Wearable Art

 

This is my second year participating in the Peterborough Energy Works Wearable Art Show, and I not only have a much better idea on what to expect and the time I actually have to work on the pieces, but I also have a better idea of the amount of detail I can put in and still have seen from the stage.

 

I wanted to do something more natural looking than the dress I made last year –made out of tape and photos, and more simplified than the one I created out of pop can tabs and black light paint. With this in mind, I felt I should try to connect my love for other arts, such as writing, into the design as well.

 

I have always loved the look of aged paper and old books. With my love of coffee, I set out to create the dream dress for every coffee shop girl. A dress made entirely of book pages with a newspaper base covered and soaked in coffee and tea.

 

The skirt came together easily, the top is what was the real challenge was, trying a few unsuccessful attempts with papier-mâché and tape. When I finally gave up on making a top out of book pages and decided on making a shrug which in turn morphed into wings as I made them which came as a total surprise to me as I was not going for anything close to this when I started. In the end, I can’t think of it looking any other way.

 

The creation of something like this is always a long and drawn out process - going back and forth from “I hate it” to “I love it,” and then add in not having enough time to continue until a week or two later. Though these up and downs always play a role in making the final project as the breaks give you perspective and new ideas and the love hate relationship lets you keep an open mind until you know its done. There is no thinking of when you’re done or of guessing when you will be done, you just arrive at the feeling of knowing its done, and that all of the work and sketching and hot glue gun burned was worth it, when you see the final project.

 

The show is April the 25 at Market Hall in Peterborough. Many artists from all over Peterborough and surrounding area come to help put the night together raising money for charity. A few schools have students participating along with the Strut Modeling Agency who was there last year, though it is not all younger students it also has many adult artists as well.