PROPOSAL
The Sixth Street and Avenue B Community Garden inspires me. It functions as a bright, green, sociable spot in the middle of a gloomy, concrete, lonely city, offering a place for members of the neighborhood community to relax, meet, and enjoy nature; a restrained measure of freedom from a fenced-in natural space. This quality, as well as the impressive variety of plants cultivated by the Garden’s members, will influence my collection in mood and function. The pieces in my project would be made with organic, all natural sources of fabric and dye gained locally and ethically, and will manifest in a group of illustrations. Each piece will also be customizable in that the wearer may modify the size and shape of the piece by adding or taking away fabric through application of zippers, ties, elastics, and belts, allowing multiple uses for one piece of clothing and for long-term wear. This puzzle-like, efficient way of thinking about clothing eliminates the need to buy new clothes all the time, thus combating the issue of over-consumption.
CONCEPT
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- This mood board contains colors and shapes that occur in the location.
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- This color palette is made from colors common in natural dyes and that occur in the various plants present in the garden: in their branches, leaves, budding flowers, in their soil, and their surrounding ornaments.
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- This fabric board is composed of materials that aid the aesthetic of the location – lighthearted, somewhat whimsical.
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- These are the outfits inspired by the location. The double lines represent zippers; the small circles represent buttons.
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- Colored versions of the outfits shown previously.
PROCESS
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- I found two cardigans and hand-sewed them together.
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- This was my first time sewing, so the stitches and lines are far from perfect.
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- I only needed to sew the necks of the cardigans together. They stay firmly attached.
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- Here is the finished cardigan prototype.
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- I made a rough pattern for the dress out of two pieces of paper.
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- Here is a photo lining up the pattern with the dress’s neckline.
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- The green pieces are made from the sleeves of a cotton shirt that I had. All of the clothes involved in the project were clothes that I already had, and that I never wore.
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- I cut up the sleeves to fit with the pattern, and stapled them together.
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- After stapling, I hand-sewed the small pieces to each other.
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- Then, I stapled the resulting large green piece to the dress.
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- The staples worked as pins to keep the green in place while I sewed it on.
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- It was not strictly necessary to sew the green piece in when it was already stapled in, but I wanted to practice sewing.
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- A side sewed in. I experimented with short and long stitches. Over time, the spaces between stitches became more even.
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- Here is the finished dress prototype.
FINAL PHOTOS
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- Here is the finished outfit on a mannequin. It consists of a cardigan and a shirt-dress.
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- This is the styled photo taken in the 6B Community Garden. Though the model was inexperienced and nervous, I managed to get this shot of her smiling at a nearby dog under the shade of trees and the afternoon sunlight. I realized that photographing humans is very difficult.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I recall admiring the greenness of grass, the brown-grey tones of trees, and the smooth, glistening surface of ant exoskeletons scuttling along my arms as I sat in my parents’ front yard on a sunny summer afternoon twelve years ago. Back then, the world of organic things – plants, soil, animals – fascinated me in a bookish way, while some elements – rays of sun casting luminous shadows and arcs of light through high, high tree leaves – stunned me into stillness, quieting my voice and my brain. Now, as a young adult, the outside has the same effect, except that I am more prone to recording and reinterpreting these qualities in ways that can convey the sense of beauty and soft magnificence present in (somewhat manicured) nature. For this collection, specifically inspired by the Sixth Street and Avenue B Community Garden in New York City, I have utilized soft, comfortable fabrics such as acrylic and cotton in cuts that hang softly over the body, mimicking the way that tree branches hang and sway securely over the heads of those who sit under them. In addition, I have collaged illustrations in plant-like tones to imitate the various colors and textures found in the garden. These efforts come together to create an agreeable, natural feeling reminiscent of the garden’s rustic appeal.
RESEARCH PAPER
My research paper covering the importance of community gardens in New York City can be found by clicking the link.
