eyes

if there is one thing that never fails to amaze me, it's eyes. i'm always doodling them in the sides of my notes in class. i never really thought twice about it until i went back through my notebooks from last semester. i realized how much eyes were a part of my subconscious. i even have jewelry with eye charms. maybe one day i'll realize why, but until then, there is a good chance they'll continue to be a common theme

zombie boy

i'm so fascinated by zombie boy's tattoos (his real name is rick genest). i started drawing him in my sketch book this morning and it's addicting. i think this drawing is just the beginning idea for an insane portrait series. i wish i could just go get coffee with him and have a normal conversation with a skeleton but i'd think i would just end up staring at him. 

(photos from rickgenest.com)

lipstick

i'm always making inspiration collages. most of the time, they end up looking like story boards. these are some of my favorite photos to go back to. 

full moon

sometimes, i run outside of my house just to take pictures of the full moon.
it was so bright that it was keeping me awake, shining through my sky window. so i grabbed my camera and ran outside forgetting shoes for the 40 degree weather. but, my photos weren't doing the moon justice and i got frustrated. i adjusted my settings to long exposure, twirling the camera around in the air, reshaping the moon. i guess thats when i started looking really crazy because cars started to honk at me. so i set even longer exposures and added in the street lights, cars and christmas lights. since then, i no longer see the moon as a far away circle, but as the tangled mess it is below.

nostalgia

this summer, i went on a camping trip with friends which led us to devil's lake. when we got there, we found a picnic bench floating in the water. we walked across a log, sat on top of the table and watched the sun set. so when i was trying to start my first ever oil painting, i chose to illustrate this photograph i took of my friends at that moment. as i began to paint i felt instantly transported to this amazing sunset. it was a truly nostalgic experience. 

summer in the city

in honor of throwback thursday, i thought i'd share my film photos from adventures 

in chicago this summer. lots of the pictures include my friend whitney, who i

dragged all over the city when she stayed with me for part of july. we never 

left the house without at least a disposable camera in hand. 

MOTHERS

last month i went to the chicago museum of contemporary art to hear the sartorialist speak. there's a huge spinning led sign outside of the museum that says MOTHERS which my own mother really appreciates. in fact, i'm wearing the floral dress she wore at the rehearsal dinner of her wedding. of course accompanied by a plaid button down, my favorite combat boots and leather jacket. 

contrary to popular belief i am not whipping out peace signs, but attempting to point to the "mothers" spinning above me.
(dress-vintage, flannel-vintage, leather jacket-Topshop, coat-Urban Outfitters, boots-Aldo)

the raveled sleeve

this fiber art piece was inspired by the state of hysteria. 

january inspiration

my inspiration board for january: mainly black and white. i also added my copy of phillip lim's comic book "kill the night" which incorporates his phillip lim 3.1 fall '12 collection. you can read an online version here: http://www.31philliplim.com/kill-the-night/0

(middle piece is my own entitled needles, other photo credits to vogue, teen vogue, elle, and topshop)

introduction

welcome to seam of conscious. this blog is a collection of my own designs, photography, art, and personal style. Bbut I'm just getting started so we will see what direction it takes. i'm sure the blog will soon have a mind of it's own.
-colleen

urban excavation

i recently created a conceptual fashion piece i like to call, "urban excavation". here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot. 

i was inspired by a wall in chicago which is constantly graffitied and then painted over white by the city. soon after it is covered up, someone writes over the new paint again in this continuous cycle. i suddenly thought of the idea of being able to excavate a city wall by peeling back its layers of paint. through this, we could explore decades of history. i made the dress possible for more than one person to wear at a time because so many different people have been a part of the wall. they have unknowingly been involved in a conversation with someone they have never met. this layered dress is essentially three dresses in one. each time the dress is unraveled, a new piece of this conversation is revealed. 

Also, a special thank you to my models Elise Duffy, Sophia Bedolla, and Georgia Saunders. 

the mind of grimes

i'm really fascinated by the dj, grimes. i think it might be because she kind of reminds me of myself. i started to watch her music videos and it made me wonder what goes on in her head on a daily basis. so i decided to create a mixed media interpretation of her imagination which includes but is not limited to, fluffy animals, wild animals, and women with lipstick all over their face. 

cake face

my most recent photo series shot with 35 mm black and white film.

thank you to my models paxton gammie and momo chapa.