Audio By Carbonatix
At one point in the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens, Little Edie Bouvier Beale turns to the camera and offers a bit of fashion advice: Wear pants or stockings under a skirt so that “you can always take off the skirt and use it as a cape.” It’s this kind of wonderfully nutty style that has made Little Edie into a cult fashion icon, as well as the inspiration for the Grey Gardens Etsy Crafting Party hosted by Fresh City Life today at the Denver Public Library.
“A lot of people have translated Edie into various art forms, and that’s why I think it just so naturally fit to do a craft party that was Grey Gardens-inspired,” explains Chris Loffelmacher, programming director for the DPL’s Fresh City Life, which is putting on the event with the Denver Handmade Alliance. The iconic film centers around Little Edie and her mother, Big Edie, relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who went from affluent socialites to eccentric hermits living with cats and raccoons in a crumbling mansion. The open house will feature Edie-themed crafts and eats, along with a showing of the film.
Loffelmacher remembers one part of the movie in which Little Edie is reading her horoscope and laments, “All I need is a Libran Man.” This line led to a craft project, ’70s-inspired zodiac notecards done in glitter. Other crafts will include cat toys, a button- and mag-net-making station with Grey Gardens-related images, and tables set up for people to bring their own projects. There’s also a costume contest, so bring out those fur coats, brooches and floral scarves.
The party goes from 1 to 8 p.m. in the Level B2 Conference Center of the DPL’s Central Branch, 10 West Fourteenth Avenue Parkway, and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://denverlibrary.org/fresh.
Fri., June 10, 1-8 p.m., 2011
