Portfolio > Fastenating

All Tied Up
Mixed
2010
$400
Order of the Garters
Mixed
Size 4-6
2010
$300
Buttoned Up
Fabric buttons
Size 6-8
2010
$450
Zippity Do Dah
Mixed media
2009
Hooked
Mixed media
Size 4
2009
$400
Hooked detail
Fabric, hooks
2009
Snap, Crackle, Pop
Fabric, snaps
Size 2
2009
$350
Hands Off!
Mixed media
Size 8-10
2009
$350
Hands Off! detail
gloves, fabric
2009

I have long been interested in women's apparel, from making dresses for my dolls, to creating new clothes for myself from hand me downs from my sister and cousin. I majored in retailing in college and worked for a major clothing store as my first job. As an artist, clothes have taken on a new meaning for me and I have found ways to convey a message by making subtle changes to traditional items, from the use of unusual materials to the addition of words or images on the surface.
As part of an exhibit, the theme was clothing and I found myself less attracted to the items itself and more to the materials that allow us to take on and off our garments. Unlike men's clothing, there is a sexual overtone to these fasteners which adorn women's clothing. The amount of buttons on a wedding dress. The structure of corsets with all those eyelets and laces. The often funny scene from movies of young men and women struggling in the back seat of a car as he tries to undo her bra. On the one hand, they act as armor. On the other hand, they are the tools of a slow strip tease. I am just beginning to explore this and will post new images as I complete a piece.