The Pre-Raphaelites
Author Archives: Kenna
Artist Statement
I am inspired most by feelings, characters, and personas; by things that are less tangible, like the ways in which people live their lives and how. I am particularly drawn to lives/images/stories/etc. that reflect ideas of freedom. While this idea can take many forms and have many meanings, they are all beautiful to me, particularly sexual freedom and the freedom of childhood. I gravitate towards images of people running happily through fields without any clothes on, of children playing dress up, or dancing crazily on a beach. This core value of mine influences every part of my work, from beginning to end. And it all comes full circle; the people and stories that inspire me then become my muses as I design. I try to translate my personal ideas of what freedom means through my work, and create clothes that carry this feeling, in hopes that they make the wearer feel free to do things like work, dance, travel, or whip them off. In other words, feel free to do anything they want.
I usually do this by creating big, loose, clothing that in some cases, are almost pajama-like. Multiple people have simplified me as the girl who does big dresses, and I am totally cool with that. I think it is important that clothes be loose to encourage freedom of movement and comfort. This also includes fabric choices. For me, part of being free is also being happy and unique. Beautiful (often luxurious) and quality materials are important to me, as well as making clothes that are special and have a story. I want my clothes to appear precious from a distance, but never be too precious to have some fun in. I add these qualities by incorporating hand techniques like embroidery, smocking, pleating, and small touches of embellishment. I am very hands-on, because besides researching and discovering a new story of freedom, my favorite part in designing is the craft of then creating the clothing. Letting ideas continue to develop and transform as they are made is my way of carrying the idea of freedom all the way through the design process. Human interaction with the clothing as it is being produced is just as important as when it is being worn.
Learning Portfolio Reflection
Looking back on my past projects, I am still amazed at how much I have grown and improved. I used to be surprised when thinking about how much I’ve changed, but really, I haven’t changed much. Over the past few years, what has really happened is that I’ve begun to discover and embrace what I truly love, and now I am so much more myself. It is mainly because of this that my work has gotten stronger. Looking back through my Learning Portfolio, I can see little details in all of my projects that are all present in my work now. Each of my projects has bits and pieces of my current aesthetic, but it wasn’t until recently that I finally figured out what it was, and now I can bring it all together. I think it has to do equally with maturity and being encouraged in the right way by the right people, because they really helped me to see what I had been denying all along.
- My name is Mekenna Hartweg. I am a fashion design major from the small town of Lakewood, New York. Growing up, I always loved to do all different types of arts and crafts, and I still do; I love to make things. I appreciate art and I love to look at it and learn about it, but I would never consider myself to be an artist. The same goes for other types of design too. I am sadly incompetent in graphic design, illustration, etc., but I appreciate hard work, a strong aesthetic, and authenticity.
- My favorite things to make are clothes (obviously). I particularly like big silhouettes, dresses, and anything with sparkles and/or ruffles. Since I love to make things by hand and have always been interested in different crafts, I like to incorporate that into my work. I love knitting/crocheting, embroidery, beading, smocking… I also whole-heartedly believe in slow fashion and craftsmanship. In my opinion, it is clear when something was designed and made with care.
- I find that I am always drawn towards the idea of freedom. While this idea can take many forms and have many meanings, they are all beautiful to me, particularly sexual freedom and the freedom of childhood. I gravitate towards images of people running happily through fields without any clothes on, of children playing dress up, dancing crazily on a beach, or innocently sticking stickers all over themselves just because they have them. This core value of mine influences every part of my work, from beginning to end. I am most inspired by things that are less tangible: personas and characters, ways in which people live their lives and how. And it all comes full circle; the people and stories that inspire me are the ones that in one-way or another represent a kind of freedom that I want to celebrate. I try to reflect this aesthetic in the silhouettes and fit. To me, this means big and loose garments that allow freedom of movement, and sometimes a slouchy fit that gives the wearer a sense of cool ease. Little pretty details like ruffles, fringe, or crystals add to the fun of wearing it. I always design in hopes that whoever is wearing my clothing will feel free to do things like work, dance, travel, or whip them off.
- I design best by focusing on small details at a time. I work out the silhouette, sleeve, or smocking pattern before I can decide on how a whole garment should look, let alone an entire look. I spend a lot of time scratching little things in my sketchbook, doing fabric manipulations, and draping ideas that I like enough to figure out and explore further.
- It’s a cliché, but I have always loved clothes. I still play dress up now just as much as I did when I was a little girl. I may not be curing cancer, but I do think that making clothes that people can be happy in is a really special thing. Wearing pants that make someone feel good and are fun just to walk in can make a person’s day so much more special… why not only own clothes that can do that for you? My hope for my work is for the clothing to give its wearers a sense of freedom, one that is open to their interpretation. I try to always put an emphasis on feelings and emotions, but only a suggestion, so that people can wear my clothes how they wish, and use them to feel however they need to feel.
- I always end up researching topics that reflect my aesthetic. I am also really drawn to historical art and dress. I love learning about history, reading memoirs, etc.
- I just want to keep making clothes. I want to feel good about the clothes I design and keep improving and figuring things out.
Context/Silhouette/Beginning Thoughts
The story of Audrey Munson. It holds multiple lessons and meanings but the one that resonates with me the most is its reflection of the short-lived celebrity and its relation to beauty, not only in today’s culture but also throughout history.
Weaving With a Backstrap Loom
For part of our weaving lessons in Textiles, we worked with a backstrap loom. Not only did we learn to weave on one, but we built the looms ourselves.
Smart Textiles
For our final project in Textiles, we got to learn about and work with smart textiles. Using conductive thread, we embroidered it on to muslin and attached LEDs and a small watch battery.
Color Test
This is a color test I did in Textiles while we were exploring Color Theory and the way colors work together.
Creative Technical Studio: The Dress
For our final project, our teacher challenged us to be more conceptual, and to stop thinking so much about the form of the body. For this, I was inspired by clouds. I thought about how when people are looking up at them, they see different shapes. One may look like a cat or a baby, or a cake. Really, the clouds are just big blobs, not looking like anything, but people see what they want in them. I wanted to make a dress that people could see in it what they wanted to, and transform it to wear how they wanted to. I did this by incorporation drawstrings, two in the front and one in the back, so that the dress can be worn in at least ten different ways.
Creative Technical Studio: The Shirt
We started our shirt project by deconstructing a men’s button down shirt. From this, I took my initial inspiration, which was a cape-like back made up of two layers.
From there, I thought more about shirts, and started researching the traditional Hawaiian shirt. Through this research, I learned about the amazing things Hawaiians have made through traditional feather working, such as leis and this cape, which belonged to a king:
In the end, this was my finished product:
Creative Technical Studio: The Skirt
For my skirt, I was inspired by marble and all of its qualities; the colors, the way it is created in nature, its texture and malleability. I considered all of these as I draped, chose fabric, and produced the final piece.
