Fashion Design and Costuming (Fantasy, Period, Ancient, Character, Eccentric, SciFi, etc)

I've studied Fashion Design in New York, Berlin, and Chicago. I specialize in period wardrobe for men & women. I've created everything from Ancient Egyptian, through Medieval, Victorian, 1920s Flapper, to 1980s New Wave. Men's & Women's wear. As a veteren NYC Underground Club-kid (a la Michael Alig /Tunnel scene). I indulge in eccentric unique,one-of-a-kind designs which capture both the Surrealist spirit and by-gone Zeitgeists.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Strange Interlude: SURREALIST NEWS: HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM (my band) is GOING VIRAL w/ Chaplin dance. New album out soon. New videos, incl How to Remember Dreams (surrealist tips) & songs soon on YOUTUBE. Johnny Depp inspired Character Morphing w/ every song. Here is us doing CHAPLIN DANCE to backdrop of George Melies 1902 film Trip to the Moon (as seen in Hugo film). "Like" us on FACEBOOK

 Lewis Carroll, Dr Who, Dream, & Fortean inpired tunes. Multi-lingual (English, German, Russian, Lithuanian) tunes. Silent film inspired dances. Trock. Member of Chicago Surrealist Group, Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Lietuvaite soka kaip Chaplin.
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Steampunk Invasion @ Bristol RenFair

Portage Theater (built 1920). For screening of "The Artist" I came as a Flapper & danced w/ the ever-stylish Jacob on stage as theme song of film played 20 min loop!

With "Time Crash" doctor Who tribute band Dave Kitsberg & his "GuiTardis." The scarf I knit myself.

Madame de Pompadour for Halloween 2008

 
Looking like a granny from the 50s. The hat, coat, bracelet, and earrings are vintage from that era.
Look inspired by Edith Head designs in classic films of the 50s. Hat, umbrella, coat, & shoes are vintage from that era.

In turn-of-the-century store. Reminded me of silent films w/ Buster Keaton & Fatty Arbuckle.

Calling my great-great-grandmother...She didn't pick up. I'll call again later.

This scarf is my design. I constructed it from various silk, satin, and velvet ribbons in a diagonal weave design.

Going VIRAL on YOUTUBE! "Hypnagogic Telegram" TARDIS Zeitgeist Performance Art

Hypnagogic state: The border state between drowsiness and sleep. In this phase, one is likely to experience visual/audio hallucinations, dream-like images, closed-eye visualizations (CEV), and other anomalous phenomena.

Hypnagogic Telegram is Chicago-based electronica band inspired by Dreams and other Fortean Phenomena. DainaSurrealism has been a lucid dreamer since childhood, thus enabling her to convert the visuals of dreams into atmospheric brouillardesque lyrics. Sung in an assortment of languages (English, German, French, Lithuanian) these singular tunes span both culture and time. She draws inspiration from her days as a New York Underground Club-Kid from the Michael Alig scene, merging eclectic themes with imaginative wardrobe, props, and diverse dance styles. If Doctor Who would  have a band, it might sound like this.
<---- View YOUTUBE VIDEO here.
On FACEBOOK @ HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM

Capturing the spirit of Kate Bush (Brit Fortean), X-Mal Deutschland (German Goth), Cocteau Twins (atmospheric), Zazie (French socially conscious Rock), and the performance art of Mathieu Chedid, aka M (French Funk guitarist extraordinaire), and Linda (Russian experimental performance artist), Hypnagogic Telegram ventures into a kaleidoscope of dance beats and surrealism.  The historical spectrum of music from by-gone eras (classic jazz, chansons, Neue Deutsche Welle, et al) and current sounds (club mixes, effects, etc) entwin. 
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~~Dance 2:44 inspired by Charlie Chaplin
~~Performance art inspired by Mathieu Chedid, aka M
~~Fashion inspired by Albert Robida, "Le Vingtième Siècle" 1890 (SciFi author)
~~Shoes inspired by "Series of Unfortunate Events" film (2004) Colleen Atwood (designer), worn by Emily Browning
~~Backdrop film by George Melies, "Trip to the Moon" (1902)
~~Time travel inspired by Doctor Who

Daina Elegant Surrealist Art (Chicago Surrealist Group member)

Elegant Surrealism inspired by Illuminated Manuscripts, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Calligraphy, Fashion Design, and Medieval Art. Lithuanian Surreal artist. Labas!

"Pandora's Stage" Pen & ink, mixed media, 2022

Inspired by a dream in which I walked through doorways draped in velvet curtains. A few of the characters are inspired by the animated Disney "Alice in Wonderland" from 1951, in which classic vaudeville & Ziegfeld Follies comedian, Ed Wynn, starred as the Mad Hatter. He also played Uncle Albert in "Mary Poppins," starred 2x in" Twilight Zone", and was offered the title role in "The Wizard of Oz"...he turned it down).

"Oeuvre d'euf" Wooden Russian Egg, clay, mixed media, 2008

Inspired by twisted logic within "Alice in Wonderland"

~~What do you think happens to an egg after it eats itself? Please give me your interpretation in the comments section.

"Sappho's Fragments" Calligraphic, gel, and metallic 3-D pens; collage on parchment paper

The calligraphy is in ancient Greek with English translations. This is inspired by the book "If Not, Winter: Sappho's Fragments."
She was one of the first lyric poets of antiquity. Sappho lived in ancient Greece c 630 - 570 BCE.

"The Seance" Fountain pen, fine pint pen, 1993

Inspired by 1920s flappers and the interest in seances to summon Houdini's spirit after his death in 1926. Houdini and his wife, Bess, had an agreement that the first to die would contact the survivor via code. After many unsuccessful seances, Bess held the "Final Houdini Seance" in the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood, CA in 1936. It was recorded onto vinyl with her sadly concluding "I now, reverently, turn out the light."

 One of my favs, Tony Curtis, played the title role in "Houdini" 1953.

Hear the final seance here...

 

I created my medieval illuminated dream manuscript which is Inspired by Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts which pre-dated Guttenberg's printed Bibles, this work is meditative in its undertaking. Early pages utilized a lovely fountain pen, then moved on to calligraphic & quill pens. That, in turn, inspired me to experiment with a wide spectrum of calligraphic styles. I decided to use Gothic Blackletter calligraphy (12th c. forward) throughout much of the book.

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Strange Interlude: CHICAGO SURREALIST NEWS: HYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM (my band) is GOING VIRAL w/ Chaplin dance. More music & tips on how to remember dreams (for creativity & life) to be posted soon. Here is us doing CHAPLIN DANCE to backdrop of George Melies 1902 film Trip to the Moon (as seen in Hugo film)

Lewis Carroll, Dr Who, Dream, & Fortean inpired tunes. Multi-lingual. Silent film inspired Dances. Trock.Timelord Rock. Johnny Depp inspired Character Morphing. Lietuvaite soka kaip Chaplin.
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 "Hand of a Mannerist," acrylic paint, glow-in-the-dark paint, markers, 2008

~~Inspired by my love of Mannerism, an obscure short-lived twisted art-form from the Italian High-Renaissance (1520 -1580).  Exaggerated human figures were part of the Mannerist style. It was eventually suppressed by the Catholic Church as a form a heresy.

"L'esprit d'escalier" aka "Logic of the Stairs" Wood, wire and markers, 2008  ~~Inspired by the term, l'esprit d'escalier" which refers to the instant you think of the right comeback, yet it's too late (as you're on the stairs leaving).   Eye inspired by staircase in the Gustave Moreau Museum in Paris. http://www.whattoseeinparis.com/gustave-moreau-museum/