Sustainable Fashion

Last night was Knights on the Catwalk, an inaugural sustainable fashion show at St. Norbert College. It was one of many events under the umbrella of Fashion This, an exhibition and lecture series looking at sustainable and ethical fashion through the lens of art and design. It's a collaboration between myself and two outstanding colleagues, Shan Bryan-Hanson and April Beiswenger. The fashion show included wearable cardboard sculptures from my ART 131 students as well as outfits put together with less than $20 spent at area thrift stores and a couple of pieces by our colleague April Beiswenger. We've passed the half-way point with Fashion This and it's been exciting to see the work and ideas take root on our campus.

As a quick aside: you can check out #fashionthisSNC on social media like Twitter and Instagram.

Final bow at Knights on the Catwalk

In addition to the fashion show last night Shan curated an outstanding exhibit that included the clothing of Alabama Chanin and the on-site installation of and scheduled tours through a tiny house built by a local pastor Rebecca Rutter. At the same time April's 1000 T-shirt Project was on display in the Godschalx Gallery. April turned her skills as a prolific maker and thinker to the issues of fashion production, waste, and consumption to turn out a gallery-full of sculptural pieces made from t-shirts.

Detail from April Beiswenger's 1000 T-Shirt Project. Photo by Shan Bryan-Hanson.

One of the more energizing and interactive elements on display in our art building was the swap pile. We began with a stash of clothing April curated from faculty and staff donations and thrift store selections. Signs on the display invited passersby to take a piece (or several) from the pile and to leave pieces behind. Students and campus visitors got a kick out of riffling through the pile and finding new-to-them clothes to take home. I found a stunning sequined skirt and a cool t-shirt for my youngest brother. Although that swap pile has been dismantled and returned to the second-hand clothing stream, I'll be recreating the abundant swap ethos later this month as part of my exhibition WERKBOOTS at Silver Lake College.

The Fashion This swap pile at the Bush Art Center at St. Norbert College

Which brings me to WERKBOOTS, an exhibition of my work on display at the Donald P. Taylor Gallery at Silver Lake College through October 28th. The show is a current take on my ongoing pursuit of "sustainable fashion boots." Included in the show are drawings about the process of trying to make my own fashion boots, a display of past and possible future materials, boot drafts made to date, and a work table where gallery visitors are invited to design their own boots and to trade that drawing for a screen print (shown below). Special thanks to Maria Deau who contributed both screen prints and major installation help to the show.

Gallery visitors at Silver Lake College draw boot designs to trade for prints.

I'll be hosting a public boot-making workshop (with an emphasis on low-resolution prototypes) and a clothing swap on October 6th at 8:15 AM and October 8th from 9 AM - 12 PM, respectively. If you're in the area, stop in to join us, see the work, and consider how you might take steps towards a more sustainable style.

Costumes to Save Your Life at Jabberwock Gallery

I'm delighted to get to show my Costumes to Save Your Life at the nascent Jabberwock Gallery in Algoma, WI. If you're in the area, please plan to join us for the opening Friday, July 1st, 5-9 PM. Here's the gallery address for your navigation: 219 Steele St. Algoma, WI 54201

Below are some of the initial sketches and prints that led to the final work. Versions of some of these and other prints will be for sale at the gallery. You can read more about the project and its genesis here.

Summer Thighs

This screen print is bound for the Hardy Gallery where it will be assembled with bodily segments from other Wisconsin printmakers into an Exquisite Corpse. Green Bay printmaker and UWGB Professor Chris Style organized the show and I can't wait to see the bodies assembled. The opening reception is Friday, September 4th from 5:30 - 7 PM.

The Exquisite Corpse as we're practicing here dates back to the Surrealists who, according to Wikipedia, put their spin on an existing parlor game. It's one of my favorites. I used it in bars when I first moved to Knoxville, TN and didn't know anyone. The lack of control over the entire figure as well as the absurdity built in to the final result make it a great teaching tool and a nice thing to do with people who "can't draw."

For the exhibit at the Hardy the figure was divided into four sections. Each artist was assigned one of the four and given a template that indicated where the "figure" should pick up and end. My image is very literal; some of the best exquisite corpses I've seen or made depart more radically from the recognizable figure. Again, it will be great to see the prints assembled. I'm especially looking forward to seeing the portions created by Don Krumpos, Johanna Winters, Berel Lutsky, and Ben Rinehart, all area printmakers who I know and whose work I admire.

Red Bird

The mascot for the high school down the street from our house is the Red Bird. It looks like an angry cardinal. The marquee in front of the school spells out in LED lights: It's a Great Day to Be a Red Bird. I find this funny and take it as a challenge. We'll see how great it is to be a red bird.

So far I've draped the veil-like portion of the Red Bird head piece. Need to anchor my head-mannequin so I can lean into it. I love the challenge of moving from drawing to object, although so far the drawings are more exciting and engaging than the red corduroy hood waiting in the studio.

I imagine wearing it and dancing around my neighborhood as if in a music video by Mimi Cave. The neighbors might worry. Or they might join in. Such could be the greatness of being a red bird.