American Gothic
THE IDEA
The idea here is to replicate the famous painting American Gothic by Grant Wood. I look a good bit like the woman in the 1930 painting (who was Grant Wood’s sister) and so that’s why I chose this particular famous painting. There are so many riffs on this painting in popular culture that it is mind-boggling (see Google). And many people have made costumes of the painting. Here is how I made mine.
THE PAINTINGI ordered a 24x36-inch poster of the painting. When it arrived, I used Mod Podge to mount it on a piece of foamcore. I used a box-cutter to cut away the shape of the woman. To make the frame of the painting, I got a large piece of cardboard from Lowe’s (stores that sell large appliances will usually give you piece of cardboard). I cut a hole out of the cardboard large enough for the poster to show through, but a little shy of the 24x36-inches so that there was some overlap of the poster-on-foamcore with the frame. I used duct tape to secure the foamcore to the frame.
Even though this is hard to believe, wood-grained shelf paper exists. I bought a role and cut pieces of it to fit the cardboard frame. It’s adhesive so I stuck it down. I also used this shelf paper to tape over the duct tape on the back of the costume so the frame looked okay from the back and not all duct-tapey.
THE CLOTHINGI looked hard the costume of the woman because I like the little details. I couldn’t find a shirt like hers, so I took a boy’s white polo shirt with a soft collar and cut off the collar and sewed it on to a long-sleeved black shirt. I found a cameo on eBay for $5. And I learned online from a costume blog by Pauline Loven that she had gotten the amazing company Spoonflower to produce the pattern on the apron. So I ordered that. I don’t sew so my friend Connie Wilson made my apron. I wore a long black skirt, and I had some shoes with a buckle so I wore those. I parted my hair in the middle and put it back with a hair tie.
The last thing was how to hold it. It was really light! I put a wire through the side of the foam core at the bottom and on the back to create a little handle. It was hidden by the frame, which was in front of it. I secured it with duct tape. That worked great.
I had to look somber in the photos, but the parade and after-party were festive. It was high time the woman in American Gothic got out and had some fun!
The idea here is to replicate the famous painting American Gothic by Grant Wood. I look a good bit like the woman in the 1930 painting (who was Grant Wood’s sister) and so that’s why I chose this particular famous painting. There are so many riffs on this painting in popular culture that it is mind-boggling (see Google). And many people have made costumes of the painting. Here is how I made mine.
THE PAINTINGI ordered a 24x36-inch poster of the painting. When it arrived, I used Mod Podge to mount it on a piece of foamcore. I used a box-cutter to cut away the shape of the woman. To make the frame of the painting, I got a large piece of cardboard from Lowe’s (stores that sell large appliances will usually give you piece of cardboard). I cut a hole out of the cardboard large enough for the poster to show through, but a little shy of the 24x36-inches so that there was some overlap of the poster-on-foamcore with the frame. I used duct tape to secure the foamcore to the frame.
Even though this is hard to believe, wood-grained shelf paper exists. I bought a role and cut pieces of it to fit the cardboard frame. It’s adhesive so I stuck it down. I also used this shelf paper to tape over the duct tape on the back of the costume so the frame looked okay from the back and not all duct-tapey.
THE CLOTHINGI looked hard the costume of the woman because I like the little details. I couldn’t find a shirt like hers, so I took a boy’s white polo shirt with a soft collar and cut off the collar and sewed it on to a long-sleeved black shirt. I found a cameo on eBay for $5. And I learned online from a costume blog by Pauline Loven that she had gotten the amazing company Spoonflower to produce the pattern on the apron. So I ordered that. I don’t sew so my friend Connie Wilson made my apron. I wore a long black skirt, and I had some shoes with a buckle so I wore those. I parted my hair in the middle and put it back with a hair tie.
The last thing was how to hold it. It was really light! I put a wire through the side of the foam core at the bottom and on the back to create a little handle. It was hidden by the frame, which was in front of it. I secured it with duct tape. That worked great.
I had to look somber in the photos, but the parade and after-party were festive. It was high time the woman in American Gothic got out and had some fun!