ABSTRACT
Costumes need to bridge the distance from stage to audience, and rich surfaces serve this goal. The vibrant textures formed by beading, paint, or appliques make the creations shimmery and ethereal, weathered and earthy, or simply larger than life. Sometimes, no matter how many beautiful and unusual options the stores have, the perfect fabric for a project does not exist, so it must be created or adapted. Fabrics can be painted freehand, stenciled, batiked, silk-screened, and certain fabrics can also be printed digitally. The goal of a costume painter is for the work to 'read' meaning that the design has the desired effect from the viewpoint of the audience whether it is close up in a cabaret, or across an ice rink. The sewing machine is another tool costumers use to create pattern and texture. This chapter talks about Parmelee Tolkan (costume painter), Caroline Dignes (painter-dyer) and Polly Isham Kinney (Bead Room Manager at Barbara Matera Ltd).
