Show Extension!

If you haven't had a chance to check out the Deconstruction-Reconstruction show at the VCU Student Commons Gallery, you still have a chance! We have extended the show until June 24th, so you still have 2 weeks to view it.

The Show is Up!

Here is the awesome vinyl lettering on the wall of the gallery for the show! We installed yesterday, and it looks great. Come check it out!!!

Decon Recon Show Delay

If anyone has checked our blog or seen our signs and postcards for the show, they will know our gallery show was supposed to be up today; this is not the case. We did not realize until yesterday morning that the VCU Student Commons is closed for Memorial Day Weekend!! Therefore, we would not have even been able to get in to install yesterday. We will now be installing Wednesday morning, so if you would like to see the show this week, it should be up Thursday, and you should totally check out the Opening Reception on Friday, May 30th from 5-7pm. There will be food and live music!! Bring your friends and come see what we have been working on this semester. In case you didn't realize - it is totally free!!

Photoshoot!

Here is a taste of the photos that will be on display at the show. We had a photoshoot with photographer Audra Wrisley last weekend, May 10th, and it was awesome! There were so many great shots to choose from. You can check out Audra's stuff at http://www.audrawrisley.com (it's on our links as well)

Finito!

I finished binding the Deconstruction-Reconstruction Guest Book! It really was pretty simple to do. I followed the directions from the BUST article I posted, but then I pasted the "cover" into a hard cover I made and covered with guess what?! MUSLIN!! I embroidered Deconstruction-Reconstruction on the cover and added some decorative stitching where I pieced the muslin together.
This would be a great sketch book or gift for someone. Utilizing the grocery bags, muslin, and matt board (scraps I had laying around for the hard cover - you could use any cardboard - recycle) this book cost me nothing to make. Oh, and I did use dental floss to bind it (the BUST article suggests that)

Book Binding!

I am currently working on making a guest book for our upcoming show. I am using deconstructed paper grocery bags torn to make the pages. The finished dimensions should be 7"x8". I am going to make a hard cover that will be covered with muslin embroidered with "Deconstruction-Reconstruction" on the front.
Click the bottom pic to check out the article from BUST magazine from the Winter 2003 issue that makes binding a book pretty easy to understand (I made a book this way after getting the issue in 2003 when I was a senior in high school - so it's not that hard! I used it to record my "rhymes" and made one for my best friend as well)
The other images are of my materials (grocery bags) and the signatures I will use to make the pages. Each of my signatures is made of 3 sheets "cradled one inside the other."
I will post the finished product as soon as I finish stitching!!

Happy Book Binding!

Masses of Muslin

As we are nearing the end of the bulk of our research project, and as the semester comes to a close, I have been trying to get an accurate estimate of how much muslin we have collected. It got a little crazy during the semester, and we started collecting the muslin every two weeks as opposed to every week. I have just now gotten to actually weighing the scraps, and I am trying to put two and two together as far as when the scraps are from and all that. Anyway, from what I have calculated thus far, I think we should have around 100 POUNDS OF MUSLIN. I am also working on calculating an estimate for yardage for comparison. 1 yard of fabric is not that heavy though, so I am a little scared to see how many yards this works out to be.

Cool Stuff

We are currently working on planning our show and opening reception - which will be May 30th from 5-7pm in the VCU Student Commons Main Gallery. I figured since we are trying to raise awareness about wasting and caring about what happens to our stuff after we're done with it, I figured it wouldn't be wise of us to use styrofoam cups and plastic plates (I hate to do this on a regular basis anyway) so, I investigated what is out there as far as disposable plates, cups, and napkins. I found the company Eco-Products, Inc. They specialize in compostable food service products. I personally ordered for our show - the sugar cane plates, corn "plastic" cups, and 100% recycled napkins. I feel much better knowing that all of these products are biodegradable and Eco-Products has now been certified by Biodegradable Products Institute, the governing body in the U.S. for compostability certification.

Natalie Chanin!

Above is a photo of me with Natalie Chanin at VCU. The second photo is an example of the work of her company, Alabama Chanin. Last night, I was very fortunate to be able to attend a lecture by Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. I previously mentioned her in an entry a while back, and I am very glad I got to meet her. The work her company puts out is AMAZING! If you haven't visited the website yet - DO IT! (It's on our link list...) The garments and home products are limited edition and all hand-sewn - constructed and embellished. They use various surface design techniques such as applique, reverse applique, and beading. This is why they sell at a "couture" price point! She mentioned that this is one reason to buy their book Alabama Stitch Book - you too can learn how to do all of the techniques from the book and create your own one-of-a-kind piece! I totally went and bought it today, and I already have ideas to make a t-shirt to wear for roller derby. I think it will be very fitting with my derby name - Psycho Seamstress. There are currently thirty-some women employed by Alabama Chanin who do all the sewing. They range in age from about 18-86. I found this very interesting and empowering that women of all ages produce this work. Natalie also suggested that we all read The Long Tail - I have yet to pick up a copy, but I plan to soon. I read a little about it at http://www.thelongtail.com. When asked about how the stitching holds up after wear, she explained that the hand sewing actually makes it more durable than garments produced in mass, but what she really went on a rant about - which is a pet pieve of hers - is the quality of thread. The quality of thread as a whole is poor, and this goes back to the idea of planned obselescence. If you go back to an earlier entry you can watch the Story of Stuff which explains this in an interesting way (Natalie actually mentioned watching this as well) People really do make stuff to break so that you have to go and buy a new one every so often. I do not understand how people can consciously do this, but I guess people will do anything to make extra bucks. Alabama Chanin truly is an inspiration to what we are doing and what we strive to do. We hope to make Deconstruction-Reconstruction a continuing process this summer - we are thinking about doing some workshops and working with kids to teach them about the importance of recycling and being creative and resourceful.

Below are some samples of coffee & tea staining techniques. As for the detailed photos - I layed out used coffee grounds on the muslin and let it sit in the sun. I got some interesting rubbings from the table - I thought the texture in general was kind of interesting as well (considering what it came from.) The last photo is from an inspiration board in M&J Trimmings (http://www.mjtrim.com/) in New York. I've been working on replicating the lace from muslin strips for my final piece.

inspiration/samples

MORE SKETCHES!

These sketches are by Josefina (the first one) and Soo (the other two).

SKETCHES

Here are some preliminary sketches of our garments... The first three are by me (Casey) and the other two are by Jess.

Decon-Recon Poster

READ THIS BOOK: Cradle to Cradle

I have been told Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things by William McDonough & Michael Braungart is the book to read about sustainable design. I picked up a copy last week and was immediatley struck by its unusual material. The book is not made from trees, which the first segment of the book goes into detail about, and it is also waterproof. I am currently still reading, but I definitely want to recommend this book already. It's a lot of the same subject matter as the video link Sarah posted The Story of Stuff, how everything is currently on a very linear progression--cradle to grave, but this book goes into greater detail. Check it out! Hopefully all of us in Deconstruction-Reconstruction will read it too!

http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm

We're Back From NYC!

Last weekend, February 29th-March 1st, Soo, Josefina, Jessica, and I (Casey) took a trip to New York City to visit with a designer, gather sewing supplies like metal zippers, and gain inspiration for our project.

We had originally planned on meeting with Atom Cianfarani http://www.atomseco.com/, a discarded commodity designer who is known for using recycled bike inner tubes in her garments (see second photo above). Unfortunately, we were not able to coordinate our schedules for a meeting. Check out Gaelyn & Cianfarani’s previous collections at http://www.gaelyn.com/. It is awesome stuff. The bike inner tubes look like leather, but are certainly more animal friendly and utilize material that would otherwise go to waste only to pile up in landfills

Anyway, we did end up meeting with Caroline Priebe http://www.ulurunyc.com/, which happened to be a very fortunate meeting. It was as though we were drawn to her by fate or something. After we arrived in NYC by bus from Washington, D.C. at 5:00AM and getting in a couple extra hours of sleep at our hotel (Westin Hotel Times Square - which was very nice and hooked us up with very early check in and an upgraded room after our encounter with a rude security guard at the downstairs reception desk - we definitely recommend staying there) we found an article in a guide in our hotel about Uluru (How odd is that?) We were very interested after reading the article and thought, “Hey, why don’t we give her a call?” It couldn’t hurt to try. We looked at the website for Uluru, were very impressed with the designs, and gave her a ring. Caroline was very accommodating right off the bat. On the phone, she gave me a lot of good information about sustainable design resources and said she would be able to show us some of her work in her studio in Brooklyn. Later that afternoon, after visiting a couple of small boutiques on the way, we arrived at 5 in 1 studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Caroline showed us numerous pieces from her collection. All of the garments were very classic and well constructed, meant to last, not to be disposable. Definitely check out her statement on the Uluru website—it totally sums up her point of view. Currently she is also collaborating with Natalie Chanin http://www.alabamachanin.com/ , who does very intricately detailed clothing using old t-shirts, all by hand with reverse appliqué and other various methods of embellishment. Pieces from Uluru’s previous collection have been sent to Natalie Chanin to add embellishment in order to up cycle the garments for the new season. In the first photo above, Caroline is pictured holding one of the pieces (along with all of us!) that has a quote from Frida Kahlo appliquéd on it along with wings. “Each season uluru chooses a female hero as inspiration, a woman of substance, courage and style. In 1953, Frida Kahlo, the iconic artist wrote, ‘feet why do we need them, when we have wings to fly?’ which inspired the wing, spine and bugambilia, handstitched embellishements (http://www.ulurunyc.com/). It was a great experience, and it was influential and inspirational to all of us.

Decon-Recon in Brooklyn

These photos were taken outside 5 in 1 studios in Williamsbrug, Brooklyn. Seeing all the graffiti and artwork on the walls of buildings was awesome. We couldn't stop taking pictures of everything we saw. You can barely walk 5 feet without encountering something worth photographing!

Muslin Mountain

Weighing the muslin scraps from January 28th - February 11th, we found the accumulation of scraps totaled 16.5 pounds! That is an average of 8.25 per week, which is more than the 5.875 from the first week. Look at that mountain of muslin!!!

Information about the life of materials

This is kinda long video (20 mins) but its a lot of really interesting information about the life cycle of materials, especially in America...

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

PA-LEEZE check this out...its really interesting

more sketches

futurehipster1
Originally uploaded by sarah.holden

i have one more but my scanner went kaputz

sketches

futurehipster2
Originally uploaded by sarah.holden

The year is 2608. The world as we know it has been completely depleted of all of its raw materials. The people on planet earth are very different, everything they use, wear, produce and consume is some form of plastic. However, there is still a group of young, very fashionable, rogue hipsters that are the only thing left of the fashion scene in New York City. These hipsters rule Brooklyn and the garments that they construct are made entirely from the found materials that they find in their journeys throughout the massive piles of trash that now form the skyline in New York City. All their garments are very geometric since they are formed from the scraps of older more treasured organic materials like muslin. Metal is also a treasured material and is difficult to find since the great plastic takeover in 2550 when metal was taken away from the people and owned only by royalty. The metal these hipsters use is darker, dirty, and laiden with rust, which helps the group blend in better with the huge trash piles and avoid being discovered and captured by the government.

We're Having Fun!

Today we had a photoshoot in the Graphics Lab at VCU for our Undergraduate Research Grant. Definately not our best shot, but this photo shows how much fun we were having. We totally worked it. Look at how that muslin floats in the air. Thanks to Grace for photographing us. It was a blast!

Experiment

Today we met in the metals studio to take a look at everything we had collected at the scrap yard. It was inspiring seeing everything spread out across the table. We decided to begin experimenting with techniques for incorporating the metal pieces we collected into the fabrics by utilizing their rust abilities to color the fabrics. We each took scraps of muslin and metal pieces to work with. We will also experiement with other ways of naturally staining the fabric as well as manipulation techniques. By next meeting we should have an array of samples to look at.

Nearly 6 Pounds in 1 Week!

Monday, January 28th, we collected the first week's accumulation of muslin scraps from our bins in the fashion department. We weighed them today, discovering that they totaled 5.875 lbs. Can't wait to see how much we get next week!

Boxes are ready

IMG_2680.JPG
Originally uploaded by sarah.holden

We found these great boxes in the alley today and it was perfect because we needed recycling bins for the muslin and they are the perfect size. Somebody must have just moved in yesterday or today because they are in really great shape. We picked them up and painted all the necessary information on them. Now, we just hope people will put muslin in them for use in our recycled garments. The fashion students are starting to sew this week, so we should start to see scraps very soon...

Junk Yard

IMG_2668.JPG
Originally uploaded by sarah.holden

Today we all went to Chesterfield Auto Parts [CAP] and dug through dozens of cars..it was so much fun... AND the people at CAP were so awesome! We told them about our project and they gave us all the cool stuff we found today for free!

Come check out pictures from our trip at my flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/gp/9985736@N04/wTEYTx

SCRAP YARD, YEAH!!!

Okay girls...Here's the low down, I found a few scrap yards.

Chesterfield Auto Parts--they have two locations and its only $1 to get in and then they just charge us for whatever we want that we can fit in our bucket.
-Their voicemail said they are open 7 days a week, but i couldnt get anyone on the phone to see if they are there on monday, so i guess we will just have to go and see. Hopefully they will be there.

BMG Metals and RIchmond Steel---These guys actually cast and fabricate steel parts, but i have heard they have a scrap pile of whats leftover after they make things, and we could just pick from what they have... I'm not sure if they are open monday either, my guess is they probably wont be, but i will call both places on monday and see if anyone picks up.

SO LETS GO!! MOnday at 11:00? DOes that sound good? We can meet at Pollack. I've got a Cherokee so i can fit 5 people plus whatever we decided to take with us. We might even want to just bring our cameras to get ideas of the way things look when they are deconstructed before we reconstruct them.

Let me know if this works for you guys!! YEAH!!