@the.stoof

i dug out my kenmore sewing machine from my mom’s basement in 2018 and learned how to thread it again. i was working at a thrift store at the time and had access to lots of clothing that ended up in the free pile outside of the store. some of the clothes were stained or had simply been in the store for too long. i began taking bags of clothing home and cutting them up and piecing things back together, using what is known as “cut and sew” technique. it was freeing to use material that would likely otherwise be wasted. i began sewing simple squares onto the center of a t-shirt or sweater. i then began collaging pieces of fabric onto the squares, resulting in a one of a kind patch that i liked to believe protected the heart. with simple adjustments, pieces of clothing that were overlooked became interesting again. this experiment turned into a full blown side hustle (read: livelihood). much of what i currently do has been informed by my work with clothing and fabric collaging. patchwork is both ornamental and functional. it can cover stains and fill holes. it can re-imagine the shape of clothing beyond the form of the body. i have a lot of humility around my work. it is meant to be playful and naive. it is meant to be affordable. it is meant to be worn.

“Art has to be cheap and available to everybody. It needs to be everywhere! Cheap art defies, ridicules, undermines, and marks obsolete the sanctity of affluent-society economy” (Peter Schumann, Bread and Puppet)