Dear readers, meet Mindy Gledhill. You've heard me mention her name now a couple of times (many more if you follow on Instagram--get on there already, would ya?) and now it's time to meet the girl and learn more about how we worked together these last few weeks.
Here's the brief background: I came across Mindy's work earlier this year and was absolutely enchanted. She's created such a beautifully charming world full of equally charming songs. I knew I had to work with her somehow. I had to be a part of it. I ended up meeting her at a show at Velour and the very next day I was in her studio discussing how to make this happen. A few months later, last week to be exact, I found myself plopped on my bum on my driveway painting sets for her brand new album, Pocketful of Poetry.
Her album is beautiful. I've been listening to it nonstop since June so I could soak it all in. Paul has been a patient husband. The album draws upon scenes from her childhood--very nostalgic feeling. The artwork of the album itself captures this with lots of cute hand drawn lettering, stitching, and doodles. Thus, the stage had to have a similar vibe.
Logistically, the stage curtain had to be 30'x10' made up of 3 10x10' curtains that could be strung together depending on the size of the venue. I don't think I quite understood how big that really was. To put it into persepective, 30 feet is about the height of a 3 story building. YIKES! I'll get more into the how-to tomorrow, but for now, here are a few concept sketches that I showed her that determined the path to the final design.
I tried to convince her that oversized flowers were spot on. They weren't, of course, but I tried my hardest just in case. I also thought it would be cool to do a really oversized cross-stitched sampler or a huge map of her childhood as told through the symbolism of her songs. Next idea: a beautiful, vintage curtain design that would be painted on. Finally, she selected the idea of trees that are "stitched" onto the curtain. Trees play a role in the lyrics, so it was a snuggly fit.
Lastly, I decided to go with this color palette, which drew on some more vintage color schemes while still relating to her album art. I didn't want to make it too bright because the stage lights would wash them out anyway.
Tomorrow I'll talk more about the actual design and process of creating the sets. Stay tuned! But in the mean time, go download her album. My favorites are Honey and Oh No.
