We are a part of a local theater group called CCT, Christian Community Theater, and we performed Beauty and the Beast over the summer of 2023. MelRae was the lead Costume Designer and she and the director, Bobby Tschoepe, worked hand-in-hand to design and create the costumes. One of the costumes she designed was for Mrs. Potts, the castle’s head housekeeper who transformed into an enchanted teapot. One thing the director and Melrae wanted was to incorporate roses into the costumes to tie in the rose symbolism woven into the story. They wanted Mrs. Potts (the fabulous Jennifer Acevedo) to feel warm and motherly but also dignified as she is the head of housekeeping. MelRae placed me in charge of the apron and guided me throughout the whole process. We picked out a teapot from our own collection as inspiration for the apron, took some pictures in our garden, and I began prototyping ways to paint the flowers on fabric.
At first, I tried loading up a large flat paintbrush with two shades of paint to paint and shade at the same time. That did not work out very well so I tried again. The next few attempts weren’t much better. The two shades on one brush made the edges fuzzy and I found it hard to control and shade properly. I started sketching out how big the flowers and petals needed to be. I ended up painting in layers while using my fingers to blend. Continued in Part 2 and Part 3.
Here are a few of the products we used!
E6000 Fabric Fuse
Jollin Flatback Rhinestones
FolkArt Textile Medium
Plaid Flat Brush, Gold Taklon
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