I made a big ass crow.
My intention was to make a costume that engaged the space above peoples heads. It is a space the floats in the parade use, but costumes rarely. I wanted to see what would happen. My vision was that people would see me from far away. As I rounded a corner, people along the route would see this “thing” coming and then figure out what it was, and then realize it was a costume.
I am part of the Nyack Art Collective, and we chose to do Hitchock films as our theme. After watching THE BIRDS, I thought how cool would it be to have that experience.. of a looming crow coming closer, getting larger? the fear from the presence of a bird. Could I get a costume to do that? How big could it be? 14 feet wide? If I used packing peanuts, could I get it over my head?
I used a pattern off of Etsy for a 6 inch bird, and transferred inches to feet to start. The body came first, and then I realized how big it was. A six foot torso of a bird took up my entire kitchen. then the wings - 8 feet from tip to shoulder… my TV room was taken over too. The days before the parade, my husband, Jim, and I talked a lot about structure. The day before the parade, we built the skeleton out of pvc pipes. The morning of the parade we attached it to a hiking backpack. At the parade sign in, we assembled it for the first time… in front of everyone! I took the costume for a run. It worked! She was big and floated above us all! She was over 17 feet wide and above my head!
Walking the parade is … I cant find the words. Everyone is there to celebrate creativity. and candy, my favorite things. I started walking the route, and I realized that I took up a lot of space in my group. Others walked together.. this costume was me.. and iIneeded a birth of 8 feet all around. I started walking towards people on the side, and I saw their faces. By coming at people, they engaged with the bird, and threatening because it was big and above. When spectoators realized I was coming at them, and then going to fly my wing over their heads (by tilting my hips) the thrill was palpable. Children werre curious to feel, discover how it was made. Adults wanted to take pics. My favorite moments were when an adult was filming the parade with their phones, and all of a sudden I would run over to them - the shock as they looked up from their phones to understand what was happening - that a giant bird was heading straight for them - was the BEST!
It was a few hours to take a break from the news, the chores, the challenges and celebrate dressing up and being creative. The Nyack Parade celebrates. The Nyack Parade connects us in that celebration. I am grateful the costume worked. In this time, where war is present, children being killed, we need moments of celebrating life.
Art matters. Art connects. Humans need art.
