For
MerryJoy, costume design has long held a two-fold fascination.
 First, as an art medium, she blends sculpture and
painting via the fabric's texture and colours and the shape of the final
creation. Second, as a way to clothe herself in the past, once inside her
costumes she takes on the role of a ghost in a cemetery or a Druid in a circle
of stones or an amorphous crone in the forest. She also loved to dance at
various ethnic fiestas and harvest festivals in her early years. Being in
costume gave her the freedom to fill herself with the spirit and energy of a
timeless moment when all peoples celebrate life on the same earth-centric path
through music, dance, food, and story.
As an author, she used her
costumes during presentations of storytelling, becoming the characters in her
books. In the 1980s she attended radio and television interviews in
costume.
MerryJoy's costumes have won a plethora of awards since 1975
and she has been a featured judge at costume contests, including Octoberfest,
Samhain, and Buffalo Bill Days festivals in Colorado. Her costumes have been
purchased by individuals and theatre companies since the 1980s. Artists and
photographers also commissioned her in costume for their work, yet few quality
photos of the original costumes could be tracked down. Below is a very small
sampling of her work.
For inquiries contact
Cameron & Associates. All
content copyrighted by MaryJoy Martin, a.k.a. MerryJoy. Please obtain written
permission or a contract from the artist or her
representatives before using
images.
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The Fan Dancer, 1975
Flamenco dress made of red
satin and black French lace with full petticoat of red lace and a silk rose at
the waist. |
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Victorian Ballgown, 1980
This dress is made of
fine blue satin with traditional bodice and bustle, flounced with Austrian
lace, bowed with black velvet, and trimmed in
gold. |
Dutch Flowergirl, 1983
Hand-embroidered, this
Volendam dress includes the traditional cap (hand-sewn by the artist) and
wooden shoes—klompen. |
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Victorian Walking dress, 1983
Dress of printed
cotton with bustle and bodice. Lace parasol and hat also made by the artist
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Victorian traveling gown, 1982
In shades of
pink and beige and trimmed in black, this Victorian dress and hat were used for
MerryJoy's first book tour. In it she became popularized as Central City's
‘Ghost Lady’ in the 1980s. Lace petticoat and long bloomers finished
the costume.
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Camelot gown, 1985
This gown was designed for a
stage production of Camelot for Queen
Guineveer.
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Black brocade Victorian gown, 1984
Dress of
black satin brocade with bustle and bodice and matching hat.
‘Widow of
John Cameron’ at Central City,
Colorado.
The Black Widow with her Lappet-faced
vultures
FIRST
PEOPLES |
BUTTERFLY WOMAN wears a traditional style
Puebloan blanket dress, decorated with silver conchos and silver and gemstone
frogs, 2012.
GOING
WILDER |
PICTISH SHAMAN by MerryJoy, 2012
As the
years streak her hair silver, revealing her inner mountain-top
Cailleach—the
Gaelic Mystical Crone—MerryJoy's preference for more fluid and shamanistic
costuming of various cultures prevails. She now creates only ‘witchy' and
Cailleach-type costumes, as she celebrates the Fire Festivals of the ancient
Scots calendar and other similar international cultural events.
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ANCIENT SPIRIT by MerryJoy © 2016
For
inquiries contact Cameron &
Associates. All content copyrighted by MaryJoy Martin, a.k.a. MerryJoy.
Please obtain written permission or a contract from the artist or her
representatives before using
images. |
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