Crosstitch...

 I have really got into crosstitch lately - I love it! These are crosstitches I have done in the last few months and given out as christmas presents. I use patterns from Crosstitch magazine which are really good and relatively simple to understand. I'm trying to do a small amount each night so I can get more practice in and hopefully become quicker at it. It's great as I have never been a fan of handstitching but I find this very theraputic :)

Tale As Old As Time...

 

This is my final major project: Tale As Old As Time. It is based on Beauty and the Beast. The fairytale of Beauty and the Beast was written in the 18th Century so I thought it fitting to design the costumes from that era. I used colours that worked well together but in contrasting shades so you can see differences in the characters. I wanted to create costumes that were more 'real life', far from Disney's version which many people are familiar with.


I loved this project SO much (even the late nights, stress, lack of sleep and lots of tears!) I am really proud of what I achieved...

Trauma...

During my time at Worcester College we worked alot with the fire service, helping them with their trauma training. We would take it in turns to go up every few weeks and create the make-up for a particular scenario. They would then use the visual elements from our make-up to prepare themselves for what they may come across in their job. This picture of me is make-up I did whilst practicing. It is meant to look as if I have been in a car crash.

Greek Photoshoot...

 This photoshoot took place near Evesham and was mainly to create the idea that my tutor and his friend (a photographer) came up with. I styled the clothing for this photshoot. For the girls I got lengths of white satin and draped them around their bodies so they flowed similar to togas. All I did was pin them in place - no sewing was involved.

Wolverhampton Photoshoot...

 This photoshoot took place at Wolverhampton University. A group of fashion students had created their own ranges of clothing so we were asked to do hair and make-up to complete the look. I kept the make-up simple so not to take attention from their clothing but still wanted it striking. 

The photograph on the left is my favourite out of all the ones in my portfolio!

40s, 50s, 60s Make-up Shoot...

 

This photoshoot took place in Gloustershire. It was just a fun photoshoot for us to work in a real life environment and work as a team with other people. I did the make-up for this model and hopefully you can tell it is 60s make-up. I mainly kept it quite simple then added bright colours for the 'hippy' flowers.

Victorian Contemporary...

 This costume was made for the Malvern Three Counties Spring Garden Show. A group of us were asked to make a costume that reflected a garden that was designed for the show. As the garden was called Victorian Contemporary, we obviously used the Victorian sillhouette. We took elements from the surroundings to make the dress such as ivy, colours of the flowers and vines. The vines (willow in our case) were bent into place to create a crinoline (structure for a skirt) and the ivy etc was used for decoration. We had such fun doing this once we had woken up - 4am starts are not my cup of tea!!

Corsets...

This was one of my favourite projects! I don't entirely like the outcome but making the corset was fantastic! We had to make a corset but the context of it had to be from a film - I chose the Mask of Zorro. I made the corset with faux leather, strong cotton and lace for decoration and a Spanish feel. I'm glad I chose Mask of Zorro as I had to make the corset very structured. The leather is bendable but very strong - add that to the steel boning inside and it does not move once it's on!

1950s...

During our make-up lessons we would take breaks from working on our projects to learn about different styles and fashions. This particular one is 1950s make-up which is very simple yet effective. My everyday make-up is pretty much this and it's quick to do: just a flick of eyeliner and a spot of red lipstick (how can you resist?)

Phantom of the Opera...

This was a freestyle piece I created for my first end of year show at Worcester. I rented the costume from a vintage shop in Kidderminster and made the cape myself (in a rush...) The make-up is created using sillicone applied directly to the face and then theatre make-up applied over the top.

This freestyle section of the show was great as you could put anything in you wanted. My favourite musical is the Phantom of the Opera so I thought I would create this piece and add a bit more drama :)

(photo's aren't great quality I know... Didn't have time to take any proper ones as it was only put together on the day!)

Cirque Du Soleil (make-up)...

Keeping with the monochrome colours from the costume, I created this make-up. As it is a theatre piece I kept it quite simple so I made the face very pale to bring out the eyes and the nose, which I defined. To make the eyes look bigger I used thick black fake eyelashes. The beads on these ones help shape the eyes, to make them look more rounded.

Cirque Du Soleil (costume)...

This costume was based on Cirque Du Soleil and toys: these were the themes given. I researched puppets and came across Pierrot who is a character of pantomime and Commedia dell'arte (form of theatre characterised by masks). using the monochrome colours and style from that time I created a costume which could be used in Cirque Du Soleil as it is secure yet moves with your body.

Electrical/Mechanical (make-up)...

 

 This was the make-up I designed to go with the costume. The two don't completely match but this is still very much based on Electrical/Mechanical. Before I started this course I had no knowledge of make-up application except my own so I'm pleased with how this piece turned out! I kept it quite understated, working in the colours from the costume and adding the swirls down the face to represent wires. Also I had no skill in hair design, except for backcombing, which was fantastic as this makes it look like she has been electrocuted.

Electrical/Mechanical (costume)...

 This began as a summer project from Worcester College. We only had the title as inspiration for a mood board: I mainly concentrated on the mechanics of clocks. That is what lead me to design this costume. As a first project I'm quite proud of it, but these photos aren't great - it looks much better on a person!

Welcome...

My name is Abigail Ashley and welcome to my blog!

I have studied Art and Design at Warwickshire College and studied at Worcester College of Technology: HND Theatrical Media, Make-up and Costume.

This blog gives me the chance to show you some examples of my work, different ideas going round in my head and also what I have been up to.

Hope you like it and any feedback would be fantastic :)