Brainstorming:
My project “Wings” deals with transcendence through strength. We were asked to interview a partner, construct an idea, and build a piece off of their experiences while projecting our creative selves onto the work. Our piece had to consider a portion of our partner, ourselves, and communicating with New York at night. In my interview with my partner, I found we both had dealt with a difficult family situations through the ages of 12-18. Even so, we both found our ways out untainted with no indifference or resentment- this takes a certain amount of strength, to go through extended periods of hopelessness and still attempt to search for hope in yourself and in your life. Along with this, I found we both had this love for butterflies and their symbolism- the idea that they transformed into their true selves after living in a body that did not represent them genuinely. We both agreed that living in New York allowed us to surpass the different environments in which we were unable to fit. Therefore, I knew my idea would include our shared appreciation for butterflies as well as a communicative aspect of strength. At night, onlookers can catch shine of the wire spine in the corner of their eyes, along with the muslin wings.
Process of Construction:
In constructing my piece, I wanted to make butterfly wings connected to a wire spine. The wire spine was to represent our backbones through futile situations and environments while the wings constituted the way out. This piece epitomized our growth through resilience. I first began constructing the spine through emulating the way in which spiral notebook spines looked, and I was able to get the desired effect as well as a strong, sturdy vertebral column. Once my foundation was complete, I began assembling the wings through wire wrapping. This would then be enveloped in muslin to help the fabric stand upward. Through stitching and wire sewing, I was able to secure the wings to the wire backbone. In enabling the piece to secure to the body, I hand-sewed muslin straps with buttons to fasten.
