In our increasingly waste-conscious world, finding creative ways to repurpose everyday items can inspire both art and sustainability. One such project is crafting a Kumihimo braiding tool from something many of us have lying around: empty pharmacy pill blister packaging. This unexpected material makes for a sturdy, flexible, and recyclable tool to create stunning braided cords.
Art Life Goals…
There’s something about the tactile, meditative nature of weaving that connects me not just to the craft but to the land, the plants, and the people who have passed these methods down through generations.
Embrace Your Authentic Self
History of Denim
Blue jeans have a history deeply rooted in slavery, as the fabric used to make them—denim—was originally produced from cotton grown by enslaved people in the American South. Cotton was one of the primary crops cultivated on plantations using forced labor, and the profits from this industry fueled the global textile trade. Additionally, enslaved people often wore durable, rugged fabrics like denim, providing the blueprint for the hard-wearing, utilitarian nature of blue jeans. Thus, while today blue jeans symbolize casual, everyday wear, their origins are intertwined with the exploitation and suffering of enslaved Black laborers.
Inspired by Joyce J. Scott
When I saw Joyce J. Scott‘s Garden Ensconced at the Armory Show, I was completely blown away. I was drawn in from a distance and completely enraptured by the detail of her beading.
Detail view.
Garden Ensconced
Medium: Sculpture, Plastic and glass beads, yarn, fabric, crocheted fiber, ribbon, stainless steel
Size: 124.25 x 93 x 6.25 in.
Year: 2024
Inspired by Haute Couture Macrame
This fusion of traditional artistry and contemporary aesthetics reimagines macramé as wearable art, celebrating creativity, texture, and form, while pushing the boundaries of fiber and fashion.
This gives me an idea
Lamp work beads made with plastic instead of glass. Hummmm, this seems like an experiment to undertake in the new studio
I Was Todays Year Old
When I learned denim is a weaving pattern not a textile. How did I not know this before?
Sam Gilliam Said…
Abstract art messes with you and I wholeheartedly agree.
David Bowie: Cut Ups
I sort of play around with this concept when think of titles for artwork. Only I use my poems and scribbles from my sketch book as the source material.