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…and there she is! I’m going to be spending the rest of the summer painting a mural over the entire surface of the cart. I’m also looking into building a brake system, a “chuck-wagon” style top with flip down hinges to allow for security, dryness for my wares and a drafting table on the road, and then also possibly a leather harness system for me to wear in order to more equally distribute weight on the road
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American Denim, a new folk art
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In the 1960’s the youth culture adopted rebellious modes of dress that were once restricted to working class and adolesent closets. They abandoned the pleated dress slacks and loafers of the 50’s, the neatly combed hair and those awful neckties. In its stead they donned denim.
The act of wearing jeans- dirty jeans worn in for miles without ever being washed, so they molded perfectly to their free bodies-became a huge fashion revolution. But as you can imagine there is a huge pardox here if all the freaks and all non-conformists are wearing the same “uniform”.
SO out of this delimna a whole subsculture of denim folk art evolved. Jeans and shirts, jackets and vests all became canvases onto which the owner could express themselves. Shirt became adorned with apliqued images of Adam and Eve, pot leafs, and daggers, hearts, and rockets ships coming out of zippers. Jackets were painted with paint dripped from siringes, quilting, with excessive amounts of buttons, attatched ash trays to pockets, beads, patching, and I’ve even seen one that featured wings of red nailed white gloves expanding across the shoulder blades and down the sleeve seam, thus taking clothing to a new height.
It was a truly groovy time. Can you image how beautiful it was to walk out the door in the 1960’s? The excitement of all the crazy clothing people are wearing? and the glory of art you can ware? Lets reawaken that world. If anyone wants a sewing lesson ever, let me know. its time we rebuild our empire.
Images from “American Denim: A New Folk Art” by Richard M. Owens & Tony Lane with Peter Beagle, 197
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The Cowboy Prince & Custer’s Last Waistband present…
“the Zouave Uniform of the Cowboy Prince” (May, 2012)
-black flannel broad cloth, handmade white crinoline bias tape, red linen lining.
-Inspired by the 19th century French Zouave regiments of the Crimean War and the devil-may-care “red-legged devil” Zouaves of the American Civil War, this is my own take on the traditional military uniform
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the Cowboy Prince & Custer’s Last Waistband Present…
“American Cangaço Dress” (May, 2012)
- Black & white striped linen, cotton twill tape
… home designed and draped pattern inspired by the early 20th century homemade Brazilian bandit dresses of the Cangaço. This particular design will later feature more trim looping around the hem and skirt vents, also possibly two tuck-your-hand-in pockets trimmed in black
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Denim Art contest winners, 1974
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Howard Finster’s “Desert Taxi Camel’
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We Have Met the Enemy And They Are Ours
…for embroidery skills, Who can top this unknown US sailor from the 28 star flag era and his ditty bag?
It was common for the sailors of the early 1800s to decorate their uniforms with embroidery of their own patterns, and it gave the sailors something to do during long passages at sea
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folk art carved stone sculpture of a bearded man labeled “Floyd Bull”
(Anonymous Works)
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19th Century Cast-Iron Trivet with boots and legs
(Anonymous Works)
I am a folk artist creating and living what I call “atmospheric, time travel art”, a folk art living history revival in which I put into the action the words of Thoreau when he beautifully proclaimed ….
““We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
― Henry David Thoreau
I swear, Isnt that incredible? I shook when I first read it, and then smiled realizing exactly what living art would look like. For me I want my art to be something that isnt turned off or on; put simply just on a canvas or stitched into a shirt- No I want to live my art. When I walk down the street, or grocery shop, tailor, communicate with fellows, everything, all aspects of my life… From my 19th century everyday influenced dressing style, to my dirty wild hair, to my rustic Cracker Barrel aesthetic house, to my individual art projects and yet even more importantly from my everyday interactions with people, my choices, my handshakes, my sense of morality, and overall and most signficantly my intentionality.
Moreover I want to live well.
My faith as a Transcendentalist and artist has unfurled a whole new world before my eyes, in which I am invited and inspired and cant help but live outloud, engaged, wildly, boldly, intentionally and very colorfully.
Nicknamed the “Cowboy Prince” , my childhood was spent in coonskin caps and cowboy boots, getting into all sorts of adventures climbing trees and hiding in bushes, baking cookies, and making costumes out of my sisters clothing. I always wanted to live in a different time period, and dappled with a ten year addiction to Civil War reenacting, excessive book reading, tap dancing and yet still cannot shake my passion for all things past. I figured I might as well embrace it fully.
The greatest thing that happened to me as I got older was learning how to sew, and with that initial introduction to art, it later led to other gateway mediums such as painting, quilting and sculpture. I am now embarking on a most glorious journey in search of my own El Dorado. I am currently an apprentice costume designer, pattern maker, and tailor and am working hard to become a designer for films and eventually open my own tailor shop “Custer’s Last Waistband”.
This online periodical I have set up is an attempt at categorizing and most importantly sharing the nostalgic yearnings of my heart with a larger audience. These grainy images and artifacts are what truly turn me on. It is a way for me as an adult to maintain my sense of childhood wonder- which I feel is truly important for successful contentment- and furthermore cultivate it into the very atmosphere in which I dwell.
Well welcome y’all, set yourself down and rest a while- Lord knows! I got biscuits in the oven, while we remember and re-envision our world.
Welcome to the Cowboy Prince Castille
Ride Boldly Ride,
-Charlie C. Umhau
