Today is reveal day for my Facebook art quilt group Art Quilts Around The World and the theme was Women Who Soar. That could be literal as in Amelia Earhart or a female pilot/astronaut. I perceived the theme as being inspired by a woman who has soared in her profession or personal life.    I selected the US fashion designer Betsey Johnson because she is my first influence in the 1970s regarding fashion and the fashion industry. I was sewing my own clothes back then in high school and discovered Betsey Johnson Butterick patterns. They had feminine details such as peplums, ruffles, puffy sleeves and bows. I was hooked on the patterns and Betsey's designs!!    Betsey has been a fashion designer for 40+ years and merchandizes clothing, jewelry, purses, eye glass frames, shoes and more. She has inspired me because of her use of hot pink, animal prints, flower/cabbage rose motifs, kissy lips, polka dots often combined with stripes and her use of girly ruffled garments including tutus! I have followed her career for many years and am also inspired by her ability to be a single parent to her daughter Lulu (she's grown now) while running a fashion design house as well as bounce back from financial hard times in 2008 when the financial state of the US was not good. Betsey always seems a bit too tan and she wears fake blond and/or colorful hair extensions while not pretending to be her real hair! She is 70+ years old and still does cartwheels after her showing at Fashion Week in New York City. I admire her zest for life and her ability to not have rules about ones age!! She seems to be having fun!   When I was choosing colors I used Betsey's signature hot pink  color which is on her merchandise labels, a variety of polka dot fabrics and as many pink rose and flower motifs from my embellishment stash. It is pink paradise and a tool to use when I teach about monochromatic color schemes!! I feel I can get crazy with a lot of embellishments if I stay in the same color family. I added Betsey's name in the font she uses on her merchandise-it's probably her own penmanship. All in all a fun challenge which was easy to do. Go Betsey and do not retire anytime soon!!
{}