" A T  T H E  E N D  O F
T H E  D A Y,  T H E  O N L Y
T H I N G  T H A T  C O U N T S
I S  Y O U R  I N S I G H T,
Y O U R  R E A C T I O N,
A N D  T H E  W A Y  Y O U
C O N V E Y  Y O U R
F E E L I N G  T O W A R D S
T H E  S U B J E C T."
Alvaro Castagnet

" I T  I S  D I F F I C U L T  T O
S T O P  I N  T I M E
B E C A U S E  O N E  G E T S
C A R R I E D  A W A Y.
B U T  I  H A V E  T H A T
S T R E N G T H,
I T  I S  T H E  O N L Y
S T R E N G T H  I  H A V E."
Claude Monet

" A L L'S  W E L L
T H A T  E N D S  W E L L."
Proverb

I find the completion of any project stressful. I become obsessed with the final details. I work to deadlines (which increases my stress level). As I am routinely called upon to make compromises I sometimes have an opportunity to learn important lessons.

As 'Translucence', my three-dimensional "dress" neared completion I began to think seriously about how it would be displayed. Initially I planned to have a Lucite base made. I also considered a wire frame. Either would allow me to light the work from the inside.

Gary said he would help. I knew his offer was genuine. I also knew that he did not have a clear idea of what I wanted. I decided that I needed a mannequin or at least some mannequin legs.

Gary did a web search and discovered a display equipment store not far from our home. When I phoned they said yes, they had mannequins and yes, they sell to individuals.

We made a trip to Value Store Fixtures one cold January afternoon. There we met Rose, the keeper of the mannequins. Rose is a petite woman. She was dressed for comfort in hiking boots and jeans. We told her what we were looking for and she said, "Follow me."

We set off on what I can only describe as an adventure. Rose took us on a winding route through the warehouse and upstairs to a room filled with mannequins. They were arranged so that there was a narrow path through the room.

As we walked through the maze we discovered that older mannequins separate at the waist while more contemporary ones separate at the bikini line in keeping with current styles. We searched the room for an old girl since I needed a waist to support the "dress." We found only one older mannequin in the lot.

Rose asked questions about my project and how I would be using the mannequin. When I told her that I thought I only needed legs, she asked us to follow her once again to another part of the warehouse. There we found a bin filled with legs. She deftly removed a set and presented them for our inspection.

Once we established that the legs would serve my purpose, we began to talk about building a stand. Rose suggested that a fellow in the warehouse could build a simple stand for us. We agreed to return the next day to pick up the legs and the new stand.

As we were completed the transaction the following day Rose asked when and where the exhibition would be. I told her it would be at the McMullen Gallery at the University of Alberta Hospital. "I know that gallery," she said.

Rose told me that she spent a lot of time in the Gallery when her sister-in-law was a patient in the Hospital. She said it was a comfort to go there. She said she would like to see my work in the Gallery.

For a few moments I stopped thinking about my harried schedule and myself. I remembered why I have worked for more than a year on Inside the Dress. I promised to send Rose an invitation and you can bet I will!




The project is entitled, "Inside the Dress." It is a process that will culminate in an exhibition at the McMullen Gallery this year. My colleagues, Jean Brandel, Judy Villett and Jayne Willoughby-Scott and I conceived the idea as a means of creating an opportunity to work deeply. The process is taking more than a year to complete. We envision the result of collective personal work will be a remarkable exhibition.