All posts by TheCostumer

Tara Maginnis has been the Costume Designer for DVC Drama since 2008, and been teaching Stage Makeup and Costume Design classes at DVC since 2009. Before this she was a Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for 18 years doing the same, plus teaching The History of Fashion and Dress, Theatre History and more. She has a Ph.D. in Theatre History from UGA, an MA in Theatre Design from CSU Fresno, and a BA in History from SFSU. She is known for her video teaching series Theatrical Makeup Design Interactive, as well as articles in Costume, The Virtual Costumer, Theatre Design & Technology, The Costume Research Journal, etc. You can see many of these articles as well as her designs for theatre at https://TaraMaginnis.com and at The Costumer's Manifesto https://costumes.org
Costume Designers, How-To, Teaching

Flex Your Head Mental Aerobics: Exercises for Inducing Creativity Non-Spontaneously

NON SPONTANEOUS CREATIVITY: Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Wrong. All the methods described in the previous chapter can be used to induce creative thought, as well as save creative thoughts acquired earlier. Besides which there are other more active things you can do to get your mind working.

DRAWING ON THE CREATIVE IMAGINATION: Betty Edwards, the author best known for her ground breaking book of drawing instruction: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, wrote another great but lesser-known book called Drawing on the Creative Imagination. This book is full of practical exercises for developing creativity, easy to follow by anyone over the age of seven. I recommend you buy it an d read it ASAP. In addition, reading her work has suggested to me a number of crazy ways to tap into your subconscious design talents. They are:

Remember please, these are brain-flexing exercises so they will be strange sounding. Many of these ideas can be done by whole classes or groups at once.

Continue reading Flex Your Head Mental Aerobics: Exercises for Inducing Creativity Non-Spontaneously →
Costume Designers, How-To

Faking Creativity

Faking It: Probably the most important set of skills for a costumer are those various means of faking things, from the simple means of letting gold paint and hot glue pass for embroidery, to the complex means of “faking” creativity. The latter, is probably the most important skill in a costumer’s art and life since she [Sorry I’m being sexist, yes, guys make great costumer’s too, I’ve just had a problem with generically using “he” as a personal pronoun since 7th grade English.] has to create on demand, and can’t wait for her mood or muse to strike.

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Advice, Costume Designers, Costume Studio, How-To, Jobs, Photography

The Old c. 1995 Costumer’s Manifesto “Book” that started before I thought to start putting this stuff on the internet in 1996….

A Book of General Advice for Costumers

 By Tara Maginnis Ph.D. The first “self-help” manual for those artists who make clothes for imaginary people.

Continue reading The Old c. 1995 Costumer’s Manifesto “Book” that started before I thought to start putting this stuff on the internet in 1996…. →

Vintage Clothing

1980s-1990s “Old Believer” Dresses from Alaska

These are a series of dresses I found in a thrift store in Fairbanks, Alaska, and put into the “History Collection” of the UAF Costume Shop in the Theatre Department. They are recently made (1980s-1990s) “Old Believer” dresses. Old Believers are a conservative offshoot of the Russian Orthodox Church that broke off from the main Orthodox church after Peter the Great’s reformation of the Orthodox rituals in 1700. Large numbers of Old Believers emigrated from Russia during the 20th Century because of religious persecution from the Communist government. Several small towns in Alaska are largely colonies of this religious group. These dresses most probably are from one of these towns. The traditional dress of Old Believers is a modern adaptation of traditional Russian peasant dress. Women’s dress is based on the Sarafan. These dresses include several unusual features that make them immediately identifiable as modern Sarafans:

Continue reading 1980s-1990s “Old Believer” Dresses from Alaska →
Costume Designers

The Costumer: Tara Maginnis, Ph.D.

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Tara Maginnis started writing the original version of The Costumer’s Manifesto web site in August 1996. Many portions of The Manifesto began as published and unpublished articles written by Tara while on leave in Russia during 1994-95.

Tara is also the author/performer of Theatrical Makeup Design Interactive, a DVD-ROM/Streaming Video series for teaching or learning Theatrical Makeup application and design. She is currently a Costume Designer and Instructor working in Northern California at Diablo Valley College. Previously she was a Professor of Theatre at the University of Alaska Fairbanks from 1990-2007. Tara was awarded her Doctorate in Drama (Theatre History) at the University of Georgia in 1991, Her M.A. in Drama (Theatrical Design) from California State University Fresno in 1985, and her B.A. in History (European) from San Francisco State University in 1981. Tara was born and raised in Northern California.  You can see her portfolio & resume at TaraMaginnis.com

Tara has written numerous articles (a selection of which you can also see at TaraMaginnis.com) for Theatre Design and Technology, the Journal of The United States Institute of Theatre Technology and The Virtual Costumer, journal of the Silicon Web Costumer’s Guild. Tara also was the computer columnist for The Costume Research Journal, the former quarterly publication of the USITT Costume Commission. Tara has published articles in Costume, Theatre Crafts (now TCI), and The Ladies’ Gallery as well as other magazines and newsletters. She is also a member of The Costume Society of America, (and a former member of the Region V board), The Costume Society (UK), The International Costumer’s Guild, Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild and Costumer’s Guild West.

Tara also gives workshops and presentations on Costume Distressing, Instant Onstage Costume Changes, Beginning Thermoplastics, Advanced Hot Glue Work, Theatrical Makeup, Photographing Stage Makeup, Costume Rendering, Banyans, and more at Costume College, Costume Con, USITT, KCACTF, etc.