Karen Firus’
fashion play

eas ge

Layne Christensen
SPOTLIGHT FEATURE

am the ultimate tube

head, dreaming about a

House of Drop Dead
Vogue. ! live in a world of
‘fuchsia, purple, red and hot
pink — passion colors,
shades of lipstick ...’”

And so reads the artist's state-
ment-of Karen Firus, the self-
proclaimed Lipstick Queen and
Renaissance Woman.

The North Vancouver ar-
tist-designer-painter-writer-
independent-film-maker and all-
around ‘‘fabulous babe’’ has just
premiered her latest collection of
fashion-inspired objets d'art at
Granville Island's Crafthouse
gallery.. :

in a sunlit corner of the tiny
showroom lies Firus’ House of
Drop Dead Vogue, a fantastical
assortment of over 40 vibrantly
painted artifacts for the stylish
home. Most are hand-crafted from
wood and skilfully shaped with the
aid of a jigsaw.

With her crimson lips, pale skin
and hand-painted vest slathered
with lipstick tubes, the 33-year-old
artist fits right in with her work.

Like Alice in Wonderland, she is
surrounded by the magical pro-
ducts of her imagination. Abuzz

in film production.

with energy, she takes the inter-
viewer through a whirlwind tour of
the house of ultimate excess.

Brassiere Footstool, Handbag
End Table, Ultimate Vogue Vixen
Treasure Chest and ballistic Tubes
on Wheels —- all are rife with
fashion icons and bursting with
energy. .

Against one wall is the Tarot
Table. A trampe l'oeil image of
tarot cards fanned out around a
faux finis purple marble tabletop

. spells a high-fashion reading in

progress.
Among the cards drawn: the
Three of Hot Pants, the Ace of

‘Tube and the Two of Purple Clut-

ches. It’s anyone's guess if this
foretells fashion disaster or cosmic

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victim. :

Firus picks up one of her cre-
ations, a geometrically cut slab of
wood painted black, embellished
with a purple bra and Egyptian hi-
eroglyphics, and varnished to a

is

NEWS photo Nell Lucente
HANDSWORTH GRAD Karen Firus went on to receive a 8A and MFA from UBC where she majored

high gloss. A wooden disc slides
up a brass wand upon which sits
her functional work of art — a
napkin holder, meant to be played
with, and designed to enliven the
dullest of dinner parties.

It is obvious this free spirit is

positively obsessed with fashion.

“t worship fashion. | absolutely .
love style and | love shoes and |
love clothes,’’ says the Hands-
worth grad,who went on to
receive a BA and MFA from UBC
where she majored in film produc-
tion. “When | was a little kid, |
made drawings of my mom in her
mod purple go-go dresses and her
high boots and her bauble pink
earrings and these huge shocking
pink lips.

“I've got all these smelly, old
Seventeen magazines that | just
refuse to throw out. I’m constantly
hoarding fashion magazines.’’ And
accessories: “| have adrawer of ~
bracelets, a drawer of pins... 1
need, like, major boutique space.

“People say ‘If you could live
in a boutique, you’d be happy.’
The only thing missing in my place
is a cash register,” she adds with a
laugh.

ut,” getting serious, ‘‘I ref-
use to be taken over by it.’’

While some may say this has al-
ready happened, Firus insists she
maintains a firm hold on reality.

“You can’t take it like this is
really serious stuff here,’’ she says
with a flick of her hand. “‘I mean,
I'm serious about what | do. The
quality, no matter what I'm doing’
has got to be way, way. up there,
but giving pleasure, getting a
laugh, getting people to find
humor and to make them smile ...
that’s the big thing.”’

And based on some of the

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