shaesansim

[shaesansim]

post one

The other day I went on what I have since coined a "trash-walk" which involved me meandering around my neighbourhood, taking my time, looking for any little discarded treasures that caught my eye – objects that possessed a certain cuteness, or had the potential for transmutation, or both. The area I live in is pretty great for this type of thing, I live parallel to a train station + train yard where they are in the process of building a car park, plus there is a charity bin which is always overflowing and has basically just become a dump site, not to mention that it seems to be hard rubbish day like, every other day. I came back with some good finds: a tangle of pink earbuds that I had passed on my way to the station that morning, a cute ghost bucket from halloween that was haunting some bushes, faded blue rope, a couple of washers, clippings of wires from the construction site in assorted bright colours, offcuts of wood, etc.   

This walk and the objects I found during it gave me some new direction for my structural work for class. I had been experimenting/playing around with some metal offcuts that I gleaned from the bins in the jewellery workshop. I was particularly drawn to the perforated bits of metal. I started sewing into the holes and wrapping the positive space in an attempt to make patterns and blocks of colour. My approach was really loose and I was letting my intuition guide my hand. I've been having so much fun with this process – I find sewing so meditative and relaxing, kind of like a form of stimming. It's funny, I find it much less stressful than drawing or painting. I've been doing it on the couch, in bed, on the train, while hanging out and working alongside my friends their studio. I think it even helps me focus while listening to other people talk. I wonder why sewing feels so much more relaxed and approachable to me than drawing and painting? I suspect it has something to do with the Western hierarchy of art and the devaluation of "craft"...but these are bigger topics to unpick later...I'm just so glad to be enjoying making so freely and often at the moment. Anyway, this is what they look like so far: