THE IDLE CLASS - FASHION ISSUE 2017

THE IDLE CLASS

CELEBRATING THE ARTS IN ARKANSAS / THE FASHION ISSUE Idle Class, The - Winter 2017, Fashion-FINAL.indd 1

2/3/17 10:33 AM

Full page ad - Eureka Springs CVB

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59TH ANNUAL

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EDITOR’S

NOTE

PUBLISHER Cannon McNair EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kody Ford EDITOR-AT-large Jeremy Glover MANAGING EDITOR Jenny Vos

F

ashion — some people obsess over it. Others couldn’t care less. Over the last few millennia, it has set apart the haves and the have nots, before becoming attainable to the masses in the 20th century.

Smithsonian Magazine even featured a story on a chimpanzee named Julie, who began placing a piece of grass in her ear. It served no discernible purpose, but quickly other chimps in her group followed suit.

Researchers believe this is the first example of fashion in an animal other than humans.

Who knows where this will go next? Perhaps one day dolphins, our closest intellectual rivals, will be wearing flipper rings. The arc of the universe is long and weird.

We are very excited to focus on fashion in this issue. It is our second time to do so but it has been far too long. We were inspired by the resurrection of Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week by a group lead by Robin Wallis Atkinson, one of the founders of Art Amiss who recently returned to Arkansas last year. Having seen the output

Photograph by Sophia Bauer of NWAFW in it’s previous incarnation while she was living outside of the state, Robin decided to step up to the plate when she returned and heard there was a leadership vacuum.

We asked Robin, who now serves as NWAFW’s CEO and Creative Director, to serve as our guest editor for this issue. She’s put together some great photo shoots and helped us develop ideas that make this one of our best issues yet. We also hope you enjoy the beautiful artwork of Lisa Krannichfeld and Chrystal Seawood-Miller, our two cover artists for this edition. I’d also like to welcome Jenny Vos as our managing editor.

She has previously worked as a copy editor.

It is great to have her making my life easier.

As always, please support the creatives and the businesses listed here. We’re all in this together.

Kody Ford

Editor-in-chief

COPY EDITORS Ashton Eley Julia Trupp GUEST EDITOR Robin Atkinson DESIGNER Marc Laney CONTRIBUTORS Melissa Arens David Arteaga Roger Barrett Sophia Bauer Olivia Lott Beauvais Heather Canterbury Marie Darrin Kelsey Ferguson Terrah Graves Shayne Gray Katy Henriksen Jessica Humerick Cynthia Post Hunt Kristoffer Johnson Gerard Matthews Vaughn Mims Stephanie Parsley Susan Porter Lacy Rogers Sandra Spotts Katherine Stewart Melissa Tucker Jake West COVER artists Lisa Krannichfeld Chrystal Seawood-Miller

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Showcasing visual artists, musicians, dancers, poets, jewelers, potters, performers, authors, glass makers, sculptors & more.

Join us in Downtown Hot Springs on April 28 to May 7!

HOTSPRINGSARTS.ORG

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THE FASHION ISSUE WINTER 2017

“Undomesticated Interior No. 1” by Lisa Krannichfeld

MR. SATURDAY NIGHT

UNRULY WOMAN

BEHIND THE LENS

Later with Jason Suel takes a major leap.

Lisa Krannichfeld's portraits make no apologies.

A behind the scenes peek at fashion shoots with model Lacey Rogers.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS

RETURN TO THE RUNWAY

SECOND LIFE

Emily Mars Fashion House creates a new fit for clothing.

NWA Fashion Week gets a reboot after a three year break.

Local designers create new works from old materials.

PAGES 10 - 12

PAGES 32 - 33

PAGES 24 - 26

PAGES 38 - 39

Of Note with Katy Henriksen bringing insight into the world of classical music

Sunday through Thursday evenings from 8 to 10 p.m. on KUAF PUBLIC RADIO A LOCAL PRODUCTION

OF KUAF 91.3 PUBLIC RADIO UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

PAGES 28 - 31

PAGES 44 - 45

Upcoming Artist Receptions Feb. 8 - Heather Brown Mar. 15 - Kenneth Siemens Apr. 13 - Ryan Tate May 17 - Ed Hallmark 1431 S. School Ave. Fayetteville, AR, 72701 479-435-5606 facebook.com/nomadsmusiclounge @nomadsmusiclounge

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100 E. University • Siloam Springs • Mon-Sat 11am-9pm • 479.524.2828

Fresh. Local. Seasonal.

In the heart of historic downtown Siloam Springs.

Real, honest food—every dish made from scratch, with a rotating menu to show off the best of the season. Handmade cocktails and an extensive spirit, wine and craft beer selection. Casual is fine. Kids welcome.

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EVENTS

A Brief Conversation About Performance Art Inverse Performance Art Festival co-founder Cynthia Post Hunt states her case for the importance of this engaging, and sometimes polarizing, medium in advance of their second year.

WORDS / CYNTHIA POST HUNT PHOTOGRAPHY / KRISTOFFER JOHNSON

T

he moment at which the encounter is elevated to a shared experience that lasts well beyond the gallery walls, and transforms the way you and I see the world. This is when the performance begins. And this is why the performance exists.

Many attempts have been made to define performance art. Roselee Goldberg wrote, “By its very nature, performance defies precise or easy definition beyond the simple declaration that it is live art by artists…Indeed, no other

artistic form of expression has such a boundless manifesto, since each performer makes his or her own definition in the very process and manner of execution.” (Performance Art, From Futurism to the Present). Most, however, can agree that performance art is loosely tied to four main components: time, space, the performer’s body or presence and the relationship between performer and viewer or audience. Salient performance art pieces of the 21st century, such as Marilyn Arsem’s 100 Ways to Consider Time and Marina Abromovic’s

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EVENTS The Artist is Present, sustain a single piece for an excruciatingly long time while offering thought provoking relationships between the artist and their body, and between the artist and the audience. Vanessa Beecroft and Yayoi Kusama present live art while scrupulously regarding aesthetics and formalism. Chris Burden’s Shoot piece, in which a fellow artist is asked to shoot Burden in the arm, highlights the authenticity of the artist performing real actions.

The next time you stumble upon a performance, try to frame yourself in your environment by asking a few of the following questions: “Where am I? What is happening? Why is this here?

How does this make me feel? How can I engage with it?” I strongly encourage you to act on any what ifs you may be considering. Remember, it is real, live art. And yes, you should get as close as you can to it. Listen to it. Smell it. Talk to it. Remember, the performance exists regardless of you, and at the same time, the performance exists because of you. The exchange between the artist and audience is

WHERE THE ACTION IS Thursday, March 30

Friday, March 31

• University of Arkansas Faulkner Performing Arts Center • Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

• 21c Bentonville Hotel Museum

an influential element in performative work. Consider the four components previously mentioned. How does this piece you are currently viewing actively engage time, space, the body and you as the audience?

My dear friend and collaborator Emma Saperstein and I began Inverse Performance Art Festival last year in hopes of expanding the conversation about performance art. The good news is that it worked. The great news is that opportunities are growing, and more artists on a regional, national and international scale are getting involved. In year two of the festival, we have expanded to two regions. Inverse NWA will take place March 30-April 1, 2017 in Northwest Arkansas. Performances will be held at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 21c Hotel

Saturday, April 1

• University of Arkansas Art & Design District • Feast Gallery

Museum Bentonville, the University of Arkansas Art & Design District, and more. Inverse SLO/SB will take place September 28-30, 2017 with performances throughout the Central Coast of California. You can visit our website to find out how to get involved, how to reserve free tickets and how to donate. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get updates on our 2017 artists and supplemental local events.

If you stumble upon a performance of mine, take a moment. What I do isn’t the same without you, and I implore you to explore the bounds of our encounter. See you at the festival. inverseperformanceartfestival.org

ARTS & THE PARK A

rts & The Park 2017, a celebration of the arts, is scheduled from April 28 to May 7 in downtown Hot Springs National Park. The festival, sponsored by the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance’s, will showcase the talent of local and visual artists from Arkansas and the surrounding states, musicians, dancers, poets, jewelers, potters, performers, authors, glass makers, sculptors and more in the events that will be held during Arts & The Park 2017.

There will be numerous arts events throughout the 10-day festival, including artist demonstrations at downtown galleries, studio tours, artist workshops for all ages, art history lectures, writing workshops, poetry readings, concerts and more.

“Attending an arts festival in America’s first National Park is an experience that is unrivaled, and it really show-

cases the beauty of our city, teeming with the artistic inspiration and talent of our citizens,” said Kate Schaffer, HSACA Board President.

The festival will culminate with Art Springs, a free two-day outdoor juried art festival and showcase of artists and artisans held at Hill Wheatley Plaza in downtown historic Hot Springs on May 6-7.

HOTSPRINGSARTS.ORG

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TELEVISION

Mr.

HEADLINE

Saturday Night Later with Jason Suel just made the leap from public access to a local network.

So what can you expect from NWA’s new late night talk show?

WORDS / KODY FORD PHOTOGRAPHY / SOPHIA BAUER STYLIST / JUDSON LEE

A

lot of people dream of hosting their own talk show, but only a very select few ever make it. Jason Suel is a man of action. In early 2014, he teamed up with Dan Robinson and the crew at Fayetteville Public Television to create his own talk show for Northwest Arkansas. Now, in it’s third season, Suel is getting a much bigger audience. On New Year’s Eve, Later with Jason Suel launched on Fox 24 in Fayetteville and will air every Saturday night at 9:30 pm throughout the spring.

The deal arose after a programmer from KNWA/Fox 24 reached out to Suel about bringing the show to their network. He seized the opportunity.

“I’m stoked--both personally and professionally,” he said. “We have worked hard to craft a product that we think encapsulates the arts and culture scene of Northwest Arkansas and we are over the moon at the increased viewer potential. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of the show getting in front of new folks to increase traffic to NWA in order to experience our offerings.”

Since Later’s inception, Suel has grown as a showman and the show has developed by adding a co-host, Bo Counts; recurring characters like Instagrampaw (Mike Thomas); and segments like “Site Specific,” where Suel goes on-site at local businesses to interview the owners about their endeavors. The team does a heavy

amount of research to select their guests and narrow the topics. During his tenure at the show, Suel has honed his skills as an interviewer, learning to connect with guests by asking relevant questions, offering a relaxed yet fun atmosphere and not being afraid to lob the occasional softball question for the person to hit a homerun. He also works closely with media contributors like Red Barn Studio, Robertson Professional Media, and MurDog Creative.

Now that the show has moved to a larger network Suel plans to keep going and polish their format. He said, “Our goal is to become the premiere arts & entertainment television show of the region. We will showcase top local talent, music, chefs, comics and personalities to portray a healthy cross-section of the cultural amenities of the greater Northwest Arkansas region.”

So why should you watch?

Suel said, “It’s a bit of fun for your Saturday night. And it’s local. From our comedy spots to our musical guests, I think we are going to be a little surprised at how much talent exists right here. Also, there is so much happening in NWA that it’s easy to get lost or overwhelmed. It’s our hope that the show will make those decisions easier... whether it’s where you should eat on a Saturday night, what entertainment venue you should check out or what nonprofit you could volunteer for. Through our interviews and segments, you can really get a feel for what the arts and culture scene here is like.”

INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: @JASONSUEL

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TELEVISION

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TELEVISION

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MUSIC

F

PZA WORDS / ROGER BARRETT

ayetteville musician and producer Cody Troglin created PZA in 2013 at Let's Talk Figures studio. In just 3 years, He's released 24 albums of original material.

His latest record, Sleepy (released in early September) is 9 tracks that alternate between Kool Keith instrumentals, 80's synth-wave, direct-to-VHS Science Fiction score, to Dust Brothers sound collage. It's a sound Troglin describes as "hiphop future beats".

"I started PZA just because I got really into trap and experimental hip hop. I just wanted to start making beats for my friends.

So I just shifted the sound a lot."

Cody started PZA after forming the Facebook group pizzawave, his mixture of vaporwave and the love of pizza. Pizzawave is a visual companion to PZA, irreverent,

Inverse Performance Art Festival strives to foster local dialogue about performance art on an international scale and build a community of performance artists and supporters.

www.inverseperformanceartfestival.org

and open sourced food-porn.

"I wanted to just create a music genre and also a social place for meme culture and other producers to meet and collaborate."

In 2016, PZA is a project that feels like the seamless merging of genre at venues like Backspace, The Syc House, and Nomad's Music Lounge, where shows are more often combining rap, with rock band, and etc. It's truly a random playlist with random toppings, and pineapple. In anxiety-ridden times, the future of PZA is certain.

"It's the funnest project I've ever created and I don't think I'll ever stop making music."

Grab a slice. pza420.bandcamp.com facebook.com/pza420 soundcloud.com/pza420

10 East Township St. Fayetteville, AR 72703 479-521-2100 M-F 11-6, SAT 11-5 & SUN 12-5

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Our soups are made using fresh, organic, and all-natural ingredients.

We source locally whenever possible.

MUSEUM QUALITY ART ON THE FAYETTEVILLE SQUARE

Sunday Salon Artist Talks & Weekly Studio Art Sessions

101 W. Mountain St. Fayetteville, AR 72701 FayettevilleUnderground.org /fayettevilleunderground @fu.underground @thefayettevilleunderground

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ART

THE ART OF

VALLEY of the VAPORS WORDS / KATY HENRIKSEN

A

ccording to its artistic director, the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival in Hot Springs is like a movie, so a visual component to the thriving DIY celebration, now in its 13th year, fits rather naturally. Although the music obviously takes center stage, the visuals—including each year’s poster designs—are also carefully curated.

Poster by Daniel Luetke

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ART As the artistic director describes it, the Valley of the Vapors (VOV) Independent Music Festival in Hot Springs is like a movie, which makes a visual component to the thriving DIY celebration a perfect fit. Although music obviously takes center stage, the visuals, including each year’s poster designs are also carefully curated.

“The beginning starts at the venue itself with the action of the band performing on stage, we scan over the crowd dancing and surging with the music,” explains Bobby Missile. “The rising action comes to a crescendo at the peak of the headline acts most intense moments.

In the crowd every person is living their own story, where they are the protagonist.”

The way Missile became involved in VOV says a lot about the fest’s founder Bill Solleder, who has a knack for connecting with like-minded and enthusiastic individuals.

Also a touring musician in the band Ghost Bones and a booking agent, Missile came to town in 2006 to start Exchange, a DIY music venue in the heart of downtown. In less than a week of Missile’s move to Hot Springs, Solleder had reached out to Missile via a MySpace message in hopes that Exchange would want to host shows, an initial involvement that led to Missile’s help in booking bands for VOV until 2014 when he took over booking completely.

Last year he curated the entire fest and was named artistic director to helm VOV with the help of new executive director David Hill, who

Poster by Pat Moriarity

stepped up to the plate when Solleder stepped down to manage events full time for the city of Hot Springs.

Each year’s poster designs are inspired by the anniversary gift for that year, meaning lace this time around to represent number 13, with a poster designed by Chicago-based multimedia artist Daniel Luedtke, who was the first person who came to mind when Missile brainstormed poster designers for 2017.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how Daniel works it into his own styling,” says Missile. In addition to designing the poster, Luedtke will travel down for the fest as a participant, performing in his band Wages, teaching a workshop and a gallery showing of his recent works. Luedtke’s multifaceted approach and aesthetic are a perfect fit for a fest set on celebrating all the senses.

“Music inspires motion and emotions,” explains Missile. “Visual arts help to enhance the senses. We want everyone who steps foot into the festival to feel something that moves them to create and explore their deepest imagination.”

Let the Valley of the Vapors’ 13th season sweep you, cinematically, when it takes over Spa City this March 17 through 21 with headliners that include underground titans Joan of Arc and Downtown Boys, described by Rolling Stone as “America’s most exciting punk band.”

VALLEYOFTHEVAPORS.COM

Poster by James Weinberg

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ART

JASON MCCANN WORDS / SANDRA SPOTTS

I

t was perhaps inevitable that Jason McCann would employ shadows in his paintings and drawings, both as important subject matter and also perhaps as a metaphor for his formative years, growing up in the shadows of his artist parents, Dennis and Connie McCann. Jason credits both for influencing his early style and technique.

He combines teaching and working in the studio to create an art-centered career.

After receiving his MA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Jason combined his own fine art career with teaching art at the secondary level. He continues to teach at Little Rock Central High School.

Jason's current work has two strains. One body of work moves forward with new shadow paintings which reflect back to the shadow paintings he did twenty years ago. The other strain focuses on portraits of his students which highlight his support of public schools and the multicultural environment they provide.

What are the major influences on your work?

Well, first I’d have to say my parents. It’s hard to grow up in a house with two artists as parents and not be affected. Although my style has veered away from both of theirs, my choices in subject matter and interest in light and shadow are still heavily influenced by each of them. I still seek their advice when I’m unsure of something in a piece.

In terms of influences outside of the home, early on I was drawn to the work of Edward Hopper and Robert Cottingham. However, as

I became more interested in color and surface quality and less with pure realism I found myself looking at the work of artists like Jasper Johns, Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, and Mark Rothko.

Jasper Johns’ silhouetted figures and pattern influenced many of the works I’ve done that focus on human shadows. Thiebaud’s palette to describe light and shadows is something I still draw inspiration from.

Diebenkorn and Rothko’s surface with multiple translucent layers of paint that allows the viewer to see through to marks below is something I wish I could do as well as they do. Those guys were amazing.

Your subjects include both urban architecture and people. Do you approach both subjects in the same way or differently? Do you have a primary message you want to communicate through your art?

A lot of what I’ve done over the last year is focused on subject of shadows. More specifically the shadows we cast. Early in my career I did a lot of work that focused on shadows cast by people onto the things around them. I used the shadows to tell stories, describe relationships and serve as a new kind of portrait. Portraits that described who we are based on what we cast our shadows across. In June, as I began to revisit that theme some 15 years after my last shadow painting, I began to explore how, as I near the age of 40, the things I cast my shadow across have changed greatly since my 20s. My life is more about cleaning up after my three children as I watch them grow up with increasing speed. It also revolves around tending to a busy classroom of 14- to 18-year-olds that may or may not care what I have to say. My new work reflects a portrait about those things.

Sometimes I convey that in a very literal way by creating images where my shadow is actually cast across things in and around my home, in others I create portraits of those I have an effect on like my children and students. The more symbolic shadow I cast.

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ART With these new pieces as well as the other things I draw, such as urban architecture, I try to capture a sense of energy. I do this through a very loose application of materials. Many spontaneous marks and multiple thin layers of paint and/or pastel allow the viewer to see both the beginning and end of the work all at once. I like when one can see a stray mark from the rough sketch though the finished surface. My favorite work to look at doesn’t try to be perfect. I like for the artist’s hand to be evident. That, to me, is much more exciting.

You give viewers unusual angles from which to view your subject matter. How did you arrive at that technique?

This one also goes back to teaching. I routinely ask my students to make the mundane exciting. One way I encourage them to do this is by looking at the everyday from a different perspective. Odd and dynamic perspective can often surprise the viewer. It’s always better to keep the viewer on their heels than to do what they’d expect.

Color is such an important part of your work. Have you ever worked with tones only?

Absolutely. Some of my favorite pieces that I’ve done in the past couple of years are simple charcoal on paper studies. As I said earlier, my work is first and foremost about energy. I love the spontaneous effects that can be achieved with a single piece of charcoal on paper.

In what direction do you see your work evolving?

Right now, I’m doing more works on paper. I’m trying out some new stuff technically and conceptually. As I start to move into new ideas, I tend to begin exploring that with drawings. Even though many of my works are oil paintings, I’m happiest when I’m drawing. Drawings inform my choices as a painter. As for where my work is going, I’d have to say I’m interested in continuing to focus on the young people I work with.

These are interesting kids that have some stories to tell.

Above - Our Fire Escape Left - Maddox and the Art Lesson

MCCANNFINEART.COM/JASON.HTML

Featuring the fine art of

JASON McCANN Little Rock, Arkansas 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.

501.664.0030 Miami, Florida 305.528.4971

www.boswellmourot.com “Marshayla” WINTER 2017 idleclassmag.com

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ART

THE ARTIST AS NARRATOR Chrystal Seawood-Miller creates art with a backstory.

WORDS / MELISSA TUCKER PHOTO / CANNON McNAIR

W

hen Chrystal Seawood-Miller was in grade school, her classmates would “hire” her to color their art projects in exchange for apple juice or other snacks. She laughs about it now, but it might’ve been the first signs of her budding career in art. She spent most of her formative years sketching in black and white, but her high school art teacher noticed her talent and encouraged her to try new mediums, like painting.

Seawood-Miller went on to study graphic design at Henderson University and worked in the corporate world for a few years. She then moved to Brooklyn for 10 weeks. Returning home with the idea of selling her stuff, she visited her former high school art teacher in Forrest City, and she was ultimately hired once again, to teach English.

“I felt like, at the time, there was a greater need for me to teach than to pursue my own art work. I decided to be a teacher and make art on my own time,” she said.

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ART

ries o t s y a d very e n i d e t s es." e v i r l e t s ' n e i l "I'm peop y r a n i d r and in o

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ART

My Daddy Loves Me

In 2015, she launched the Boys to Black Men project as a reaction to the trend of unarmed black men being killed by police, “but it’s evolved into a broader question of them maturing to black men in this society and examining that maturation process.”

Seawood-Miller says the project is important because it’s a story that’s not being told.

“I’m interested in everyday stories and in ordinary people’s lives,” she said. “I’m really attracted to that. With Boys to Black Men, I’m giving people who don’t normally have a platform a voice through my work.”

The project pairs sketches of these boys with interviews of their thoughts on growing into adulthood. It was exhibited at Ouachita Baptist University, but SeawoodMiller says she won’t exhibit the project again until it’s a little more solid.

“What I’m really wanting to do is get the whole body of work to

Crowned #8

a place where I feel comfortable and then upload the project to my website. I want to wait until I have a solid and strong body of work, but I only have a couple of pieces I feel comfortable with.”

She couldn’t exhibit the project in her hometown.

“My hometown was not receptive of it,” she said. “It was supposed to be shown there first, but OBU came about after I mentioned to a friend that my hometown decided to not exhibit the show,” she said. “At the time, it was 2014 and I think my town still has room to grow in some certain areas. They didn’t want to show it because it was too controversial.”

However, OBU was very receptive to her exhibit and paired her portraits with the raw recordings of her interviews during her artist talk. For the remainder of the exhibit, drawings of their quotes were paired with the portraits.

However, in future exhibits Seawood-Miller said it’s her goal

to allow visitors to hear each recording as they move through the exhibit.

“It can be frustrating because it takes so long for me to complete one of those portraits,” she said.

“It can take up to a month to finish one.”

In the meantime, she’s working on a project called Naturally Sketched that’s a celebration of natural hair. To get her ‘models,’ she stops people on the street.

“I take pictures on my phone of people I run into. I freehand the piece, and the drawings are small, no bigger than 5 x 7,” she said. “My goal is to accumulate about 50 of them and show them together. I have 11 right now that I feel pretty good about.”

Another project in the pipeline is called the Trichotomy of 5 Cents, which is based on a curious thing Seawood happened upon in an antique shop -- The Jolly Ni**** Bank.

“I’d never seen anything like that before,” she said. “But Afri-

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ART

My father said, "Don't just be labeled as a black man.

Be more than that."

Meaning, don't be in these streets — just go to school and get your education. ‐ Kayo Pearson, age 17 Kayo from the Boys to Black Men Series

can-American actors would dress themselves in black face. At the time, that was probably one of the highest paying jobs back then and their only opportunity to act because that profession was not open to African-Americans unless they played roles like that.”

She used the project to consider their decisions to participate in something she would consider so demeaning.

“Was it the love of acting?

Were they making decisions for their family? Or could it have been greed?” she said. “Each piece represents different assumptions about who these people were.”

Though Seawood may have many projects in the works, her ultimate goal is to make art more accessible.

“I really do believe art is for everyone and not an elite population. I’m trying to make it more accessible to other people and

trying to figure if I want to go the high brow route and exhibit in only museums or to put stuff in the streets,” she said. “I’m going through a metamorphosis now, and working behind the scenes to figure out how to brand myself and what direction to go in.”

CHRYSLOVESU.COM INSTAGRAM: @CHRYSLOVESU WINTER 2017 idleclassmag.com

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ART

UNRULY WOMAN Lisa Krannichfeld seeks to subvert gender expectations for women through her work.

WORDS / KATHERINE STEWART PHOTOS / HEATHER CANTERBURY

C

arpe the shit out of that diem is written decisively in chalk on the planter boxes lining the wall beside the front door of artist Lisa Krannichfeld’s unassuming West Little Rock home. It’s an apt reminder for someone who, after nearly a decade as a professional artist and art teacher, recently took the plunge to give up her day job and make her side gig her full-time hustle. “It’s really freeing in that I spend all day painting and thinking about painting and what to do next and getting inspired,” says Krannichfeld, “but also, it’s feast or famine.” In this moment, “feast” means that Krannichfeld was recently picked up by a gallery in Australia.

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Left - Undomesticated Interior I Above - Lisa Krannichfeld in her home studio

Giving up steady employment to become a full-time artist is not the first unconventional choice Krannichfeld has made. After discovering during high school that she enjoyed drawing and had a talent for it, she carried a double major in art and biology at Colorado College, intending to become “one of those people who lives in Africa and studies a pride of lions for ten years.” But during her senior year, while creating work for a thesis show, she realized she wanted to keep making art, and she committed to becoming an artist—the first and only one in her family.

Krannichfeld was raised in Little Rock and is biracial (her mother is first-generation Chinese American), and cultural heritage plays a vital role

in her work—particularly the traditional expectations regarding women that she absorbed growing up, which she examines and uses as fodder for her art. “It’s hard to differentiate if it’s the Asian or the Southern,” says Krannichfeld, “but I find a lot of similarities in the two, in the way they expect women to behave.” Women were “encouraged to be passive, to serve others, and to be selfless, always be happy and cheerful and pleasant,” explains Krannichfeld. “If you look at my portraits, the women are not like that. Their facial expressions are not for the viewer’s pleasure. They’re very much who they are and not trying to hide disdain or disgust, boredom, rebellion…those are the expressions I find most interesting, because they’re

not what Southern or nice Asian women are supposed to be.”

She’s referring to a recent series called Glass Menagerie, in which women emerge murkily from pools and blurs of ink and watercolor, gazing enigmatically, sometimes confrontationally, out at the viewer. This series stands in ideological and stylistic contrast to her previous one, of largescale nudes rendered in stark black paint, their bold outlines vibrating in gestural splashes across the canvas.

Despite the sold-out success of the Nudes series, Krannichfeld experienced a shift in her thinking several years ago that led her to consider her subjects in a different way.

“I was kind of buying into objectifying women in art, which I didn’t even

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Getting Warmer

know I was doing,” says Krannichfeld.

“Because that’s what you’re taught, that’s what art history has done…I really wanted to get away from that.”

So in Glass Menagerie, the viewer became the viewed. Her favorite portraits, the ones that are the most fun to paint, are the ones with angry expressions—Krannichfeld notes that you don’t see a lot of angry portraits.

“A little bit more life experience has taught me that portraits of women don’t have to look the way they’ve always looked…I just want to put another thing out there.”

Putting it out there is something Krannichfeld has learned a lot about recently. As someone whose livelihood now depends on the whims of the art-buying public, she has to be pragmatic about things like marketing and exposure. “For some reason in

Shirt with Tigers

art, more than other fields, you get kind of shamed for promoting yourself or selling work, which I think is a bunch of bullshit,” says Krannichfeld. “People have to embrace artists as artists but also entrepreneurs.” Though Krannichfeld says she sometimes feels “slimy” doing self-promotion, she acknowledges that this is how she’s able to reach people; the Australian gallery— Retrospect, in Byron Bay—discovered her work on Instagram.

Marketing herself from the sanctuary of her home studio still must be easier than how Krannichfeld began her long-time relationship with Little Rock’s M2 Gallery. Krannichfeld approached gallery owner Mac Murphy with some mixed-media pieces, but Murphy sensed that they were not a reflection of what she truly wanted to be doing as an artist.

When she unrolled her nudes, on giant swaths of paper, Murphy saw what he was looking for. “A lot of people over-think the work,” says Murphy.

“These were new and spontaneous.”

Krannichfeld had her first show at M2 in 2009, and she’s been a staple artist of the gallery ever since.

Now Krannichfeld has pivoted again, this time into colorful abstracts based on layered remnants of tissue paper that she had used in planning previous paintings, which she noticed one day made interesting shapes when piled, discarded, in a corner. “I’m not stopping portraits, but the abstracts are really fun and refreshing,” says Krannichfeld. “I like where it’s heading.”

LISAKRANNICHFELD.COM INSTAGRAM: @LALALISA

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Behind

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RED DRESS

nd the Lens Model Lacey Rogers, photographer Stephanie Parsley & stylist Jessica Humerick give us the lowdown about what goes on behind the scenes of a fashion shoot.

PHOTOS / STEPHANIE PARSLEY STYLING / JESSICA HUMERICK MODEL / LACEY ROGERS

Inspiration comes from the craziest of places, but I have had this particular piece of inspiration in my head for over 12 years now and we finally made it STEPHANIE happen. When I flew to Los Angeles I had the intent that this was the main shoot we would be doing, and I knew we had to make it happen, although it was seeming almost impossible leading up to the shoot. We drove over nine hours in Los Angeles one day desperately trying to find the perfect fabric in just the right length, and we didn’t find it until our very last stop. At the very last fabric store option on our list we thankfully found 40 feet of chiffon red fabric that would be light enough to flow freely in the wind and long enough to make the image I had in my head come to life.

If anyone knows me, they know I am a huge nerd at heart. So it will probably come as no surprise to most of you that Sailor Moon was my inspiration for this shoot. I picked Lacey for this shoot because I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I needed a model that would be willing to push themselves just as hard I did.

I didn’t want to have to feel like I was taking care of anyone in that moment and I never feel like that with Lacey; she’s always ready to do anything and does not need help doing it.

Also, her look for this was perfect. The short brown hair was subtle enough, her jawline stood out even when I was far from her, and her sultry stare gave off the mood I wanted in these images.

So much work and dedication went into this shoot and we are so happy with the results. We drove hours outside of Los Angeles, trekked miles in sand through intense winds, and had to stay out in what felt like the desert for hours until we got all the shots we needed.

Upon releasing some of the images to social media since then I have had some people ask me, “Did you Photoshop the fabric to make it longer?” And let me just tell everyone now, the answer is a hard “No.” I do not like to re-create what isn’t there, and I like to keep all of my editing natural and true to the image that it was originally.

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THE DEAD SEA This shoot may have been one of the most difficult, but definitely the most pleasing shoot we have ever done.

Nobody actually knows what LACEY happens during shoots and this is a prime example of the logistics being different than it looks. I was literally standing on rocks and fishbones while inhaling the stench of dead fish in the middle of the desert. This shoot—I actually almost cried because it hurt so bad—but I knew I had to keep it together and hold it in because I was not about to waste everyone’s hard work.

JESSICA I found the headpiece designer after scouring Instagram and came across @amaroq. I knew I had to get my hands on her pieces. When we all went to visit her studio, I was in a trance. Stephanie literally screamed when she found out a headpiece was also worn by Beyonce.

We found the location for the shoot, and despite how absolutely gorgeous it was... it demolished our senses. We were walking on miles of dead, rotten fish and the smell permeated the air. Lacey stood on bones with her bare feet. Although the stench was such a contradiction to the immense beauty of this shoot, her strength shows through and gave these images life.

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CARNIVAL I knew the designers we were utilizing for our other looks ventured towards the ethereal.

Elegant. I wanted to warp that and go in a completely JESSICA different direction.

Something more... glam trash. After looking at different stores locally, I found the floral 70s pants and cheetah print coat at Steamroller Blues. Before picking up Steph from the airport, Lacey and I went prowling around Venice to shop. I found the "Fuck you� glasses at Wasteland. It was the perfect piece to the vibe in my head. Once we added the pink wig (I still remember this moment, because Stephanie almost killed us driving on the way to the wig shop)... I knew the look was perfection. Carnivals always invoke a sense of freedom, of letting yourself go and tapping into your childlike wonder. The vibrant makeup, Stephanie's photography and Lacey's confidence executed just that.

LACEY I knew I had to own the pink hair. It was my first time modeling in a wig, so I knew it would be different because it was a completely different look we all had to work with. I looked at the wardrobe, hair and makeup and just thought about what kind of attitude this girl would have.

INSTAGRAM: @THELACEYCLAIRE @STEPHANIEPARSLEY @JESSICAHUMERICK

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The Shape of Things Sarah Marsh launches Emily Mars Fashion House to create a new fit for clothes for an audience with diverse tastes WORDS / TERRAH GRAVES PHOTOS / CYNTHIA POST HUNT

T

he human body and buildings have a few important things in common, according to Sarah Marsh, Fayetteville Vice Mayor, Alderwoman and Independent Sustainability Consultant—they’re both 3-dimensional structures and have an outside appearance made more visually appealing by human artistry. That's why her transition from architect to fashion designer was so fluid.

Marsh started in the architectural field to create designs for complex structures using her love of drawing. But after completing her degree the industry moved from hand-drawn to computer designs, and Marsh had to seek alternative outlets to see her designs come to life. Motivated by her bold sense of personal style and need for quality clothing to fit her unique body shape, she turned to fashion.

Her formal fashion education started in Seattle, Washington where she worked as a sustainability consultant for a large engineering firm. There, between her many projects, she attended New York Fashion Academy. Halfway through her studies a promotion at work took her out of the classroom, but she had learned the fundamentals of couture, boutique fashion that could take her into her new art form.

With her training, knowledge of 3-D design, and love of handmade art, Marsh began to specialize in clothing specifically tailored to unique body shapes. As a designer of buildings and homes, she helped engineers fashion new ways of being more environmentally-kind and energy efficient. As a fashion designer, she wants to help people find their best

look, despite what original shape they inhabit.

"Ultimately, it’s about empowering people, women in particular, to look their best so they can go out in the world and do their best and be their best."

Marsh realized early that her body type was one among many not represented in the mainstream fashion industry.

This meant settling for uncomfortable and distracting clothing—not a good option for someone who now spends much of her time in the public eye, giving speeches and playing a large role in city politics. She wanted clothing that gave her confidence and fit well. “…I don’t want to always be adjusting things or feeling self-conscious.”

It was after moving to Fayetteville that she realized her only option was to make her own clothing. She used natural, durable materials with unique patterns from around the world and hand-crafted patterns that fit her body. It didn’t take long for others to notice. Most of her customers since starting have been word-of-mouth, personal friends and colleagues. But they’ve created a customer base that’s allowed Marsh to now open her own studio in Fayetteville, and launch her own brand, Emily Mars Fashion House.

“I just thought if I don’t do this now I’m never going to do it. So I’m jumping in full speed ahead,” Marsh said.

Since then, she's signed a contract with a local designer Wendy Gay for a special project for breast cancer survivors who have not reconstructed and started many personal projects with lofty goals for the future. A few of her signature

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FASHION ideas include a Fayetteville-inspired version of the men's Hawaiian shirt, a line of clothing that can go from the bike trail to the boardroom, ready-to-wear, hand-designed t-shirts (featuring cats), "make your favorite cardigan" group sewing parties and a line of kaftans (think a sleek moo-moo). One of her most important goals, she said, is to offer jobs to women in the area that pay a starting, living wage between $15 and $16 an hour.

“We used to have Levi's products made here and a lot of the seamstresses are still in the area. It’s a great skill set and there’s a lot of opportunity for job creation," she explained.

One of her biggest strengths and personal favorite projects is creating patterns for what's known as the capsule wardrobe concept—uniform-like apparel so a man or woman needing to look professional everyday can know they have something quality that works together and fits perfectly. This saves her clients money and time.

"I want to go in my closet and pick out what I want and be able to focus on the meeting rather than what I’m wearing."

One recent project was creating a pattern for a man's uniform shirt that will include the logo of his acupuncture business and different fabrics for each day. Several clients have had a shirt or dress created in a particular style, and then come back the following year for the same pattern in a different fabric.

She's also doing home products like draperies, bedding and pillows.

She strives to create a safe space for all types of clients, including people going through sexual identity transitions searching for

their new, personal look.

To pay the wage she wants for interns and seamstresses she has to stay in high-end fashion, she said, but compares her current prices to that of Anthropology and other handmade, durable clothing.

As for how she came up with the name Emily Mars Fashion House—Emily being her middle name and Mars her last name without the H—Marsh explained it was her way of allowing her fierce innerfashion designer to finally come out. After years of struggling to find fabulous items to wear to fit unique body shapes and personal styles, her customers are probably glad she did.

FACEBOOK.COM/ EMILYMARSFASHIONHOUSE

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CUT & SEW

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK HUGHES

Mark Hughes has spent years creating designs for the famous and the fashionable. He’s still going strong.

WORDS / SUSAN PORTER

M

ark Hughes shops the world for fabric. He’s constantly on the hunt for fabric, buttons and trim—both new and vintage—for his three women’s clothing lines, his trademark Regalia, the Couture Du Jour collection and Bing Bang Boomerang.

Regalia is also the name of his retail shop and studio at 16 White St. in Eureka Springs. The Regalia line consists of comfortable, natural-fiber, basic clothing; wardrobe staples. The Couture Du Jour collection is made from vintage or exceptional fabric and is generally one-of-a-kind or limited edition.

Hughes was initially inspired by his best friend’s Barbie. At age 9 he patterned and hand-sewed clothing for Barbie. From there he advanced to sewing on a machine, making curtains for his room and costumes for the high school plays.

In the ‘70s he studied acting and costume design at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, but dropped out when Little Rock designer Connie Fails recruited him to manage her studio. There, he pinned and created gowns for Arkansas First Lady Hillary Clinton.

After his stint with Fails, he opened his own costume shop in downtown Little Rock. He designed and created costumes for theater companies throughout the U.S. as well as mascot costumes. At Halloween, he and his staff would go through the inventory and tag the costumes with rental prices. But one Halloween, Hughes told everyone to tag it to sell.

In 1997 he moved to Fayetteville and jumped back into the costume business, operating from a small shed behind his house. His clients ranged from drag queens to the Arkansas State Parks Department.

He eventually began sharing a studio with artist Kathy Thompson near the Fayetteville Square. That’s where he met Amy Zurcher, currently the executive director of creative ideation and design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. When Hughes met Zurcher she was managing a boutique clothing shop in Fayetteville. Recognizing Hughes’ talent, Zurcher encouraged him to design a women’s clothing line to sell in the boutique. She had a hunch that comfortable, locally designed and produced clothing would sell. Hughes worked on sketches for Zurcher to critique and helped him put together a collection of timeless wardrobe staples made of linen and Regalia was born. It was an exciting time for them both.

“After the first sale, she called and said, ‘Someone just bought two pieces of your clothing.’” It wasn’t long before she called and said ‘Someone just bought 11 pieces.’

Hughes still produces some of the styles he designed for that original collection.

When the boutique Zurcher was managing closed, Hughes began selling the Regalia line from his downtown studio. Not only was he cutting, sewing and designing clothing, he was creating a customer service model that has brought a steady flow of return customers. He keeps a card for every client, noting style, size, color, etc. Women who bought clothing from him in the ‘90s still call and reorder the same item. He mails about 15 to 20 priority mail packages to clients weekly.

In 2003 Hughes relocated to Eureka Springs, where he was inspired to add the Couture Du Jour and Bing Bang Boomerang lines. One wall of his cutting room is lined with bolts of the most beautiful fabric imaginable. The fabric is his muse. Every day he walks the 46-second commute from his home, goes to the cutting room, looks at the wall, singles out a fabric and asks: What do you want to be? He always hears an answer. The latest creations for the Couture Du Jour line are inspired by the Roaring 20s and “Downton Abbey” and as always, Chanel.

But what about his first muse, Barbie?

Her presence is everywhere. Hughes’ collection of Barbie are elevated to movie star status in lighted glass cases throughout the workspace.

REGALIAHANDMADECLOTHING.COM Find clothing by Regalia at South Main Creative in Little Rock.

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SUIT GAME

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY / GERARD MATTHEWS

S

STRONG

ean Cullers grew up in Kansas City in the 70s, when bankers, lawyers, and doctors wore suits to work every day and the farmers wore, well, overalls. But everybody got dressed up for church on Sunday and Cullers remembers the pride in feeling crisply dressed.

“My grandfather, my dad, and my uncles wore a suit every single day. I just was in tune to looking sharp. I wouldn’t say dandy, because everybody was pretty conservative. I think that’s really where I got most of my inspiration, as far as my direction in what I really wanted to do in my career,” Cullers said.

Cullers is the director of sales and made-to-measure for Strong Suit, a menswear retailer for young men looking for something dapper and of good quality that won’t also leave them in abject poverty. He’s been in the business awhile, having established a solid reputation at LIttle Rock clothier Baumann’s over the course of 21 years. Strong Suit’s first line launched in the fall of 2014, with Jamie Davidson at the helm, and now their suits can be found in specialty stores across the country.

Made-to-measure shop in downtown Little Rock stretches across the United States.

But the home base is still in the River Market in downtown Little Rock. A young man can walk into the storefront one floor above the Flying Saucer and peruse suits made of fabric from some of the world’s most well-known retailers: Reda, Loro Piana, Solbiati and Vitale Barberis Canonico, just to name a few. And you’ll get a little something else, too.

“You get a lot of the personal attention,” he said. “You definitely get something that really is made for you. It’s not a garment that’s taken off the rack then altered and then given back to you.

It’s a garment that’s made to your specifications.”

At Strong Suit, the suits are made to measure. The client is measured and adjustments are made to existing patterns, allowing for personal touches tailored to their tastes: peak or notch lapels, varying pocket styles, jacket linings or button holes.

It’s as close as you can get to full bespoke tailoring without spending $4,000 on a suit.

And one of the reasons for the young company’s success seems to be their intimate knowledge of their target customer.

Cullers talked about “our guy” as though the two catch up over rock glasses of single malt scotch every couple of weeks.

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FASHION “He’s got a limited discretionary income,” Cullers said.

“He’s either starting his wardrobe, starting his career, starting a family, things like that. We know that we’ve got to give him a real quality product. We feel like at our opening price point of $595 that we’re much more attainable, much of an easier reach for our target customer.”

Donnie Ferneau is one of their guys. He’s the executive chef at The 1836 Club in Little Rock. Ferneau got married on Nov. 12, and he didn’t want to wear just anything. He worked with Cullers and the two settled on a navy tux with black accents—a classic look but with a custom, modern touch.

“Sean made me feel like I was at home,” Ferneau said.

“The process was simple and painless. Just to rent a tux or just to buy a tux off the rack just wasn’t my style. When I saw that suit and I saw the blue, it just popped. It was kind of rock-and-roll with the black lapels. It was perfect. Strong Suit is like a high-end suit place without all the bullshit.

You tell him what you want, he gives you what you want.”

Ferneau promised his new bride he’d wear the suit every year on their anniversary “or at least try to fit into it.” Beyond the satisfaction of looking great for the big day, there’s the added bonus of buying local.

“When you purchase stuff locally, you’re keeping that money right here,” he said. “I’ll probably see Sean at the restaurant later on. Giving money to local vendors will always come back to you.”

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Return to the Runway Art Amiss co-founder Robin Atkinson wants to expand the cultural landscape by rebooting Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week.

WORDS / KELSEY FERGUSON PHOTOS / MAX GRUBB & TANJA HEFFNER

W

hat’s so attractive about Northwest Arkansas is that it’s all potential,” new NWA Fashion Week CEO Robin Wallis Atkinson tells me with a gleam in her eye. Like many other creatives, Atkinson now sees Northwest Arkansas not as a desert for artistic development, but rather as a playground. As one of the founders of Art Amiss, Fayetteville’s first major arts promotion organization, Atkinson remembers how difficult it was to build a competitive arts portfolio in-state – and how much the cultural landscape has changed. Atkinson opted to return home in 2014 after building an impressive career across the country and abroad, taking some time to identify where she might best have a lasting impact. Now she’s stepping into action, deciding to reinvent and deepen the region’s connection with a budding fashion industry. Atkinson stepped up as CEO of NWA Fashion Week last summer, seeking to revive the organization that still lay sleeping after a two-year hiatus.

“The brand was strong, the images from the past were interesting, and in many ways I felt that it set the bar high for the area,” Atkinson recalled. “Taking on something that’s so aspirational and that strives to be really well put together intrigued me.”

As part of the rebranding effort, NWA Fashion Week is adopting a new mission and vision.

“On every level of the organization, I would like to make it more inclusive, diverse and interactive with the community,” Atkinson clarified. “Fashion Week is an event, but it’s also an organization with an inclusive and diverse mission, that brings in people from all parts of the community, and that creates images on-par with any other metropolitan area.”

With newfound purpose, NWA Fashion Week is now poised to not only continue feeding the creative economy in Northwest Arkansas, but to also facilitate the kind of educational opportunity that Atkinson would have wanted in the beginning of her artistic career right here at home: “What I envision for NWA Fashion Week is that if you’re a graduate from the University of Arkansas in Apparel Studies, a budding photographer, a model or a stylist, we give a set of opportunities to practice that art that would otherwise not be available in this area. I’m really interested in providing enough opportunity and enough projects that we keep our smart, talented twenty-something and thirty-something producers here. If you want to build a portfolio, you can build it with us rather than needing to move to Dallas, Houston, New York or elsewhere. Of course people will move, but as a person originally from here and who left to build my own portfolio, I want to provide people that opportunity to become professionals here in their hometown as well as recruit talent from other areas.”

As it strives to build its foundation, Fashion Week is getting off to a great start. With a successful fundraiser in the books, the community should get excited for the reinvention of what Fashion Week has always been known for: its annual runway show. Make plans for March 1-4 for four days of

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OPPOSITE PAGE: Stylist Rebecca Kessler-Leon applies makeup to model Amanda Allen.

Photo by Tanja Heffner THIS PAGE: Model Selina Aguirre Teran wearing designs by Leslie Pennel, Hair and Makeup by Rebecca Kessler-Leon.

Photo by Max Grubb

fashion including galas, workshops and a two-night show in downtown Bentonville. On the 1st, Atkinson will kick off the week at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art with a public gallery talk. On the 2nd, 21C Museum will host the NWA Fashion Week gala: a night to preview upcoming designs, participate in interactive photoshoots and enjoy live music with performance. On the 3rd and 4th, visit the all-new Record downtown for the official runway show highlighting Arkansas fashion designers and boutiques.

As it continues to evolve, Fashion Week hopes to expand to two events: a formal production in the spring and a more relaxed production in the fall. In the meantime, Fashion Week lives as a prime example of potential in Northwest Arkansas—not just for business, but for creative expression and opportunity as well.

INSTAGRAM: @NWAFASHIONWEEK WINTER 2017 idleclassmag.com

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Let them eat cake DESIGNS / ASHLEY LITTLE AND AMY JOHNSON PHOTOS / TANJA HEFFNER AND ARICKA LEWIS WORDS / ROBIN ATKINSON WINTER 2017 idleclassmag.com

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LETTER FROM THE GUEST EDITOR

ROBIN When Kody asked me to guest edit a fashion edition of The Idle Class magazine, I was so honored. This publication is a favorite of mine for keeping up with the arts in Arkansas. At NWA Fashion Week, we wanted to put together truly ambitious content to show our gratitude for this opportunity. And boy did we set the bar high!

Our largest photo editorial to date, “Let Them Eat Cake,” was developed specifically about an ‘idle class’ with a nod to aspirational lifestyles and opulent living.

We wanted to flex our creative muscles and dream up the most elaborate shoot we could. The designers at Material Concepts,

Ashley Little and Amy Johnson, were gracious enough to each design five new garments just for this set of images. We recruited 10 talented models, six hair and makeup stylists, and an entire team of on-set production help. Signature Bank sponsored the amazing location and Buzz Events sponsored the absolutely perfect staging. The end result is our contemporary take on Marie Antoinette—piles of tulle, lace and embellishments draped on beautiful women set in an absolutely gorgeous environment.

Focusing on diversity, positivity and inclusivity, NWA Fashion Week hopes to bring fashion forward thinking to the cultural landscape, a bit of reverie to get lost in and a spot to dream big and go for broke. We only get a little bit of time on this planet, so we might as well dress it up!

Come see us March 1-4 in Bentonville for 2017’s Spring Fashion Week events. Information is available on our website at www. nwafw.com.

And here’s to a New Year dressed to the nines!

“Let Them Eat Cake” Editorial Photoshoot Location Sponsored by Signature Bank Staging Sponsored by Buzz Events Creative Director: Robin Wallis Atkinson Photography: Tanja Heffner, Aricka Lewis Videography: Jessica Whalen Hair Styling: Crissy Roughly, Alicia Martin, Angela Sullivan Makeup: Kristin Von Dietrich, Joshy Felidae, Kim Pease Designs provided by Material Concepts Designers Ashley Little and Amy Johnson Production Assistant: Kate Stoner Models: Alondra Lopez, Emily Vue, Kyleen Bowling, Christie Peeler, Payton Bridewell, Mary Semon, Amanda Allen, Khandice Baldwin, Olivia Camylle

Robin Wallis Atkinson Guest Editor CEO and Creative Director NWA Fashion Week

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Second Life Clothing and jewlery designers revitalize vintage items to create unique works.

WORDS / TERRAH GRAVES PHOTOS / KAT WILSON & MARIE DARRIN

L

ooking fashionable in today’s world can come at a high price. New styles literally change weekly, which means a lot of money for the consumer and industrial waste for the planet, both from discarded clothes and during the production process.

Several designers in Arkansas have a solution—recycle, repurpose, recreate. While there are many artists in the state that are skilled in taking what seems to be out-ofdate or old and pairing it in new ways or totally changing its structure and look, we’ve highlighted three who have made a name for themselves in the local fashion world.

They do what not many can—create quality clothing and jewelry on a budget, re-imagining a second life for pieces that others have thrown out.

ROSIE ROSE DESIGNER Rosie Rose said she’s been collecting interesting pieces for years. Her favorite fabrics to work with are “upcycled” and eco-friendly, like bamboo. From her collection she creates things totally new and unique, sometimes from her own mind and sometimes from the imagination of others. Not only does she like that using discarded clothing has basically no additional carbon footprint, she loves bringing new life into old clothing.

“I like the idea of taking something that was an old garment that nobody loved anymore that was ugly and sad and turning it into something fabulous and beautiful and new… It’s like turning the caterpillar into the butterfly,” Rose explained.

After an apprenticeship with Mark Hughes in Eureka Springs, learning to sew and create handmade clothing, she began fashion design the professional way in 2010. Today, in her business Rosie Rose Designer, she creates

EMILY OF ONEMANBAND

custom pieces from handmade patterns and designs—like a dress for a woman who had a double vasectomy or a Snow White-inspired wedding gown—and is showing her more high-end fashion work on the runway in Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week (NWAFW) in March 2017. She specializes in custom work for weddings and formal events, creating fairytale-like dresses, but also makes casual wear, custom tea towels and baby onesies, all sold on her Etsy shop Rosie Rose Designer.

EMILY'S ONEMANBAND Emily Smith names her clothing line according to her personality—she brings everything necessary to make some noise, even with what she wears. But in her mind, someone shouldn’t have to work their life away to be fashion forward on the daily. While she spends much of her time refurbishing and reinventing classic and quality pieces she finds at thrift and second-hand stores, her dream is to help others find freedom in never

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JULIA OF GLAMOROUS GAUGE CO.

having to pay retail prices.

After finishing her degree at the University of Arkansas she realized being a “wealthy work horse” was not what brought her happiness.

Working at a second-hand, vintage clothing store part-time for the better part of eight years led her to what did. It was there that she honed her skills of picking out quality items that she could recreate, or timeless pieces she could bring back to life.

“I know all the labels, and all the materials, after seeing so many things come through the store and from my own shopping—it’s like second nature,” Smith explained.

Her outfits are more “designeresque” but because she lacks traditional sewing skills, she pieces together with cutting, hand sewing, tying and dying. Her pieces come about not by prior pattern work but by finding a piece that inspires her. “I’ll find something really awesome and ask myself what I’m going to make out of it.”

Her eye for unique fashion is not missed by

others either. She’s had jewelry and clothing in stores like MACA Boutique, Four Legged Bird and Mayapple Salon and Boutique, and is serving as fashion and editorialist consultant for NWAFW 2017. She also maintains her Etsy shop Emily’s OneManBand that has gathered a close following and is regularly stocked with upcycled and repurposed, hand-altered clothing.

THE GLAMOROUS GAUGE CO. Julia Terry started making her own gauges years ago, when she realized what was available on the market wasn’t unique enough for her style. One day while contemplating how to create plugs she enjoyed wearing, she remembered a pair of antique clip-on earrings her mom had given her.

“I realized they’d fit perfectly on a pair of plugs, so using those I started making my own.”

She collects glamorous earrings and discarded jewelry from antique stores, thrift stores and

family and friends, takes it apart and puts it back together with an eye for texture and color that highlights natural beauty. Not only does using these found pieces make for designer-style gauges, but it brings an old piece of jewelry back into the spotlight, she said.

She’s made and sold jewelry before, in places like Lola’s Boutique and Something Urban, but gauges and custom orders are what have been inspiring her newest collection.

“Whenever I make a pair of gauges, whether it’s handmade hoops that I can wire-wrap with beads or incorporating stones, I pay attention to the smallest details,” Terry said.

It’s her attention to detail and eye for classic glamour that drives her Etsy store, The Glamorous Gauge Co., and brings in custom orders for weddings and special events.

INSTAGRAM: @ROSIEROSEDESIGNER @ONEMANBANDIT @THEGLAMOROUSGAUGECO WINTER 2017 idleclassmag.com

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"WHAT MAKES YOU INSANE" CONCEPT / MELISSA ARENS STYLING / MELISSA ARENS & NATALIE DENTON HAIR & MAKEUP / AMANDA HALLAM, JENNY TUZ, NATALIE DENTON, JACQUE SHIRLEY, & MELISSA ARENS AT MAYAPPLE SALON CLOTHING / AT MAYAPPLE BOUTIQUE MODELS / EMMA FUSTON, NATALIA GUERRERO PARRA, PENELOPE STARR & DEMI GRANDBOIS PHOTOGRAPHY / SOPHIA BAUER 46 idleclassmag.com WINTER 2017

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WORDS / MELISSA ARENS PHOTO / SOPHIA BAUER

A

s owner at Mayapple Salon and boutique and fashion director for the local non-profit Art Amiss, I have been producing runway shows and editorial styling for several years now. Like most artists that get the opportunity to express themselves through their art, I also have my day job of doing hair full time; while this pays my bills, I am ever so grateful to have my fashion shows and editorial shoots to feed my soul.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with and along side some really great local artists, models and photographers in the fashion world, Jacqueline Manhattan (of Badd Jaxx), Natalie Anne Denton, Daryl Elizabeth Lee, Cloey Grote, Glory Leggettt, Caitlin Cooper, Sarah Levine, Celi Birke, Penelope Starr, Matt Miller, Mallory Berry, Roxie Jane Hunt (of How-tohair-girl) Sophie Odelia Bauer, Bob Cochran, Nikki Jacoby, Keely Wake (of Flora and Fauuna) Amanda Hallam, Andi Wise,

Whitney Johnston, Dylan May, Jenny Tuz, Meleah Loyah and Jacque Shirley to name a few. My work over the years would not have been the same without them, and artist collaborations are one of my favorite ways to express myself.

I also want to say that behind any show or editorial shoot I have ever produced there was and is always an underlying meaning to what is being shown. I get visions of what I want to put out there and I have deep emotional and political reasons for what is being produced. Although it is a lot of work to produce runway shows and successful editorial spreads I am grateful to have the opportunity to express myself through art and fashion. This spread in particular speaks of some of the pain that is an outcome due to the greed that is so prevalent in America (past and present) and how it affects Americans and other humans around the globe. I hope you enjoy.

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WORDS / VAUGHN MIMS & KODY FORD PHOTOS / JAKE WEST, SOPHIA BAUER, & DAVID ARTEAGA

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KATIE MCGOWAN

BLACK COBRA TATTOO - SHERWOOD TATTOO EXPERIENCE: 6 YEARS @KATIETATTOOS

Who taught you to tattoo?

Matt O'Baugh has been the most influential tattooer of my career. Because of that, I consider him to have been my mentor. He cares a lot about his clients and his business, which I respect. He is also so consistent with his work. All of the tattoos he creates are always very thoughtful and impressive. He's inspiring.

MIGUEL ARRUE

7TH ST TATTOO - LITTLE ROCK TATTOO EXPERIENCE: 4 YEARS @MIGUELARRUE

Have you always created art?

Ever since I was a kid. Always drew cartoons and shit like that. I did some anime, but mostly cartoons that I liked. Once I started high school, I took it more seriously. I drew a lot more. I took as many art classes as I could. I would even find ways to skip class to do art. I would tell my teachers I had art to work on and I would go to the art studio to work. I never planned on doing art seriously, though. I just really got into it.

Why tattoo?

It's pretty much the best job in the world (in my opinion). I'm humbled that people want me to tattoo them. I've had some people fly from different parts of the US to get tattooed (and Canada too!) and i feel so flattered. I have a passion for drawing and making art, and the fact that I get to share that with clients means a lot to me! I think tattoos can be empowering for a lot of people. Tattoos can give people a chance to express themselves, or even help them get past a difficult event in their lif e.

Being able to be a part of that experience for people is one of the reasons why my job is so special to me.

Did you go to school for art?

I'm a high school drop out. I had to help my mom. I worked in food for a while, and actually wanted to become a cook. I still really enjoy cooking, but I love tattooing. When I worked in the kitchen, I was always the "tattooed guy."

I kept getting tattoos and I met other people with tattoos through work. Once I got into tattooing, I dropped cooking as a career.

Why do you tattoo?

I enjoy it. If I'm stressed out and come to work and tattoo, I forget my problems. It's not work.

I come in every day to do dope tattoos. You can't beat that.

CHELCIE DIETERLE

DIAMOND STATE TATTOO - SHERWOOD TATTOO EXPERIENCE: 6 YEARS @CHELCIEDAGGER

Who taught you to tattoo?

I apprenticed under Don Olivo alongside fellow apprentices Nicholas Peirce and Josh Paul (my current coworkers at Diamond State Tattoo).

We all got our start there, learning how to use the equipment, how to book appointments and talk with clients. Express Yourself was a really fun and easy going place to be, but I was only there for a short time and after 7 months I still had only a little bit of experience despite having received my license. When I moved to Conway for school I didn’t have a shop lined out to

work at. One day I walked into a shop called The Rusty Needle and spoke with the owner, Devin, a former high school art teacher with an art degree. For the next 5 years I worked with Devin and was introduced to a ton of different artistic mediums and traditional tattooers that I had never heard of. Most of the experience there was wonderful, I spent all of my time at the shop when I wasn’t in class and it felt a lot like a home. I worked there throughout almost all of school and left shortly before I graduated to begin working at Diamond State.

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KYLE ARKANSAS

BLACK COBRA TATTOO - SHERWOOD PIERCING EXPERIENCE: 4 YEARS @KYLEARKANSAS

What made you interested in this field?

As a kid I always admired musicians that had piercings and tattoos. I started getting pierced and tattooed at an early age and it just became my norm. When I got my first car I started going to tattoo shops to hang out, I knew that I wanted to work in the tattoo/piercing industry. I knew early on the difference between quality tattoos and piercings and "not so good" ones. I made up my mind that if I could get an apprenticeship for piercing that I would be the

MISTY FORSBERG

WHITE RABBIT TATTOO - FORT SMITH SCARIFICATION EXPERIENCE: 8 YEARS @MISTYFORSBERG

What is a common misconception about scarification?

I think the biggest misconception is that scarification is something dramatically different from other forms of body art that are more commonly accepted. People see tattoos and piercings every day with little response, but hearing the words "cutting" or "scar" can bring up some fairly negative feedback, both toward the art itself and those who seek it, from individuals that have never been educated about this form of body art. Many people unfamiliar with scarification can tend to assume there are connections with self harm or that a scar can't

best piercer that I could and give the people of Sherwood a safe place to come. Once I had my foot in the door I was on a mission and to this day I still work very hard to be on top of education, safety and new jewelry trends.

What motivates you on the job?

From the time someone comes in to the time they leave, it is my goal to make them feel comfortable, safe and educated on what is happening. I never want someone to feel unwanted or like they don’t belong here because a tattoo shop should be a place where everyone fits in and can feel cool.

be an aesthetically pleasing thing to see. Often, once they see what this art form actually looks like when done well and healed, that opinion is changed. Although scarification is a very unique and beautiful form of body art, like other forms of decorating the human body, they are simply another way people seek to express themselves and feel more at home in their skin. The list of motivations for seeking a tattoo, piercing, or scar are very much the same.

What is your favorite design to do?

I am happy doing anything that will heal well, and I do feel that the designs I do are more about what the client loves than me. My personal favorites are typically floral designs, mehndi/henna style designs, and pieces that have a nice flow with the shapes of the body they are going on.

ROBERT BERRY

7TH STREET TATTOO - LITTLE ROCK TATTOO EXPERIENCE: 19.5 YEARS @ROBERTEBERRY

When & where did you start tattooing?

Tractions Ink on Main st. I was 39 years old, and it was July 13 1997.

How were you introduced to tattooing?

The kids kept telling me I would be good at it.

They bugged me for 3 years or so. I didn't want to touch people and deal with bodily fluids.

Back then, it was thought to be dangerous.

Why do you tattoo?

I had a son that was killed in a car wreck. My ex-wife wanted to tattoo in his memory, and I had no choice but to give in a do it. After I tried it, I was fascinated. I prefer tattooing over painting. There's no room for error. You have to be focused. The focus helped me with the grief.

Nothing works like focus.

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FASHION PAUL LEE

BLACK COBRA TATTOO - SHERWOOD TATTOO EXPERIENCE: 3 YEARS @PAULLEETATTOO

Describe your style and favorite subject to tattoo?

When I first started tattooing I was very into doing realistic style, whether it be in color or black and grey. I've noticed over the time I've been tattooing I've been getting more into more of a new traditional/ Japanese style.

I love tattooing any animals, flowers, organic

things, and mythical creatures. I also like tattooing lettering. I still enjoy doing realism, nut it seems like I enjoy it more if it's in black and grey. But who knows, maybe next year I'll be into doing watercolor 3D floating dragonflies or something.

JO LYNN CEPEDA

WHITE RABBIT TATTOO PARLOUR - FORT SMITH TATTOO EXPERIENCE: 8 YEARS @JOLYNNCEPEDA

Did you apprentice under anyone? If so, what were some great lessons you learned?

I apprenticed at a local shop. I learned a lot about what not to do.

Did you go to school to become a more formal artist and then decide to go the tattoo route or were you always looking to be a tattoo artist?

I actually never knew that being a tattoo artist was a feasible career. I was always into art, and finally, at 23, had the opportunity to become licensed after graduating from college with a biology degree.

Why do you love your job?

I love it because it’s not really a job! It’s a passion - I just happen to get paid!

ARKANSAS BREWGRASS FEST! SATURDAY, MAY 6TH BEER, MUSIC WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS & MORE FEATURING INDIE CRAFTS & OUTSIDER ART FROM CATTYWAMPUS CO-OP!

@BREWGRASSFEST

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Offering full hair services mayapplesalon.com

Vintage and modern resale clothing available at mayappleboutique.com/shop

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TM

New Design School announces the gift-acquisition of Nerdies, NWA’s premier alternative learning space for youth ages 6 to 15.

Summer Session Registration Opens March 2017

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NWA FASHION WEEK

Photo Credits: She Said Yes Bridal worn by Nicole Sizemore. Photo by Tanja Heffner, Hair by Sunshine Broder, Makeup by Keith Caudle Idle Class, The - Winter 2017, Fashion-FINAL.indd 56

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