MISSION
I want to make cosplay a more inclusive and safe place for all my weirdos everywhere. I love being a cosplayer who builds time consuming, elaborate pieces of wearable art. But I also love cosplayers who build a character out of the everyday clothes in their closet, who are just learning how to sew, or who pieced together something with cardboard boxes, duct tape, and hope. The act of creativity and the act of loving a character so much brings us all together. All should be welcome because of that love.
In this society we are told there is a right and a wrong way to do everything. A right way and a wrong way to learn. A right way and a wrong way to sew. A right way and a wrong way to solve a problem. And for some that makes trying new things paralyzing. I hear people saying, “If I might fail, why start?” But thinking creatively, and problem solving is what makes us US. At a certain age society says that you have to stop thinking creatively. Some might ask: if a past-time doesn’t make money, why do it? The simple answer is because it brings you joy. And when you share your cosplay with the community at cons or other events, you get to share that joy with others.
My goal is not only to share my cosplay but to shine a light on the highs and lows of the crafting space, both mentally and physically. That process you pinned your hopes on, that everyone has used to make this cosplay, but you are on your 5th try and it still isn’t working. Those are the times when you want to throw the project out the window and give up. I want to help people recognize that this feeling can, of course, happen, but it may just be that you have more to learn and are taking too many big steps. Maybe you need to hold off and do a few smaller projects incorporating those new steps more slowly. There are also those times when you need to either step back and reevaluate or try a completely different way–a way that works for you and your brain.
Times like these can be hard for a person that has always been taught there is only one right answer. Remember that there is no right answer. That cosplay is a safe space to make mistakes, that is how we learn, and then continue creating in ways to meet your own goals. And also that that “mistake” might come in useful down the line for yourself or for others.
This website, my panel style and my teaching style tries to acknowledge that not everyone learns the same way. I like to give all the scenarios of a given situation and technique, not just how to sew on a snap but how the snap works and why, so that when you are creating on your own you will make an informed decision to solve the problem the character has thrown at you. Thinking creatively and problem solving is vital to being a cosplay maker, but also to making the world a more interesting place to live.