For some, coming to college means leaving behind the novelties of childhood, but not for Sarah Johnson.
Johnson, a freshman theater major, intends to bring Disney characters to life by hand-making costumes and photographing students in the theater department wearing them.
Johnson had the idea for a similar project four years ago, but felt she did not have the resources and skills necessary to bring it to life.
“When I came to Lipscomb and got into the theater department, got a little more into photography and had a nice camera, I started taking pictures and I started seeing the talent that all these different people had,” Johnson said. “Instead of using models, I thought that it would be interesting to see people, who for or a living or for a hobby want to act as characters, to take on the characters that they love.”
Johnson is planning to photograph a different set of characters each semester. The theme of this set will be Disney Princesses, but future plans include Toy Story, Disney villains, Greek Mythology and horror sets.
Friend and fellow first year theater student, Natalie Risk, has been assisting Johnson with the project.
“This is a project that will span our entire four years of college,” Risk said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the last set of pictures we take and comparing them to our first. Seeing the progression and the growth in every aspect of what we do will be a lot of fun to watch.”
Together they have made a schedule, acquired materials and picked locations for photo shoots. With fabrics, bedspreads and clothing from Goodwill and ThriftSmart, Johnson has begun sewing the first outfit — Belle’s dress.
“That was the one I had told myself I would put off until the very last because her dress is so intricate and I’ve never made clothing before — I’ve only made quilts,” Johnson said. “Going from stitching squares together to trying to make a dress without a pattern was ridiculous, but I found this bedspread and I took it apart and I started just sewing.”
After the first two days of sewing, Johnson’s sewing machine broke, forcing her to continue the project by hand. Though her mother was a seamstress, Johnson was reluctant to learn how to sew by hand — a fact which she now finds ironic.
In the past month, Johnson has put more than 60 hours and $50 into the project. She intends to finish the first set of costumes by the end of the semester in order to include some of the graduating seniors.
The characters for this semester’s set will be junior Emily Hughes as Alice, senior Tyler Russell as Mad Hatter, senior Emily Eytchison as Belle, senior Lacy Hartselle as Ariel, freshman Emily Meinerding as Jane and senior Austin Hunt as Tarzan.
“I’m just hoping that all of my costumes and photography do justice to the work that the actors are going to put into the characters,” Johnson said.