Local shoe artist Lou Hayden takes a big step into the world of fiber art
Lou Hayden never really considered herself much of a shoe-person, but since beginning her newest art collection on classical footwear, her eyes light up at the mention of shoes.
Lou Hayden, Shoe Artist
“Some people are so excited I’m making these shoes, they start to hyperventilate!” laughs Hayden, who has lived and worked in Ottawa since moving here five years ago from England.
“There’s so much symbolism and history that has gone into shoes, and a whole fetish world, too.”
True enough, shoe obsession did not start with Sex and the City. Think about Puss in Boots, or perhaps the Old Woman who lived in a shoe, or even the little girl with the red dancing shoes. There is an entire world of fairytales and fables that revolves around shoes, not to mention a series of expressions about shoes taking you where you want to go, and taking the first step.
Hayden took a big first step when she decided to move on from her position as Head of Wardrobe and Props, at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC), and try something that was purely artistic and much more her style.
“This was my chance to do what I wanted to do, to actually have my dream of being an artist. I had a studio for two years, but I had no time to use it. I decided to take a huge leap and see what the universe would come up with. People have been overwhelmingly encouraging, and they’ve even passed on my work to friends. It’s been great!” says Hayden.
Hayden only started this project, in January, but she is already booked for several exhibits around Ottawa. This summer, she was asked to participate in “Art in Our Gardens” in the Glebe, and group shows at Blink Gallery and the Dale Smith Gallery. She has yet another show scheduled for October 8th with Le Petit Salon des Arts, and she is also going to be a featured guest artist at the Fritzi Gallery in the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre for the GCTC production Zadie’s Shoes. Pretty impressive for an emerging visual artist!
But Hayden is already quite well-known in the arts community as a spectacular costume designer for numerous theatre companies — most notably, with the outdoor theatre troupe A Company of Fools. This summer, Hayden designed the costumes for the Fools’ Torchlight Shakespeare production of Romeo and Juliet. She explains that costume design for the Fools is especially difficult because the company’s shows are so physically demanding and are performed in all sorts of weather.
“The costumes must be suitable for physical theatre; they must be ‘wash and tumble dry;’ and no sharp objects. When there’s 35 degree heat, the costume has to be breathable. It needs to have the period silhouette, but with modern comfort. There are an awful lot of requirements; it’s more like costuming for the circus!” says Hayden.
When designing costumes for theatrical productions, Hayden rarely has the opportunity to be creative with shoe designs because staging needs must first come into consideration. For that reason, she has always had images of fancy footwear floating around in her imagination, just waiting to be let loose. Her collection, Lost Shoes, features several fiber art designs inspired by men’s fashions from the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. “There are not many periods in history when men got to be peacocks. I love the idea of extravagant decadence, of absolute opulence, of rose petals strewn on the floor for men to stand on,” muses Hayden.
As a fiber artist, Hayden loves working in this three-dimensional medium that is part of a growing trend in our national arts community. However, she has found that more conservative art patrons are a little reluctant to give the medium a chance.
“People are anxious about it, and they are confused about how to clean it. You just dust it like you would dust a painting!” explains Hayden.
“How come oils and acrylics are better than fabrics? How did that happen? It seems that art mediums have a hierarchy, and fabric is at the bottom; perhaps because it is linked to women and crafts.”
Hayden’s previous art collection was entitled “Women’s Work” and the pieces were created with bits of left over costume fabric and scraps of worn out clothing. It was an experiment to see what she could salvage from very little material.
“Women spend a lot of time making beauty out of things that would otherwise be considered not worth looking at,” says Hayden, who continues to focus on aesthetics and self-sufficiency in her most recent exhibit.
“There’s a huge mystery about shoes. When I tell people about my collection, they look at me as though I’ve said ‘I create sunshine,’ like it’s completely impossible, not something a mere mortal could do. I don’t like to use the word ‘empowering,’ but there’s something special about knowing how to make your own shoes. I feel like: if we have a nuclear war, I’ll be alright.”
For more information on Lou Hayden’s upcoming exhibits, please visit her website at www.louhayden.blogspot.com.
the most exquisite moments 