If you enjoy dance art as much as I do (and I gather you might, as you -are- here on Tumblr, and you are reading my blog ;)), I’ve just discovered a few artists who will likely make you go -mad- with art-y, dancer-y happy. ^_^  

In the realm of classical “Oriental Dance” paintings, I highly recommend Fabio Fabbi (I know, silly name, but GREAT art).  And when it comes to incredible, modern pieces, you MUST check out Mr. Richard Young.  (But be careful, he is strict about permissions ans licensing, so do NOT snag his pictures for use online -anywhere- w/o paying his fees and getting his okay.  I have a feeling he’ll get you if you steal and he finds out about it.)  

Mr. Young does -incredible- pieces about dancers of all kinds; with beautiful, STRONG images of women looking grand and fantastic and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.  (I.e. these women got PASSION and POWER, and it -shows- in these images. ^_^)  And don’t discount the other sections beyond the ones clearly marked “bellydance.”  He has some -amazing- pieces (even bellydance-y ones) in other sections too. ^_^

Mr. Fabbi (or as I call him “he-of-the-repetitively-silly-name” ;)) on the other hand, does the classical, romanticized pieces that some people may have problems with as far as subject matter goes, but artistically speaking are just SUPERB.  Yes, the subjects are often fanticized versions of Middle Eastern dancers and the world which surrounded them in Colonialists’ minds, but the beauty of these pieces still stand out, and he has a TON of them, so I think his work is worth exploring. ^_^

You can find Richard Young’s gallery of dancers here, and a collection of Mr. Fabbi’s bellydance-themed art here. ^_^  I hope you enjoy- ‘cause both of these men have captured some truly beautiful moments- real or imagined- true-to-life or wistful, as they may be. :):)

(And keep on the look-out for more art posts coming soon- ‘cause I just found a great gallery of bellydance pieces which I’ve yet to investigate! :D)

♥

A while back I was DESPERATELY trying to make our bellydance group a club tee.  I drew up a design, then made a bunch of tees at pretty much every shirt making site imaginable. ;)

As I’m a member of Zazzle, I gave them a go as well, and thaaaat got me thinking about how much I’d been wanting my own Tribal-style top (for practices, workshops and the like).  You know- those adorable black tanks w/the wicked & scrolly designs that the coolest people seem to have? ;)  Well, I’m a big girl, n’ couldn’t seem to find any in my size.  *pout*  ..So, I made one for myself.  :D

Bellydance! Tee by ylluria 
See other Bellydance T-Shirts

I also made this one, but they don’t send artists any percentages like Zazzle does.  (They have some pretty neat fonts available, though. :))  And today, I got inspired to make a new one.  Here, check it out:

I Raq Bellydance Shirt by ylluria 

So, what do y’all think?  I know they’re not black (making black designs on sites like these can be tricky), but I still dig ‘em. :))  Plus all the of the art you see used is my own, so no worries about copyright issues. :)  I’d love to find other tee-making sites that provide more customization (size of image, etc.) and a lower price, (I still say $28 is a LOT for a t-shirt), but for now, it works.

At least now, big girls can wear cute bellydancing tops too. ;)

♥

So, who’s working on spooky performances for the upcoming Hallowe’en season?  It’s my favorite holiday! ^_^

I believe there’s Haflaween happening somewhere in VA again this year, and although BellyHorror has gone the way of the Dodo, the same(ish) crew will be putting on a brand new event at the same time & locale as last year (the Birchmere in Arlington- near the end of October), called Raven’s Night. :) 

Is anybody making horrifically belly-able costumes, or putting together ghoulish props or accessories for the ever-approaching holiday?  Are you maybe attending a zombie walk as an undead bellydancer, or might you be performing at one?  If you’ve got any scary bellydance-related events to promo in honor of Hallowe’en, lemme know!  I’ll try to list ‘em here, as part of a Bellydancer’s Creepy Compendium! :D

♥

As for as bellydance goes, I haven’t got anything happening (-yet- ;)), but I am working on a spooky contest for my art/crafting page (inspired by faeries, no less!), which I thought some of y’all might dig- as the prize could be made into a scary stage prop, or creepy (personal or home) adornment. :D  Wanna see?  Click this link, ‘ratcheer. ^_^  (I’d put a pic of it up here, but I don’t wanna squick anyone out, so I hope the link’s okay.)  

If the weirdness in the photos looks like somethin’ you’d dig (I can thread stuff onto various materials to suit all kinds of purposes, easy-peasy) then come take part in my first contest!  The prize is a handmade polymer clay tooth, or digit (like the ones in the pictures), to be custom made just for you, per your individual specifications. :D

It’s free to enter, and the contest ends on Sept. 1!  So if your zombie-raising necromancer needs some scary accessories, or your cannibal needs some trophies w/a li’l character, come n’ play! ^_^

For contest rules, visit: https://www.facebook.com/alternatevisions/posts/10151832085407588, and if ya don’t have FB, don’t worry!  It’s a public entry, so -anyone- can see it and vote. :)

And lastly, on a related note:  If you’d like me to try and make you something BD and/or Hallowe’en-related from scratch, feel free to ping me here, or over yonder, wherever you see fit. :)  I could try and make medallions or the like for folks- or.. ooh! maybe make a first attempt at some little faux bone hairsticks! :D

 I’ve done lots of drawings involving bellydance, as well as a few li’l polyclay dancers’ faces, but recently it occurred to me that I could also make bd wearables (duhhh—can we say horns on hairsticks, or other polyclay doodads w/flower and/or feather details, or tribal-looking polymer & bead jewelry, etc.?? o.O *facepalm*)  So if you have any ideas/requests, drop me a line. :)

And so saying allllll of that!  To all of you who’re prepping, good luck on your projects, too!  Here’s to a badass Hallowe’en, full of handmade magic, glorious wonder and all-around awesomeness for all! ^_^

♥ 

(PS- The images used herein are the original work and sole property of Alternate Visions/Ylluria.  All rights reserved.  Thanks!)