek & Leah grow this amazing international community of artists and makers. I’m now 4 months into a 9 month long series of

The warm side Back when our daughter was a pre-schooler, we arrived at a compromise: if the clothes she outgrew still had good life left in them, we would make sure they went to a new home. The clothes she outgrew that were rather tatty, however, would not be kept in perpetuity. But, I would up-cycle the textiles and make her a quilt on day. Whether she remembered this pledge or not, she did eventually stop growing, and I made good on my promise. Starting the summer before h

I was honored to be on the design team for the first licensed production of Here There are Blueberries  at the Detroit Public Theatre , now running through Nov 2nd, 2025. This production was directed by Amy Marie Seidel, who has been in the team developing the script for the past 8 years as a dramaturg, and is a creative artist with The Tectonic Theatre Project. Structurally and stylistically HTAB is similar to The Laramie Project , a documentary play about the murder of Matt

Jenna baking pies! This summer I designed Waitress for Michigan Stage, a new professional company in the suburbs of Detroit. I often...

This weekend we opened Turn of the Screw at U-M, directed by faculty director Chía Patiño. I had an absolutely blast working with her...

I just recently learned that my high school drama teacher, Hilda Imhoff, died . She was 86 and still living in Baltimore. I had looked...

In July 2021 I started a crochet blanket project. I saw different interpretations of Janie Crow’s Persian Tile crochet throw and wanted...

My transition back to creative work has been a slow one post-pandemic. I assumed an enormous amount of administrative work for my...

As an Extended Reality add-on to the MOOC (massive open online course) Black Performance as Protest  developed by Professors Louise...

What is a MOOC? It’s a an acronym that stands for “Massive Open Online Course” with the goal of reaching a global audience who would not...

I had an absolute blast designing this opera at U-M, directed by the fabulously creative Greg Keller. Great process overall with amazing...

We’re trying a Saturday morning Urban Sketchers class at our local art center. It is very interesting to be a student again. I’m really...

One last post as I reflect on teaching Advanced Costume Design last term. I developed another mini-project that disrupts the “paper...