Last weekend my sister and I participated in the Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and I am hoping I can tag along again next year.
On the first night of the event they sponsor a trash fashion show. I was excited about the prospect of making a dress out of trash and worked on my design diligently for weeks before the event. It was fun to meet the other designers and chat back stage but I was pretty nervous about the runway walk. Somehow I managed it, but I am not going to go so far as to say it was fun. At 51 and many pounds over weight it wasn't the best time to make my runway debut but at least I can say I have done it now. :-)
Here I am back stage. I made my dress from a torn garment bag, dryer sheets and many many drinking straws.
I used many dryer sheet sewn together and layered for the top of the dress, the garment bag had a zipper that I just left in and it fit me for the skirt. The cat was the funest part as it is made from straws cut into "beads" and then sewn on. Here is a picture of the artwork in progress.
Here is the first place winner. Her amazing dress was made from New Mexico license plates and old movie banners.
Second place was this lovely gown made from leftover pool covering.
My sister made this dress out of her fused plastic trash bags. It was worn by the lovely coordinator of the show Sarah. My sister had to man her booth during the show so she wasn't able to wear her own dress. I am not going to lie. I wish I had some lovely young woman wear my dress. (Note to self for next year :-)
There was so much creativity there it was pretty amazing and a times a little overwhelming.
I believe that there were 80+ vendors at the show which is a lot considering that everything is made from recycled materials.
There were a lot of vendors selling metal sculptures and lamps and lots of jewelry vendors. Some of my favorites were.
Leftovers - This artist makes lovely solar powered art lamps.
Candelaria's Art - Art made from metal cast-offs.
Screen Door Studios - Wearable recycled art.
Joseph and Bridget Farmer - Whimsical metal art sculptures.
And of course my sisters booth.
HFR Designs - Handbags, Totes and Accessories made from post consumer plastic bags.
That's all for now. To tell the truth I think I am still worn out from all the activity.
Happy Upcycling,
Anatomy of a trash fashion dress.
