Today I want to talk about hard work, imagination and perseverance. Suffering from depression, some eat away their stress with cakes or pills, some begin to get carried away by philosophical movements, and some begin to engage in something new for themselves, amazing the people around them with their inexhaustible invention!
How it all began
An American housewife was depressed for a long time. She was treated with various methods, stubbornly struggled with an unpleasant disorder, but nothing saved her. Modern clinics and experienced doctors could not help her. Life was not pleasant, turning into a series of gray everyday life with a dull schedule. The family suffered, seeing no resolution to their protracted illness.
The turning point was a regular television show. How can we then claim that TV only brings degradation?! One of the American programs announced a special competition for housewives. His conditions were quite simple: you need to create something with your own hands from available materials. The organizers did not set any special restrictions, relying on the imagination of the participants and the originality of the implementation of ideas.
Patience and work will grind everything down
The old Russian proverb is relevant anywhere in the world, even in the distant United States of America! A woman suffering from prolonged depression decides to make a wedding dress for a competition. The material was not fabric, not gauze, and not even old newspapers, but plain toilet paper.
The idea of such dresses is not new. The first elegant paper dresses appeared in the Japanese city of Kamakura in the 12th century AD. According to the “tailoring” technology, they resembled the modern cutting out of snowflakes before the New Year. It’s interesting, but only rich ladies could afford such a luxury!
She really got down to business! For several months in a row there was a constant purchase of toilet paper rolls. Each roll was boiled. Then the boiled paper had to be broken into a homogeneous mass. At this stage, the housewife was helped by a mixer. There was still some water left in the resulting mass, so the next difficult stage began—straining. Excess moisture was removed with a strainer, trying to squeeze out as much water as possible.
The resulting mass was used for sculptural modeling. The frame was sculpted most carefully, like a corset. Layer after layer of paper formed the base. It’s hard to even imagine how much patience it took! Each layer takes time to cool and set, and one extra movement can undo the work of several days. The American chose flowers for decoration. She also sculpted them from wrung out toilet paper! The patterns were formed using specially prepared stencils.
World-famous designers used paper material for original models.For example, Julian Tomchin made one-off outfits that cost less than $2 each. Christian Dior created paper sweaters, and John Galliano made an evening dress from old newspapers. The archives contain photographs of the Beatles in paper suits.
Who has won
During the creative process, the woman noted how depression gradually receded. The grayness of the days was painted in bright colors, and the family provided invaluable support. The children noticed positive changes in their mother’s well-being and volunteered to become helpers. They created a family contract united by a common cause and completed the titanic work through joint efforts. In total, the work took several months!
The photographs show with the naked eye that jewelry work has been done. The wedding dress turned out to be a pleasant peach color with the most delicate white pattern in the form of luxurious flowers. The model has an original asymmetry: a short train at the front and a long train at the back.. A fabulous creation with thoughtful details fell in love with the judges and many people around the world who saw this miracle created by the hands of an ordinary woman.
What's the trick?
How were they able to put on the dress and show it to the judges? Why didn’t it fall apart at home, before going to the studio? I thought for a long time what the secret of success is and how it is possible to make real clothes from ordinary paper. It turns out that the casket just opened! I remembered my school days and labor lessons, and papier-mâché came to mind. Indeed, this old method of boiling paper waste gives an amazing effect after hardening. Masks, dolls and even interior items are sculpted from the mass! Paper just seems like a weightless thing. Folded in several layers, it is capable of showing miracles of strength.Studying the papier-mâché technique, we can conclude: glue was probably involved in the process of cooking the material for the dress, but the official story is silent about this. Perhaps the layers were enough.
The story of the American housewife serves as a worthy example of how people do not give up. Depression is not a death sentence! If traditional methods do not help, we must look for new solutions. Believing in yourself, your strengths and your family can work wonders, revealing the world from an unexpected side.
0
