Crafting and activism are two of my very favorite things, so when I get to do both at the same time its just a perfect day. Last Sunday I joined the Occupy Arts & Labor group Debt Squares project.
I made the square in the foreground of this photo. It represents my home because I almost lost it due to medical debt after a serious illness. Debt is a huge burden, and to make matters worse many of us (like me) feel guilty about, even if it was though no fault of our own. It was so healing and empowering to sew and share with the other people participating in this project.
Amid all the footprints in the sand along the shore this one caught my eye. I’m assuming that someone wore flip flops with “REUSE” carved into the bottom.
I love my recycled flip flop doormat and I have recycled flip flop bracelets too. I reuse all kinds of things that come across my path but so far I haven’t made anything out of flip flops. So that’s my latest challenge. What can I make out of this summer’s old flip flops? (They’re in the washer now getting freshened up.)
Following the pattern of TV’s “Project Runway,” my 8 to 11 year old students create these designs in my “Trashion” workshops at The Art Farm. The girls are divided into teams and given an array of trashy items I’ve collected. And of course we have runway shows with guest judges. Every summer we exhibit the work. In the of 2011 we collaborated on a fundraiser with Donna Karan’s Urban Zen and exhibited the collection in the store. This summer we had a spectacular runway show in the Hamptons. (Ironic, yes!) Here are some additional photos.
I’ll be at Maker Faire this coming weekend, September 29th & 30th.
I love the magical process of collaboration and invention that occurs in these classes. Thanks to Treehugger.com for the wonderful article about my work!
I’m working on some super fast & super cheap projects for a workshop at Maker Faire. I was going to recycle a book from 1984 called “Art and the Computer”. Seriously, why did I even still have this totally 80s computer graphics book? But something held me back and I decided to keep it. These vintage computer graphics are so dated that I think they’re actually cool.
I made this necklace by glueing a page from the book on corrugated cardboard. I put a scrap of wire through for hanging and made the necklace by cutting a black T shirt into a long strip. Of course any image/collage from a book or magazine would be fun.
Easy & almost free necklace #2. I cut a felted sweater (orginally striped) into squares, threaded them on a scrap of wire and strung on my favorite kind of cord (a strip of an old T shirt). This T shirt happened to be tan and looks just like faux suede. Cost of necklace: free. I was going to donate the sweater & T shirt anyway. Plus I can make probably 30 from one sweater and T shirt.
I didn’t travel to the tropics to take this photo. I used an Elephant Ear plant in my back yard as the background. The bulbs are inexpensive and can be brought inside and stored for the winter. The leaves can be over 2 feet long and will turn any back yard into a tropical paradise. (A few Tiki torches can’t hurt either.)
I “found” this drawing on the parking lot at the beach today. My friend said it looks like Xs & Os. I said “hugs & kisses from the universe? I think not!”
Yesterday the surf was really rough so all kinds of things washed up on the shore. My favorite finds were colorful and plastic. I started making and photographic faces on the beach with the stuff I collected. This one looks like one of my heros, Bender from Futurama.
I’m trying to create jewelry that reflects my values, so all components have to be found/recycled or Fair Trade. I found the wood at the Brooklyn Botanical garden near Patrick Dougherty’s wonderful woven wood sculpture. It was a beautiful day with cherry petals swirling around like a pink snow globe.
Yup, I stole a wood chip from the BBG as a little souvenir. “I shall not steal” is clearly not one of my core values. Last month I stole a piece of cactus from a wildlife refuge and suffered from cactus pricks for a week.
I wanted to keep that all important wood chip integrity, so I just sanded it a bit, applied some lemon oil, gold leaf and attached the chain.
Yesterday I was all dressed up with no where to go in my extravagant paper hat. The plan was to bring my cousin to a Derby day party where there was a hat competition. She’s 81, so when she asked me to bring her home to watch the Derby on TV as soon as we got there — I couldn’t say no. So now I have this wonderfully extravagant hat I made from only newspaper, a stapler and a glue gun — and no where to wear it. : (
I took this photo on July 13, 1982 at the Astor Place subway stop on my way to work. Last week I saw a similar piece in the Haring Show at the Brooklyn Museum. I used a Polaroid SX-70, the same kind of camera Keith used to take the self portraits at the beginning of this show. Seriously, two of my all time favorite things: street art and Polaroid SX-70 cameras.
In 2012 you can see Keith’s work in a museum. You can also buy a vintage SX-70 camera on Amazon and get film from the Impossible Project. But nothing can quite compare with the magic of finding this work in ordinary places back in the day.
This week I got a little dose of the kind of magic I’m most fond of. Some wonderful people Occupied NYC with art on May Day and I found myself smiling like it was 1982.
← Earlier posts
Page 1 of 5
