Release the Kraken

Kraken: kra·ken/ˈkräkən/Noun: An enormous mythical sea monster said to appear off the coast of Norway.

I basically hate Halloween now. My former favorite holiday has become completely tedious to me. We could possibly chalk it up to to my many hilariously bad life decisions thanks to holiday cheer but it really comes down to costumes. It used to be my only excuse to come up with the craziest, most original costume I could think of but now I live Halloween. Stripper problems. Seriously ridiculous. The thought of having to make a costume not for an act is an impossibility for me. Last year I thought maybe with alot of planning I could actually try and make a rad outfit with all the vim and vigor of my pre-burlesque self.

I was also on a giant squid kick. Can’t tell how it started- photo blogs maybe? But no one fucks with a giant squid. No one. This appeals to me. SINK ALL THE MOTHER EFFING SHIPS SQUIDY YAAAAAAAA!! Whatever- I’m weird, we know that- but I figured a giant squid dress would basically be the greatest thing to ever happen. So I planned!! I found some great inspiration pics, had been given the greatest stuffed Octopus (that was obviously a hat in disguise), bought some fabric, asked for the awesome Joanie Gyoza’s help.... there was no way I couldn’t fail!!

I did. Halloween came and passed and I just didn’t have the time to get it together slash the guilt of asking the nicest person alive to do something for me when she does so much for everyone was too much!! I dreamed of said costume but it  was shelved for almost a year.

Fast forward to me having more time on my hands than usual.  I TAUGHT MYSELF TO SEW!! Ok thats a lie- Melody Mangler was probably the first person to guide me (hysterically I might add) through sewing a straight line. My sister WHATSHERNAME also helped me many, many, many a time in figuring out to thread my budget machine. So when I found myself with spare time this summer, I decided I was going to practice. The most positive lesson I learnt from that experience is that you can’t be attached to the outcome of your project/art/whatever it is that you are trying. Perfection is the enemy of art sometimes because its just so paralyzing!!  I just went into it without any expectations other than to try and A MIRACLE HAPPENED!!  I LEARNT TO SEW!! I MADE AN AWESOME OCTOPUS DRESS!!! 

After that the number just seemed to fall together. I was inspired by videos of other great performers and their rocking props/ riding their giant props. I consider myself very representative of the DIY performer. Flying that freak flag pretty high really. I don’t have the budget for anything that awesome at this point. However, if you want to be a giant squid- you need your prop to be small not big-awesome!f I harassed my love into driving me to pick up a child’s rocking horse I found on Craigslist. I borrowed a saw off of Via Rose. I returned the saw when I figured out I only needed a screwdriver. Bye Bye Rocking Horse head!!! You can see the finished prop in the vid below!

I am really proud of this number. I have been working really hard to get to a point where I can create acts that contain equal amounts of humor and striptease. I’m aiming for concepts that are epic enough that you can’t believe it happened in the first place. This number, is the closest I’ve come and I hope you enjoy it!