My work is heavily influenced by silhouettes and clothes from the early 1900’s. I also draw a lot of inspiration from traditional clothing. I like to take their forms/shapes and transform them into something new. To create anything new I need to understand history.
The way my process works is that I visualize the garment I want to create, usually based on historic clothing and then drape it on a dress form. If I even feel the need to sketch, it is usually after I drape something so I can round out the initial idea. I then go on to pick fabrics I think will be appropriate and make a pattern from the draped pieces. Finally, I cut out the pieces and sew them together to make the final garment.
For the unconventional materials I used on some of the pieces in my portfolio, I was intrigued to make something out of them because of the idea of repetition and mass production. I wanted to challenge myself to take an ordinary, everyday item and turn it into something wearable. The actual assembly of the pieces copied the theme of repetition because of the repeated steps I took to create them.
There are several things I attribute to my art making. I am constantly inspired by things around me including things I see in movies and books or even something I find on Instagram or Tumblr. Sometimes it is not even something visual that stimulates and inspires me. Frequently, I want to create a mood or a feeling in my pieces. I take the visual stimuli and mood I am in or feeling I want to convey and let it inspire me to create something new.
