(Above: Detail of LOOKING FOR A MATE, a public sock art project. Click on image to enlarge.)
The public donated their "mateless" and threadbare socks during Vista Lights, the autumn art crawl in downtown Columbia. Several people stitched on the socks and the recycled acrylic felt that evening. Later, I finished the piece....with some help from my new studio assistant. Now, less than two months later, the piece is finished and ready to go on display during the spring art crawl, Artista Vista, April 21 - 23rd.
(Above: LOOKING FOR A MATE, a public sock art quilt. 56" x 56". Click on image to enlarge.)
The piece will become the property of the Congaree Vista Guild, an organization that sponsored the newspaper advertisements informing the public to bring their extra socks. This group is now looking for a permanent display place....perhaps even City Hall! My fingers are crossed.
(Above: Looking for a Mate, reverse....an old, recycled tarp!)
For the back, I posted a request on Facebook. I asked if anyone had an old camping tarp or tent that was headed to the trash. After all, the socks were all recycled and the white acrylic felt "batting" was recycled from River Runner, the kayak and canoe shop in town. (Believe it or not, there's a distributor in North Carolina that ships its vessels to retail shops wrapped in giant acrylic felt bags....meant to be thrown out. River Runner's owner, Guy Jones, has been giving them to me for over two years!) Anyway....with everything else being "used" and "repurposed"....the back just had to be recycled too! My friend Jane Friedman read the message and was more than happy to donate an old brown tarp. The grommets were fashioned into a unique hanging device. I used a bunch of old, vintage buttons to "stitch" the layers together.
I'm very please with this public art quilt but I'm even happier that a few parent volunteers from Rosewood Elementary happened to come by, get inspired, enlist the art teacher, and started TWO art quilts for the school's upcoming auction!
They sent me an email and invited me to share the public project with the students. I also took the opportunity to present my "Four Family of Stitches" demonstration. The photos below are from the time I spent with the kids. There are even more images on Flickr! Just CLICK HERE!
3 comments:
Interesting work!
just went to your website- Your work is refreshingly original and thought provoking.
amazing. kid's art is so fabulous. i was a voluntary teacher at a non-profit in Ventura County precisely called KID's ART until it ran out of funds. So sad, art and culture in general should be our number one priority.
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