Lokey, a caretaker and professional seamstress, started to release her anxiety by creating intricate costumes and stylized corsets. She sold them to family, friends and whoever else wanted them.
In 2013 her husband Todd was diagnosed with liver failure. He has a rare congenital disease called hemochromatosis, which causes the body to absorb too much iron, overworking the liver and causing cirrhosis, or liver failure.
“We are at a Catch-22,” Sharon Lokey said. “The sicker he is, the better his chances are.”
Throughout all of her emotional highs and lows, Sharon Lokey has devoted herself to a skill she has developed since she was 7 years old. Beadwork, buttons, working on hems — any sort of hand sewing is preferred, she said. But what she enjoys most are part of a larger project, she said.
While Lokey still fabricates whole costumes, she has begun to focus on corsets alone, she said. It takes her, from cutting to the finishing touches, a few hours to complete a single corset.
She designs some corsets that are historically correct, and some inspired by different anime series, she said. She has Marvel Comics print fabrics, Adventure Time, and some with depictions of characters from various anime series.
She met her husband through the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group that encourages re-enactment of various time periods and costume play — cosplay for short, she said.
“I’ve always been a nerd in the cartoon cosplay, and the science-fiction fantasy and whatnot,” Lokey said.
Her other interests revolve around historically-accurate pieces, she said. Most of her larger projects are based on different lines of nobility. The Baroque, Elizabethan and Tudor periods are eras she often finds inspiration from, as they were defined by more lush fabrics and detail.
“We’re still little kids inside,” Lokey said. “We might have adult suits on, but we are definitely 3 years old, eating cereal Sunday morning watching cartoons.”
Like Lokey, Cree Myers said she has experienced a similar therapeutic value through her own costume creations. An art education graduate student and this year’s Miss Klingon Empire, Myers has focused on the therapeutic aspect of art throughout her studies.
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“Art-making is therapeutic, and just giving someone the opportunity to make art — to express themselves through art materials — is therapeutic in itself,” Myers said.
Not only is making costumes exciting and relaxing, it is also the strength that comes from dressing up, she said. The media that cosplay is based on are generally about strong characters overcoming impossible situations, and that is therapeutic, she said.
“Cosplay can be self-medication,” Myers said. “You’re expressing yourself on your own with the materials, so it does have a therapeutic value.”
She knows from personal experience how cosplay and anime can help during rough patches, she said.
Myers’ father was recently in the hospital in what was, at the time, a life-threatening situation. While being there for him, Myers found inspiration through Red Sonja comics, she said. On other occasions, researching characters and making costumes has helped to lift her out of depression.
“Reading about someone who is fantastically strong helps you feel a little stronger yourself,” Myers said.
Lokey said her corsets are also a way for others to express themselves. Her garments have been worn to SCA meetings and comic conventions all over the United States, she said.
Lisa Suemnick, Lokey’s sister and registered nurse, said it has been a difficult year for her sister, but her corsetry has helped her get through it. Each corset is a goal for Suemnick’s sister, she said. For her to see all of her hard work in front of her is therapeutic, Suemnick said.
“Her corsetry serves two purposes: It gives her something else to think about, and ... it allows her to get some clarity on a situation,” Suemnick said. “You can see the joy that’s in her face when she sews.”
Lokey is not the only person who benefits from her time in front of the sewing machine. She said she often dedicates more time and effort to work she knows will benefit someone close to her. Her best friend, Jennifer Ford, a support manager for Sage Neuroscience, is also a recipient of her work.
Lokey’s ability to combine art with cosplay while her husband is ill is an incredible talent, Ford said. Lokey has taken a new vigor and passion to her work since her husband became sick, she said. Her sewing is something Lokey can control while she can’t control her husband’s illness.
Ford said her corsets are multifaceted; they can be used for cosplay, everyday use or representative of a specific time period. The corsets are comfortable as well.
“She makes it look effortless to make,” Ford said.
Moriah Carty is the assistant culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at cultureassistant@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MoriahCarty.
