The Worn Articles opening – in the balcony of the People’s Church!

Over this past weekend, I had the opportunity to completely set outside of my artistic comfort zone to participate in Worn Articles, an art exhibition chock-full of Columbia students, alums, and professors!

I was first contacted about the show by a professor of mine, Sherry Antonini, who explained that she was looking for pieces that combined text and wearable art or clothing. Although I consider myself primarily a book artist, my program’s called “Interdisciplinary” for a reason, and I’ve made quite a few wearable pieces in my day. I decided to join the show, and to work in some programming – quite a daunting task for someone so typically analog.

My piece, “The Winterwhite Pelt,” consists of a hand-embroidered fur collar that rests on a vintage mannequin head. The podium that holds this display has a button on it that, when pushed, plays a story about the collar’s origins.

Many thanks to my friend and fellow Ambassador, BJ Allen, for this photo of my work!

Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about wiring or coding, so I relied upon the help of my generous colleague, Yunji Johanning, for help. She was able to get things running exactly as I wanted! There were some really lovely pieces in the show, and it was great to see how each individual artist met the text/wearable challenge.

My roommate and I follow directions to cross-stitch a pattern into this community-made piece by Kelli Cousins!

Mel Potter performs a reading from all the way down on the first floor – I felt like the opera-box Muppets while listening.

Perhaps one of my favorite pieces was this one, by Sherry Antonini herself. This witch-like shawled figure held a scroll that read “All the women united in one body shall be as one sister.” The figure was covered in fake crows and spiderwebs, and a pair of gold shoes peeked out from the hem of its robes. The juxtaposition between the uncanniness, the kitschy materials, and the gorgeousness of the text – all in a breathtaking church – made this piece one of the stronger ones for me.

Sherry Antonini’s piece

Of all the shows I’ve been a part of, this one had the strongest sense of community to me – and not just because most of the participating artists had a Columbia background. I feel lucky to have stumbled my way into such a welcoming and supportive art scene (both supportive in a creative way and in a “I’ll run out to bring you a computer monitor 15 minutes before the opening begins so that you can quickly fix your sound piece” way – thanks, Eden.)

I hope that Worn Articles is just the first of many shows that I can share with these artists – shows that challenge not only the things that I make but the ways in which I make them.