**Sarah Sparkles Art Adventure Best of 2018** Swarovski Crystal Rhinestone Art Commissions

The dominant theme of 2018 was creating art that required tremendous team efforts. Special thanks to all of my comrades at the Bergdorf Goodman Visual Department, TINSEL Experiental Design, Flower Cult, Sparkledome, and Burke and Pryde Studio. Amidst a year marked by team efforts, I was also able to find avenues for personal expression with jewelry and costume design commissions, a new website, and 6 page page feature in Enchanted Living/Faerie Magazine. I'm deeply grateful to work with such a diverse community of designers and artisans in New York City, while also having the freedom to pursue my own creative path and passions. With out further ado, the BEST OF 2018...

 Custom masks for Blakus Paris's Fashion week launch party. Commissioned by the fab babes at  TINSEL Experiental Design. YES Please! Studs, spikes, crystal, these are a few of my faaaavorite things...

 

A true party animal!! Mirrored disco pony for Bergdorf Goodman's interior Fashion Week installation. Fabrication w/Sam Theis and Gloria Gutierrez from BG visual dept. Art direction by David Hoey.

Lights, camera... SPARKLE!!! Crystal rhinestone clapboards and camera's for Swarovski's Oscars party at their new store in Time Square. Commissioned by the fab design agency the Gathery.

                            
200+ Crystal cherries and kamquats bedazzled by Sparkledome Studio for table decor at the CFDA Fashion Awards. Commissioned by (the mothership!!) Swarovski via Stefan Beckman. The cherries went viral on social media courtesy of pics posted by Kendall Jenner of the cherry fueled table exploits of the Kardashian's and super model Gigi Hadid.

Creating alternate reality spaces is one of my greatest joys in life. It was a treat to work on this 'Enchanted Forest' spring installation in the home decor loft at Bergdorf Goodman. 

Art direction by Shane Ruth, install by BG Visual crew.

  Honored to be featured in a 6 page spread in Faerie Magazine!! Thank you Carolyn Turgeon!!! Life goal <3 The feature includes an interview about my artistic passions, siren affinities, and tricks-of-the-trade mermaid bra tutorial.

 This year one of my greatest gifts to myself was to build an updated, sparkling website to feature my work in windows, special events, props, costumes and jewelry design. I am in love with the new Sarahsparkles.com . Thank you Steve Pagan!!!

Luscious plant and flower walls for 'Swisse' vitamins that toured multiple cities with the Wanderlust festival. Design, Fabrication & Installation by Ellen Robin's  'Flower Cult.

 

An ode to one of my favorite city's in the whole world!! Beaded jester for New Orleans Tricentennial windows at Bergdorf Goodman. Design and Embellishment by Burke and Pryde studio. Sculpture by Meryl Bennett.  Installation by the fab BG visual crew. Art direction by David Hoey.

 

Custom mask in collaboration with designer Chloe Gosselin for submission to CFDA and Phantom of the Opera's auction for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

 

An out-of-this-world 'Hulaween in the Cosmos'! This year I was team leader for the decor installation at Bette Midler and New York Restoration Project's annual Halloween party at St. John the Divine. Decor designed by Douglas Little.

  

  Design and Fabrication by Burke and Pryde studio. Install by Burke and Pryde and Bergdorf Visual crew. Art direction David Hoey.

The highlight of my artistic year is always working on the Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows! This fall I worked at Johanna Burke's illustrious Burke and Pryde studio on the embellishment of the black and white carousel window. My days were spent with the B&P team applying patterns with candy, polymer clay, and sculpting the horse's mane's out of caulk. The amount of detail is overwhelming, a must see in person!! The Bergdorf Holiday windows are up thru January 3rd at 58th and 5th ave. Also featured in Frieze Magazine and New York Times. Wishing everyone joy and inspiration in the new year. Happy holidays!! 

XO Sarah Sparkles

Bette Midler's Hulaween Party, and 'Crimson Peak' Windows at Bergdorf Goodman

This October, I took a respite from my glittering holiday window production to work with art director Douglas Little on 'Crimson Peak' windows at Bergdorf Goodman and event decor for Bette Midler's Hulaween party. Noted for his glamorous and other-wordy flair, Douglas conjured a macabre 5th avenue window spectacle in conjunction to the launch of 'Crimson Peak', a newly released gothic horror movie by director Guillermo del Toro. The installation incorporated original props from the film with sets custom built to fit the Bergdorf windows. My tasks included fabrication of spooky candles out of bees wax for the eery bathroom scene and extensive prop styling in the attic window. There was so much detail under the floor boards, that enthusiasts on the street would get on there knees to discover the story beneath the surface; remnants of jewels, scraps of letters, combs, wigs, photos, spectacles, and vintage accessories that once belonged to the mistresses of this haunted house.

Window design by Douglas Little, fashion by Valentino

in homage to the film 'Crimson Peak' by Guillermo del Toro

photo by Ricky Zehavi, October 2015

                                                Bathroom fabrication by Kramer Arts

Spooky custom candles made by Sarah Sparkles and crew

Window design by Douglas Little

After installing the Crimson Peak windows, my focus shifted gears to working as the decor production coordinator for Bette Midler's Hulaween party at the Waldorf Astoria with art direction by designer Douglas Little. This was my 5th year working on Hulaween, the annual benefit party for Bette Midler's non-profit organization the New York Restoration Project. This years theme was 'Hell Night on Hulaween Island,' with open grave centerpieces on 60+ tables constructed out of mountains of crushed Oreos, painted bones, severed appendages, glitter roaches, and Bette's head in a jar. This year I took on a large portion of the coordination, including sourcing and ordering props, photo printing, tracking shipping (I Hate UPS!!!!!!!!!!) managing the budget, hiring labor, overseeing and executing decor fabrication, and the installation and breakdown of the event in the Waldorf Astoria's Grand Ballroom. What a massive undertaking!! Our install team was fabulous. The event went off without a hitch. So very grateful :)

                        Visual artist Abby Hertz putting finishing touches on podium tombstone :)

In the aftermath of Hulaween, I spent the remainder of the holiday weekend picking severed fingers out of my personal belongings and recovering in the woods. Gathering my strength for the major final two weeks homestretch of production for the Bergdorf Goodman 2015 holiday windows.

*Bergdorf Holiday Windows 2014, Crystal Rhinestone Masks, Bette Midler's Hulaween Party, and More!*

Summer vacation came to an abrupt halt in mid-August when I got word that I would be assisting ‘Biak’ Kerdkan- a master paper sculpture being imported from Sweden, on the fabrication of an ornate lion and griffin for the Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows. Yes, Christmas in August. That is my world. My days in the Bergdorf studio with Biak and assistant Tate were spent meticulously cutting paper into thousands of layers of fur and feather. All of the paper was gorgeous custom shades of blue to emulate blue prints for the architecture-themed holiday window. We worked along side artists Jay and Gloria who had already been in the BG studio for many months crafting a city of paper skyscrapers. The level of detail and layers was truly unbelievable. The atmosphere in the studio vacillated the extremes of ultimate zen to steaming pressure cooker. Biak became my 'Russian coach' who enforced utmost speed and precision. After five weeks I thought my hand was going to fall off. #carpeltunnel. The end result is beyond worth it, and am very grateful to have worked on this stunning holiday window. 

                    'Architecture' Bergdorf Goodman Holiday 2014. Window director - David Hoey
                                 On display at 58th street and 5th Avenue thru January 4th.

      Click here to see behind the scenes action in a NY Times video about the creation of this window.

 
After an extended stint in the Bergdorf studio, my season took on a more diverse, independent tone. I did a few days of painting props for another BG 5th ave holiday window, a few days of window installs, and then started doing more work out of my own studio.  One of my favorite projects was a commission of 5 crystal rhinestone masks via Abby Hertz of AHZ Concepts for a notorious fashion world 'A- list' Halloween party. This collection of masks required hand application of more than 15,000 crystals!!!

Most days I was doing a combination of teaching, making crystal encrusted masks, fabricating a stone sculpture for the Bergdorf men's store, and coordinating props, labor, and crafting decor for Bette Midler's Hulaween party. This was my fourth year working with art director Douglas Little on the decor for Bette Midler's annual Halloween party at the Waldorf Astoria. This years theme 'Fellini Hulaweeni' was an ode to the surrealist Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. Many of the decorative components were crafted from Italian newspapers, and based off of bizarre characters from Fellini films. 

                                               Fellini Hulaween 2014. Art Director- Douglas Little

'Hulaween' is the annual benefit for Bette's Midler's non-profit organization 'New York Restoration Project.' NYRP plants trees, revitalizes parks and gardens, and facilitates free arts culture in NYC's green public spaces. Bette is a true inspiration for me in the way she uses her influence to cultivate stewardship, while being oh so fabulous. Thank you Divine Miss M <3 

My hallowed holiday production season culminated with a project very dear to my heart. In 2014 my manager/mentor of nearly 10 years in windows, Shane Ruth got a mega promotion and became the Visual Director of the entire Bergdorf Goodman's men's store. Bravo!!! Early in the season Shane commissioned me to make a stone encrusted sculpture for the Archeology themed holiday window. Earthy, masculine, organic, and glamorous. He quickly earned the name: 'G of D' AKA 'God of Display.' We worked in collaboration. Shane built the base, I picked and applied the stones. Titanium treated Quartz, Agate, Pyrite, Druzy, tile, rock candy, and glass. The 'God of Display' is a demanding and expensive god, but oh sooooo beautiful. During the homestretch, I was working around the clock at the Sparkledome studio. Fingers perma-stained blue, a landscape of stone, glass, and glue forming on my gold studio floor. It was such a proud and happy day when I got to carry him into the store. It felt good to join my teammates, do finishing touches in the men's visual studio, and then watch Shane place him in the display case inside the window. Moments later our whole team gathered across the street for the official window unveiling. There was songs, speeches, and massive fireworks were shot off of the iconic building, illuminating the night sky. For most bystanders it was the week before Thanksgiving, for me it was New Years Day :)

                           Tada!!!! 'God of Display' designed by Sarah Sparkles and Shane Ruth
       'Archeology' Bergdorf Goodman Men's holiday window 2014. Window Director- Shane Ruth
                    Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows at 58th St. and 5th Ave thru January 4th.

                                                        Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!!
   Utmost gratitude for a deeply inspiring, creative year.  Cheers to the next, and many more <3
Also a special thank you to the amazing art directors and visual teams I worked with this year. All of these projects are huge collaborative efforts. It is a privilege to work with all of you.