Friday, February 10, 2012

Everything Old is New Again....





I've been considering this Green Artist title I've fairly recently been given. I think it's kind of funny how a really old idea has been given a hip and cool name. I grew up wearing ' hand-me downs' from cousins and sisters, that my mother would often dress up with decorative trims and groovy patches. She sewed terry cloth towels into swimming suit cover up's for us. My grandmother had sewn dresses for her and her sisters using the decorative fabric that flour sacks were made from. Everyone knew how to sew, repair and alter clothing. Very little was discarded. When shirts were too worn for their intended use, their buttons were snipped off and put into jars for future repair on other things ( and for the visual enjoyment of small children ) and the salvageable bits of fabric were sewn together into quilts that have been inherited for generations of use. The idea that you didn't just throw things away, that you salvaged, reused, altered and fixed as many things as possible is the environment that I was raised in. In our current environment of extreme consumerism I am happy that I have been able to instill these older ideas in my children. Sure, many of the pieces that I 'upcycle' are taking those old ideas and putting them on steroids. It's become more of a form of expression....art that you can wear wherever you go. But in my heart, it all began while watching my mom pulling a needle and thread through some one's hand-me-down's.

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