tie me up

Working with a small non-profit theater, you do what you can to turn a dime into a dollar.

Along with presenting a kick-ass theatrical experience, we offer the chance to buy a one-of-a-kind (extremely affordable) piece of art/handy dandy dada souvenier. It gives the audience a chance to take a small piece of "dada" home with them, and isn't a bad calling card for WNEP...all while raising a few bucks to suppliment our production costs.

Dada Ties. (man, I wish I had a picture of them to give you an idea of how marvelous they are...Brownie...D-Ray...a little help?) And they are a steal at $10 a pop.

Basically, we create take your standard tie. (Obtained from a thrift store)
We add things to them. (words, bits of paper, random objects)
We deconstruct them. (Cut them, burn them, shred them, etc.)
We take found objects and turn them into wearable (or displayable) three dimensional dada poems.


While WNEP is largely influenced by equal parts dadaism and improv, I, unlike some of my counterparts, while inspired by dada, do not consider myself a "dadaist." That said, it was an enormous compliment from Jen when this weekend, after surveying my latest Dada Tie, called me a "savant" when it comes to these creations.


Here are some descriptions of the abstractions I've created recently.

Pigs and Babies I (a series) : a completely henious greenish tie which I covered with tiny (think dollhouse tiny or smaller) pigs. SOLD.
Wearable Pet: A rubber koi fish floating mid-way on a blueish/grayish tie...at the bottom, various iridescient buttons. SOLD.
Pigs and Babies II : a completely henious gray tie which I covered with tiny (think dollhouse tiny or smaller) babies. Lisa said it looked like a fertility tie. SOLD.
Telegram: Vintage inspired postcard pieces cut out and "sewn" to gray and gold tie. At the bottom was the "message." Available as of 7/28.
Vurds, Vurds and more Vurds I (a series): Blue and red striped tie, with a big, black rubber fly sewn on, with the words, "Go Back." Available as of 7/28.
Madonna/Whore Cliche I (a series): Vintage inspired postcard pieces cut out and "sewn" to deconstructed tie. A lusty woman looks as though she is escaping or climbing out of the tie. Higher on the tie is a cross with a plastic lusty woman being crucified on it. SOLD
Madonna/Whore Cliche II (a series): Vintage inspired postcard pieces cut out and "sewn" to deconstructed tie. An angry woman looks as though she is escaping or climbing out of the tie. Higher on the tie is a cross with a plastic lusty woman being crucified on it. Available as of 7/28.
Metal/Mettle: About a dozen or so small oddly shaped keys sewn to a maroon tie. In the midst is a small picture of a frame of art. Available as of 7/28.
Life Is...: Vintage inspired postcard pieces cut out and "sewn" to deconstructed tie. An frighted man looks as though he is escaping or climbing out of the tie. He was missing a foot in the image, so I added a giant foot. Above him reads, "Life. Is. Here." SOLD
Vurds, Vurds and more Vurds II: A rosary is attached to a tie. Vintage inspired postcard pieces cut out and "sewn" to tie. A woman whispers into a man's ear and looks cautiously to her right. Next to them are letters that spell out "Moist." SOLD (I think.)
Eureka: A black and gray and red gorgeous tie with a b&w illustration of a man (circa 1920/30) crying from the shoulders up - sewn to tie. I took a small piece of fake hair and gave him a three dimensional chin-beard. Overhead, a small, burnt out light bulb. Underneath, in german, Krieg ist Hölle. Translation: War is Hell. SOLD (honestly, I think this one was my favorite and part of me wishes I had bought it for myself.)
Bolo: Folks were joking about a bolo tie one night, so I made an attempt at a dada version of a bolo tie. It's braided from the twine that is used during the show (if you've seen the show, think about the "life-sized marionette." The twine that is cut to release the marionette is what I used to create this bolo tie.)

I'm sure there are a couple others that are escaping my brain...
And, I'm not the only tie maker Many of the other cast/crew are creating ties too.

Jen's are utterly badass. Dude. She burns holes in them and shit. They are 10x more badass than mine. Joel created a couple that are subtle genius. He took two ties, cut out a matching peice from each in the shape of a jigsaw puzzle peice and then sewed them onto each opposing tie. (I believe they both sold!) Erin made one that another cast member snapped up before the citizenry even had a chance to peep at it! Mary Jo...man, she spent the most time on hers...she deconstructed two ties and then sewed them back together by hand...they look awesome and she must have spent hours putting those together.

While I do some work on the ties at home, I mainly try to work on them when I'm backstage. during the performance. I have a few smallish walk-ons early in the first act, then help a couple times with props issues, but for the most part, I have a lot of free time until I go on late in the second act. In a way, it keeps me listening even more to what's happening onstage. Part of it is being inspired by the play itself. Part of it is an odd obessession to inhale as much dada as I can during this brief run.

Normally, I try to complete one tie per show...At Sunday's show, I brought two partially finished ties (which I finished prior to starting the show) and then finished three more ties (two in the first act, one in the second.) Mainly, I've figured out my m.o. in creating these, and spend less time judging my decisions and more time just creating them.

Honestly, I don't expect to ever be that prolific again. One tie a show is plenty.