Mending mending mending

The mission to keep my jeans wearable continues... Gradually the original fabric is disappearing beneath a layer of boro style mending stitches and a few surface patches. As they develop, I am loving them more and more, they have a really sturdy feel and are beginning to look really loved and real - like the velveteen rabbit " Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
That kind of says it all about my jeans :)

Studio Practice

I am settling into "Studio Practice" at Moray School of Art; it's starting to feel like I'm heading in an interesting direction through my explorations with printmaking, and just generally finding my feet in this second year. My studio space is constantly evolving and changing, and my tutor suggested that I keep a record by taking photos each time I take stuff down, put stuff up or just shuffle things around as I make new connections. This is the first photo of my evolving visual thought process, complete with pictures and quotes from artists who inspire me, and a whole mix of mono-printing, eco-printing, transfer printing and notes/mind maps. Bit of a jungle really, but sense of purpose is emerging gradually!

Looking at this photo, I notice that I haven't taken down the bright orange number two that told me which was my space in the room! Must get rid of it and put my name up instead.

As for the "Make do and Mend" mission - my jeans are still holding up!

The next part needing darning and reinforcing is the backside.... As you can see, it was getting a wee bit thin here and there!

Time to step away from the laptop and pick up the needle again...

Eco- printing

L to R - black turtle beans and rusty tacks; spice tea and tacks; steamed walnuts; steamed black turtle beans.

We are doing printing this semester, and I decided to experiment with eco-printing as part of my exploration. I am thrilled by the colour and pattern you can get from simple materials and methods. Next I plan on over-printing with other plants on top of some of these.
I was fascinated to see that my cold-wrapped Black Turtle beans SPROUTED during the week I left them to release their colour! No, I hadn't meant to leave these 4 bundles for a whole week, but I went down with a coldy virus and was at home in bed while my bundles mouldered at uni... I just about needed gloves and a mask to open the other 3 bundles as they were VERY mouldy and slimy. Considering the yuckyness of the bundles as I opened them, I am very pleased with the end results!

Make do and Mend

At the moment I am studying for a BA in Fine Art Textiles at Moray School of Art: I have just begun my second year and have entered Studio Practice. I am gradually getting the hang of what I want to focus on for the next two years - I have been thinking about our relationship to fabric and clothing, how throw-away our society has become and the impact this is having on our home, the Earth.

As a way to help me really understand my own relationship to clothing and fabric I have decided to set myself the challenge of not buying any clothes for the next two years! What I have now I will have to mend, patch and make do with. However, I will allow myself to make new things from old semi worn out clothes; and use fabric, threads and findings I already have to make new, as long as I don't bring anything new to me into my home.

Jeans resurrection mission

This idea has been partly sparked off by my favourite, in fact my only pair of jeans, which over the summer were getting to the point of completely falling to pieces. I had recently seen pictures of Boro mending and this inspired me to use a second pair of worn out jeans to mend my beloved comfy ones! I have been gradually adding patches to the inside of my jeans and attaching them with running stitch over and through the whole surface. This labour of love is turning a throw-away pair of fairly cheap jeans that were second hand (if not 3rd or 4th!) when I first got them, into a work of art that are a delight to wear. The fabric thus created has a robust and substantial handle, looks really interesting and feels full of good vibes.
I am also really enjoying exploring eco dyeing using locally gathered plants and little or no mordants: I can see many of my clothes landing in a pot of leaves and flowers for a new shot of colour over the next two years!

I am going to record my journey through these two years of Make Do and Mend here on this blog, do follow and feel free to comment if you are interested in this idea!

Eucalyptus and Rust