Gomez & Morticia: DSAM

This is our third Down Syndrome Awareness Month (DSAM) where we have had Blake and Amelia assuming roles of iconic characters. Amelia's mother, Nicole and I feel like it is a creative and unique way to celebrate DSAM! You've seen them as Danny and Sandy and Major Nelson and Jeannie and for 2019 they are SPOOKtacular as Gomez and Morticia Addams.

It is also Halloween Month (I love October) which is full of spooky and scary costumes, parties and events. One thing that isn't scary is Down Syndrome. That said, I was terrified when Blake was born. I was scared for me, for him and what it meant for our future. In the years that have passed I realized how ridiculous I was. My reaction was based on a lifetime of conditioning from a fear based society. A society who strives for generic sameness instead of celebrating differences. A society who would rather be fearful and use it as an excuse for not moving forward and evolving rather than learning, facing their perceived fears and growing. And a society who still segregates people like Blake and Amelia in schools all across the country and won't engage in inclusive practices out of fear.

I was afraid of Down Syndrome, what a gift reflection in hindsight can be. But as Blake grows I have realized a much bigger fear. I fear the world I am leaving him in. I fear the realization that I am not going to live forever and wonder what will happen to him? who will be there for him? who will protect him from this scary, exploitative society?

This community has a serious housing shortage and issues surrounding meaningful employment for fair wages. There are issues with services and supports. We continue to fight for meaningful inclusion in education and in our communities. Advocacy is a long, frustrating road but Blake, Amelia and this community need as many collective voices as possible. We need those voices to speak up to advocate and to educate for respect, and also quality of services and supports. Because let's face it the scariest thing of all is the root cause of these issues, ignorance. I was there once, before my greatest teacher, Blake came into my life.

Dear Blake and Amelia, 

We will never stop fighting for you, advocating for you and educating people for you. We will combat the ignorance with education, the misconceptions with accurate information and the fear with love .. cross our hearts!

Nicole's cam

How are you celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month?

Meet The Cast: Whobris

Wardrobe/Props: Lisa Graystone

Hair: Brookly Truderung

The littlest of our Who's who of Whoville is the character of Whobris, played by my son Blake! Blake has Down Syndrome and that didn't stop him taking on this character by storm. His sensory integration issues also didn't stop him from getting his hair done in a similar style as his character of Whobris, not to say it wasn't a challenge for the hair stylist on set.

In Blake's costume I captured the essence of Whobris without replicating his look. My son does not like a lot of layers so we had to skip the vest over the tie and when I purchase wardrobe I try to buy items my son can wear again, beyond the shoot.

 

 His Pants, shoes, and Grinchy green scarf are his own and I purchased a yellow dress shirt, beige trench coat and holiday themed tie to match the Mayor who his character worships and copies.

HAPPY WHO-YEAR!!

Meet The Cast: Martha May Whovier

Image: Kori Savoie

MUA: Hanna Fisher

Annually I have the privilege of creating a fantasy world for myself and my family to disappear into for an afternoon. This year I chose an iconic holiday film to celebrate in our holiday card.

Martha May Whovier was my character because she is in love with the Grinch, who my husband David graciously stepped into the character of. Martha is the glamour girl of Whoville so I naturally welcomed the opportunity to pay homage to her in the card.

I created her wig and curated her wardrobe so it had the air of Martha May with my own personal spin and details.

WIG: 

Sadly I have constraints for my budget (Imagine the production if I didn't? ) So I inexpensively purchased the base wig from Amazon, HERE. 

I used synthetic hair that I had on hand from one of Kaleigh's past Halloween Costumes  and I purchased Miniature Assorted Holographic Foil Gift Boxes from the Dollar Store and used the Gold and Red packages. I wrapped the other packages with Christmas paper and then with the hair. Hot glue required and some patients. I finished it off by tying off the packages with red ribbon. 

 I glued the finished packages together and started to stack and pile them. I also used bobby pins to secure them. I knew I was doing a second look with the wig down so I didn't want to glue the hair wrapped packages to the base wig.

 She also has a waved bang so I set a foam roller and dampened the wig and sprayed it in advance.

I also had Strep throat (as did my kids) during the wig process which made for an interesting project! For extra holiday drama I left the ribbons long and let them hang down along with some tendrils. 

COSTUME(s)

The character of Martha May Whovier had a total of 6 costumes in the film. I chose to have 2 looks for the shoot. The first being the iconic red and green look.

She wore it with and without her bolero jacket.

My look is a two piece to give the feel of a gown. For the bodice I used a corset (order here ) It comes in literally all sizes. Ignore the "size" and order by measurements. Martha's bodice is trimmed in green tulle and to save trimming my skirt hem (which was the perfect length) I used an old holiday themed tea towel I had on hand. It was the perfect color and texture for the trim. No room in the house if off limits when I am creating! 

I used fabric glue to affix the piece to the top of the bodice.

The Bolero was sourced from the 55,000 Dress Collection and from my own closet. 

Skirt: Comes in all sizes and has an elastic waist!

Shoes: SJP Collection "Gelsey" flat in red metallic "poison" color. The silhouette can be found on Amazon but not the color. Contact the SJP Store for more info.

Jewelry: It was a costume jewelry set with matching bracelet, earrings and necklace. Similar in shape to Martha's

I did a costume change for the end of the shoot. I sourced a gorgeous baby blue chiffon, feather and sequin gown from the 55,000 Dresses Collection. The choice was inspired by the two baby blue looks Martha May wore in the last scenes of the film.

MAKEUP:

Prosthetic FX Nose made of foam latex: SHOP

Large Front Teeth: SHOP

Hanna at work ...

Hanna Fisher did an amazing job on the Martha Makeup! She painted the prosthetic appliance to get it as close to my skin tone as possible, lashed me up with a full gorgeous set and even make a gorgeous Martha Mouth drawn onto the bottom of the prosthetic.

MERRY GRINCHMAS and HAPPY WHO YEAR