Tag Archives: art challenge

Sewing Heroes of the Refashion and Art Challenges

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It’s shout-out time. The ladies over at The Sew Weekly have been sewing up some jaw-droppers these past couple of weeks and I shall dote upon them a bit today.

For the Refashion Challenge, Gina Clark stole the show with her “Lorenzo Lamas” pants made out of a thrifted leather trench. You’ve gotta be sh**ting me! Upcycling a garment is already sorcerer’s work and Gina managed to do it with LEATHER. Effing brilliant! I bow down to this woman.

"Lorenza Lamas" Leather Pants

"Lorenza Lamas" Leather Pants by Gina Clark

Loran continues to amaze with us with her mad skillz. Inspired an iconic Klimt painting for last week’s Art Challenge, she sewed up this stunning patchwork jacket. Since I’m preparing to sew a quilt, seeing this jacket was like an omen from the craft gods to stay on course. Beautiful work, indeed.

The "Kiss by Klimt" Coat by Loran

The "Kiss by Klimt" Coat by Loran

Wanett (aka Nettie) is studying to be a librarian and used her Nerd Power to learn all about Frida Kahlo for the Art Challenge. I swear that Frida’s ghost must be haunting Nettie by now because with this outfit, she channelled the late artist better than a $1,000 an hour psychic. Nettie’s story of learning about Frida is a must read, a wonderful tale of sewist meets artist/muse.

Self Portrait as Frida Kahlo by Nettie

Self Portrait as Frida Kahlo by Nettie

I’m almost having more fun enjoying the other contributor creations than I am contributing my own. Well, almost ;-).

Introducing…The “Hawaii Van Gogh” Pants

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The "Hawaii Van Gogh" Pants

And, here we are. My art-inspired garment, the “Hawaii Van Gogh” pants. Otherwise known as The Time Suck Trousers. The gang over at The Sew Weekly got to see them first, in all of their tropical glory, on Friday (click here to see the debut post). 

Screenshot of Sew Weekly Homepage on 3/9/12

The Sew Weekly on March 9, 2012

Let’s enjoy them some more. At least until they come out again for the luau I have planned in their honor ;-).

The "Hawaii Van Gogh" Pants

The "Hawaii Van Gogh" Pants

The "Hawaii Van Gogh" Pants

The "Hawaii Van Gogh" Pants

Inspired by Art: The Peacock

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UPS tracker lied about my fabric’s ETA of yesterday. Instead, it’s supposed to be here any minute now. Got the dog guarding the door so I’ll be alerted of the delivery dude before he reaches the front steps. Once my garment prototype is all sorted out tonight, I’ll be ready to cut into some real fabric….and one of them is late! Choosing between Fabric de Stash and Fabric de Recent Online Purchase Being Slowly Delivered by UPS was supposed to be part of the experience and now I may be forced to choose a fabric by default. Oh, the drama ;-).

On with Part 2 of the Art Challenge inspiration preview. I’ve been digging on peacock feathers (as a design element for home decor and crafts) for over a year now. I even bought this rubber stamp of peacock feathers to use in papercrafting (along with a Mardi Gras-worthy collection of random bird feathers). It’s an androgynous iconic image, perfect for handmade cards.
Rubber Stamped Image of Peacock Feathers

Artists have been depicting the peacock’s glory in paintings since forever, so it was easy to find one that matched my aesthetic. It’s no wonder I am attracted to the peacock’s beauty, National Geographic describes the peacock as…

One of the most ostentatiously adorned creatures on Earth, the peacock uses its brilliant plumage to entice females.

Here’s my inspiration board with peacock (and painting) as muse. No matter which fabric I choose or must default to (the Van Gogh or peacock inspired) for next week’s Art Challenge, both inspirations are sure to leak into my life in some way.

Inspiration Board: The Peacock