grace duVal

I will not hold anyone in suspense, so I will go ahead and say that we didn’t win anything. and I (we) are perfectly happy with that, because last night we witnessed one of the most spectacular things of all time. All I can say is that I am proud to have been a part of a show of this caliber. It was truly spectacular, and again and again I couldn’t help but say “WOW.”

We spent all of yesterday wandering shops and doing nothing, just counting down the time until we could start getting ready for the show. Eventually we went back to our hotel and got ready for the show, putting on our fancy fancy dresses and our Kay Adams necklaces (shameless plug). Then we walked down the street in our fancy fancy dress and got an amazing hot fudge sundae at a Belgian restaurant of similar style to Can Can.

Then we went over to the show where the spectacular display began. In the lobby performers were mingling with the crowd, dancing among them and talking to everyone. There were men wearing rhinestone covered colonial outfits on stilts that wandered through above everyone. Once inside there were sets of dancers all through the 3,000 seat arena, improv dancing on the chairs and in the aisles along with clowns.

Once the lights went down the spectacular began. I can’t even begin to explain the complexity and the beauty of the show; it is beyond anything that the mind could understand. Mel and I sat there in awe, again and again gasping at how unbelievable everything was. A few highlights:

The men’s section, in which a slew of women came out singing “I need a hero” and then twenty male dancers came out in superman costumes. They pushed out an old mini cooper that was covered to look like a disco ball and then flew the car into the center of the stage and used it as a disco ball while twenty more men in glittery silver cowboy outfits came out and danced in the aisles.

Or the Pacific section in which the entire wall behind the models had a giant projection of a man graffiti-ing it, which got progressively more colorful as the set went on until a set of break-dancers came out on stage and did a huge dance with live drummers. Or the children’s section, in which giant vines literally grew from the ceiling and then a child climbed into a giant bird’s nest and flew through the arena in a makeshift ship.

I could go on and on and on about how incredible it was, but it would take hours. Let it just be said that I was so proud to see our pieces on stage in a show of that caliber. The dragon looked amazing and Mel and I were so proud. My set of tent dresses made me cry, they were so beautiful on stage. Watching the show was so inspiring to me, gave me so many ideas and helped me figure out even more of what I want to do and how I want to execute future garments. In two hours the inspiration was endless.

So bravo to us and everyone who has helped us undertake this year of work. It was so worth it, and I’m sad that everyone couldn’t experience the magic that we witnessed last night.

Now we’re in the coffee shop for our final time, chatting with the barista. We have four hours before we have to catch a taxi to the airport and then do thirty hours of traveling. That bit we are not looking forward to. I am so sad to leave this beautiful, welcoming, extraordinary country. It’s been an amazing, wild ride, and I can’t wait to come back. Soon, I hope.

Love from around the world, from both of us.

Yesterday we spent with all of the international designers, and I have to say that it was the least eventful day that we’ve spent here in the city. Perhaps the suddnely cold and rainy weather put a damper on things, or perhaps we’ve gotten out of the habit of speaking to anyone but each other. Whatever it was, we we’re really in the mood for small talk or all of the events that they had planned for us. There were some moments that were spectacular, but there was so much hurry up and wait that Mel and I got impatient.

We started by getting a tour of the arena where the show is held. They toured us through the front and back of the theater so we got to see where the stored all of the costumes and where all of the models get ready. That was a treat, as they never let anyone backstage who’s not in the show. We even got to walk out onto the stage and see out into the audience.

In the lobby they had a giant blowup of every single piece in the show, so you got to see what everyone else has made. I have to say, that was the moment that I got incredibly nervous. Everthing is so spectacular, there’s not a CHANCE that we could get anything. Still, it was awesome to finally see what everyone else has made. It’s all incredible, that’s for sure. While we were waiting to leave the arena Ingrid Peak, who’s in charge of all of the garments sat down and chatted with us. She was STUNNED and so excited that VCU paid for us to come here and she wants to sit down and talk with us more about how that happened and to see if there’s any way to integrate WOW into the curriculum at VCU. That was an exciting possibility to me, so I’m happy to talk about that more.

Next we went to the botanical gardens, which would have been amazing if it hadn’t been raining. Instead we were stuck inside and lectured about natural fibers for clothing, which would have been interesting… if there has been a good speaker. In the middle of it I got pulled out of the crowd to be interviewed for some big television station or something. It was really great because I got to tell the saga of shipping the dragon, which they LOVED. So that was eventful.

Next we drove around the coast to the WETA cave, which is where they produced ALL of the special effects for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. That was a stunning tour. We actually were allowed to go down into the physical workshop, which apparently they never do. We got to see Gollum, face molds of all of the cast members from LOTR, as well as molds of John Travolta, Brad Pitt, Jack Nicholson and many many others. We also saw the full original set of weaponry made for LOTR and all of the Oscars they’ve won. And that’s only touching the surface. The list of things we saw and the stuff that they told us about was mind blowing. They were saying that they hire young people who can sew one day and then help with welding the next and then miniature model building the next day. That everything at WETA is completely interdisiplinary. and I was like I NEED TO WORK HERE NOW. So there’s my next goal, to work for WETA. hah. hah. Good luck with that.

After that tour they took us back for a cocktail event where several models walked the room and showed off this year’s pieces. We stayed for a bit and mingled, then broke off and went out for dinner at Burger Fuel, another place that Bart mentioned. Delicious! Then we just wandered back to our hotel and watched a movie until we went to sleep. I swear, we are so boring. The latest we’ve been to sleep all night is 9:30. Oh dear…

So today is show day, and tomorrow we leave. SAD. It’s been awesome. We’ll see how the show goes. I’m sure I’ll be biting my nails…

So Tuesday’s hike to the overlook looked like a walk in the city park compared to yesterday’s adventure. It started off pretty simply. We knew we wanted to walk up to the wind turbine, another one of Bart’s suggestions, so we wandered the city and worked our way towards Cuba street, where the path started. We stopped and had lunch at this amazing cafe called Fidel’s. It this tiny little room that branches out into different spaces all through the building, including multiple outdoor cafes. The food was AMAZING. We were wishing that they had places like that back in the US.

From there we started our innocent hike up into the outer residential regions of the city. It was quite a hike up these incredibly steep hills and winding roads, but we just thought about all of the exercise we were getting for our dance class at home… after a looong climb we ended up completely out of the city and into the adjacent town of Brooklyn, which was itty bitty and very reminiscent of Abington, VA. We stopped at an adorable antiques store that FINALLY had decent prices. It was a very amazing shop that was so similar to home.

After that we continued up another incredibly steep hill through a series of houses. And then we walked. and walked. and walked. and gasped at the views as we climbed higher and higher and wound further and further away from the city. I really can’t explain how much we walked and how steep those hills were. We kept winding up into the mountain following the signs for the wind turbine until we finally got to a designated walking path that would take us to it. We thought for sure that we were almost there, but oh no. Another half hour of incredibly steep hills would stand between us and the top.

But god was it worth it. When we got to the top we could see a 360 view of the country. It was breathtaking. We lie in the grass and listened to the thump thump thump of the turbine’s blades and looked out to the Pacific Ocean. Really, I’ve never seen anything so spectacular. But very shortly we were freezing (it was super windy) so we decided to hike back down the “path”. Now, here’s where things get wonky. Suddenly the things around us didn’t look so familiar. But on we trekked down the path, commenting more and more on how we didn’t remember seeing any of this.

Eventually the path ended and dumped us out into a children’s playground, somewhere very very far from where we were supposed to be. Even now we have no idea how we got lost, as the path is a straight line. It is a complete mystery how we could have taken a wrong turn, as there are no turns to take… Anyways, we walked through the subdivisions working our way down the mountain. Finally a very nice woman told us to take the “road” down and then walk down a very steep set of steps. What she actually meant was tumble down the vertical incline and then walk down a ladder. It was SO STEEP.

So after following instructions and giggling about being stupid Americans we emerged in the shadow of a huge valley. and kept walking aimlessly until we finally emerged on a road that was on a map I had. We steadily followed it until we were back in the city we knew. We traipsed the rest of the distance home and collapsed in the hot tub, having had more than our share of adventure for the day. Leave it to us to get lost in the mountains.

and now we’re… in the coffe shop! and in half an hour we’re going for International Designer’s Day where they tour us around the city and show us everything. Exciting! and the show’s tomorrow! OH BOY!

Yesterday was full of adventure! We started by walking down to the Courtenay area of Wellington, which is primarily the food district of the city. We went to Te Papa, the Maori museum down by the water, which was incredible. We wandered for a few hours looking at all of the displays until we got hungry. We got lunch at this great cajun restaurant, which we found amusing because we live closer to New Orleans than any of these people could dream of.  But the best part is how we found the restaurant.

I worked at a summer camp this summer and one of my co-counselors, Bart, is from Wellington. As soon as I found out I told him and he ended up writing me a four page front and back guide to the city. I can’t even tell you how helpful this has been! For one, it describes the basics of the city, like details about the four quarters. But it also gives restaurant recommendations and cool things to do in the area.

After lunch we decided to follow Bart’s first recommendation, which was to find the rope swing hidden on the side of this “hill” (read: short mountain). So we started climbing out of the city and up into the surrounding residential areas. It was neat to get out of the heart of everything and see how the normal people live. The place really is a mind trip. It’s got steep steep hills with stacked houses, so it’s this odd mix of San Fransisco and Greece. Every time we turned around and looked down the view of the city got more spectacular.

Eventually we found the rope swing, but someone was swinging on it so we kept hiking up to the peak where there was a 360 degree view of the city. It was spectacular. Words don’t do any sort of justice to how insanely beautiful this place is. We were blown away (literally. it’s a really windy city) by how stunning eveything is. We are so lucky.

On the way down we swang on the swing, which was amazing. Then we trekked on down and stopped at this amazing church that we had passed on the way up. We followed these secret paths that are EVERYWHERE (New Zealand knows how to use its alleys) and ended up getting a great view of the church and eventually another amazing lookout into the bay. Stunning.

Once we were all the way back down we walked on the shore for a bit and put our toes in the sand. Then we went to a grocery store and went to town. For some reaason we both LOVE wandering grocery stores, so going to a foreign one was like an amusement park. We bought stuffs for dinner and then walked back across the city where we spent the rest of the evening eating tacos and watching terrible Disney Channel.

and now here we are again in the cafe. Today I think we’re going to hike all the way up a different mountain and see a giant wind turbine. Sounds like a plan!

where the show is going to be:

standing on New Zealand at Te Papa!

view from the church:

overwhelmed by amazingness at the rope swing:

the top:

one of those San Fran/Greecian hills:

church:

random hidden garden:

another hidden overlook?!

Another day in New Zealand! Yesterday was just getting our feet under us in the city. We spent the day wandering the shops through the Lambton Quarter and over into the Cuba quarter. The city is so fun and quaint, though a bit strange. The architecture is truly bizarre. It’s a little bit of everything, from traditional giant skyscrapers to old Victorian style houses to the beach-style houses that line the mountains. Mel and I never pay attention to the architecture, but this city is so bizarre that we’ve started paying attention.

We found an awesome fabric store in the middle of one of the main streets in the city. It was amazing to see sewing still hold a place in society even though it’s a dying are in the US. The selection of fabrics that they had was stunning. Mel and I ran through the stores yelling “Look at this! NO, look at THIS!.” We also noticed that Wellington has a stunning sense of fashion. The clothing that we saw in the stores was phenomenal, and we have no idea how New Zealand hasn’t broken onto the fashion scene. Someone needs to tap the possibilities that this country holds!

We ended up going to a bunch of vintage/thrift shops, which was tons of fun. We each ended up buying several things that are awesome. In fact, we’re wearing them now! The one thing about the city that’s driving us crazy is how EXPENSIVE everything is. Even with the exchange rate, which is in our favor, everything is still double what it is in the states. We can’t figure out why everything is so horrendously expensive, but it’s quite a bummer.

So we spent most of the day shopping and perusing the city. This morning we were up by seven and went to a conference room on the second floor and practiced our dance mid-term that’s due the week we get back. Then we went for a swim in the hotel pool. I have no idea what we have planned today. At some point we want to hike up the mountain that backs the city and see the view. Considering it’s rainy and gross today, maybe we’ll end up going to a museum or something today. Who knows! The possibilities are endless!

fabric store shock:

amazing mural:

a small taste of New Zealand fashion:

that’s right, the two dollar store:

the most helpful sign in New Zealand:

see, I’m meant to be here:

Cuba street!

these are everywhere:

some of the strange architecture:

We finally made it through the jet-lag phase of international travel. The concierge at the hotel was AMAZING and managed to get our hotel room by eleven thirty in the morning, which was spectacular. So we went up to our room, which is AMAZING. It has an increidlble view of the city, backed by the towering mountains of New Zealand. We both had showers, which were magnificent. In fact, we felt a million times better once we were clean.

Then we went out and wandered the streets of Wellington, looking for a place to eat, which turned out to be incredibly difficult, as it was Sunday and everything was closed. Still, it was good to walk the city. It’s a charming place, and remarkably like a very clean, very QUIET Manhattan. Really, it is so quiet here. The people are quiet, the airports and quiet, and the city is quiet. Needless to say, we stick out like sore thumbs. Also, as Melanie said, “Even the pigeons are skinny here!!!!”

One thing we noticed is that people stare at us, even when we don’t talk (which gives away our accent). It took me a while to figure out that I was wearing New Zealand’s rugy team color (which incidentally happen to be VCU’s colors, black and gold) from head to toe. And there was a GIANT rugby match that afternoon, so everyone else was wearing the same colors. What a funny cultural faux pas!

After wandering we went and got groceries at the store, which happens to be located in the train station (why? I have no idea). Everyone was pouring in to the station to go to the game, so we got to see everyone decked out in their attire, including two guys in black and gold spandex suits. After groceries, which was quite an ordeal because we were so sleep deprived that we couldn’t make any coherent decisions, we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon watching terrible tv, just counting down the hours until we could legitimately go to sleep by New Zealand standards. FINALLY at seven thirty I crashed out and slept fo fourteen hours. It was magnificent.

So now we’re over the jet lag and ready to GO! We’re headed down to the Cuba quarter (the Greenwich Village type area) to hit up thrift shops. Watch out New Zealand, HERE WE COME!

we found guacamole in a container, which doesn’t exist at home but something that we’ve ALWAYS desired

It is to my eleation that I can FINALLY say that Melanie and I are sitting in a coffee shop in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been an excruciatingly long journey, that is for sure, but it is unbelievable to finally be sitting here. We have run from security check to security check, removed our shoes, bags, coats, jewelry and numerous other personal items, and spent over twenty hours in the belly of super-sized jets.

We barely slept on the trip from LA to Auckland, as it’s impossible to get comfy on those things and there were screaming children residing an isle over from us. But nevertheless the flight was lovely, with unbelievable amounts of free movies and spectacular meals that they served. My internal clock is all discombobulated; It is completely mind-bending to know that it’s ten a.m. here, but my laptop says that it’s 6:50 p.m. It’s going to take a bit to get used to this.

The country is already sensational. The people are incredibly polite and accomodating, and the country is stunning. I can’t even explain this place, it truly is like we flew into the Lord of the Rings series, or stepped into an alternate universe. All I can say is that as Mel and I sit here we both feel nearly moved to tears by just how grand this has already been. This is…. unreal.

Also, apparently World of Wearable Art is a BIG deal here in the city… The first thing we saw when we stepped off of the plane was a GIANT advertisement for WOW. There are banners covering the airport, giant WOW flags lining every street and a projection of last year’s show on the television set in the lobby of our hotel. We are stunned… we had no idea the show was such a big deal! Still, we refuse to let ourselves get nervous about it, otherwise we’ll be an even bigger wreck than we already were.

So now we’re sipping coffee, waiting for our hotel room to be ready and making sure we don’t snap at each other because we’re so grumpy from lack of sleep. Once we have a room we’re showering (we smell pretty bad) and then getting some lunch (WHAT? It’s almost time for bed at home!) and grocery shopping, before we spend the rest of the day at the hotel pool (hard life, I know.) We can’t possibly exert any more energy by exploring the city today. We’ll save that for tomorrow.

HUGS AND KISSES FROM NEW ZEALAND!

the sunrise was chasing us:

my first view of New Zealand:

New Zealand is very green:

Wellington!

the first thing we saw after getting off the plane:

tired, gross, but very much in NEW ZEALAND!

flawless start to the trip. we made it to Dulles in under two hours because there was no traffic. seamless security check; Melanie’s infamous airport bad luck didn’t get us down, and neither of us got pulled over for a separate screening. and now we’re waiting in the terminal to fly to L.A. thus it begins!

Tomorrow morning Melanie and I drive up to DC to board our plane that will take us to NEW ZEALAND! Right now I’m packing (can’t you tell?) and trying to remember everything I need. It’s taken months and months to get here, with much sewing and arranging and dealing with getting stuffed animals through customs, but we’ve done it! I can’t even explain the excitement I feel about this whole thing. It honestly feels like a dream. It won’t be real until I’m on the plane, or possibly until I’m in the country.

So now I will go back to cramming my bags. But let me say a great THANK YOU to everyone who has been a support through this whole endeavor, from my family and friends to people at my University. It has taken a village to make this project become a reality, and I am so grateful for all of the support that I have received through this whole thing. Now comes the reward.

I should be updating this daily. Stay tuned to see this crazy expedition unfold.

NEW ZEALAND, HERE WE COME!

I made an escape from Richmond on Friday evening because my parents we gracious enough to drive over a pick me up. Since then I’ve been home and it has been spectacular. I get so sick of Richmond these days, what with the noise and the lack of comradery. I miss the intense friendships that I’ve formed and the continual happiness that I felt at camp. But so it goes.

It’s been spectacular to be home. Spending time with my parents has been great, and just being back in my home was much needed, as I haven’t been here since May. Yesterday we went to Roanoke so mom could go to her dance rehearsal. I got to watch and chat with Liza, one of the teachers at the RBT about collaborating with her on making costumes for an upcoming piece of hers.

The most exciting news of the day was that after dance class was over, we went out to Vinton and I bought a car! I’ve been needing one since Amy took her’s back and I’ve been shopping for a while now. I stumbled into this beauty on craigslist and knew I needed it. and now it’s MINE! It’s a 1983 Honda Civic that’s been completely restored. The original owner fixed it up for his daughter as her first car, but she decided she wanted an automatic instead so he sold it. It’s a beauty! I’m excited to have the freedom that I’ve been lacking for a while.

so now I drive my new car back to Richmond to pick up Helen from the airport! She’s staying with me for a week until I go to NEW ZEALAND! I can’t wait! It’s going to be great to have her here, but she’s unfortunately going to get stuck with me while I run around frantically trying to tie up loose ends around RVA. But it’ll be good to have her with me!

My life is crazy, huh?

weird week. full of stress, full of things to do. lots of writing down things in my planner. every week has something big going on.

I just saw (500) Days of Summer with Mel and it was spectacular. an absolutely beautiful movie and an atypical love story. one of those movies that I could watch again and again just because of how much it melds with my aesthetics. gorgeous. plus I love Zooey Deschanel. her wardrobe in this movie made me want to die. beautiful vintage dresses with a modern twist. if I could I would dress like that all the time. great film. beautiful.

now we depart for the cabin in West Virginia with Mel, BJ, Zane and a bunch of others. three days in the woods with no cell phone service. sound familiar? I need a break already, so this will be good.

goodbye reality.

creativity is overflowing my brain, making it incapable for me to focus on one thing at a time. I may hate being back in Richmond, but at the same time I’m thrilled to have the freedom of creativity once again. I have a crit next Thursday in sculpture, and I’m excited about making this thing that has just come out of nowhere in the middle of my brain. No human form, no reference to people. I am excited for a new layer of art to emerge.

I also have my wearable art event in Baton Rouge to think about. The idea of Chimerical will not leave me alone, the idea of illusion and falsity, of creating things that are unreal. I want to get going, to start making and stop thinking. That is one of my goals for this year, to do more and think less. I think too much, I plan too much. Too many lists and too much pre-planning. This time around I want my art to be more making, more caution thrown to the wind. Can I do it? We’ll try.

and finally grad schools. I spent all of yesterday in the G-Lab reseraching where to go and what I need in order to apply. Do I have the skills and the talent and the capabilities? I have no idea. But I guess I have to try to find out. Who knows, but we’ll see where the wind blows…