Okay, this post isn’t quite about art. But — I admit it — I get almost as much pleasure out of craft. And, truth be told, as much pleasure watching people having fun making things.
That’s how it was in the Upcycling Denim class I taught recently at our local Salvation Army store.
With the carefully arranged shoe and clothing racks as our backdrop, participants cut up and put together old denim jeans that weren’t up to the store standards for re-sale.
I introduced the class with an appreciation for denim. Each person held a pair of jean in their hands as I briefly explained the origins of jeans as work clothes in the late 19th Century in the US. Denim itself — the warp indigo dyed and the weft white — in its distinctive twill weave, goes back to France.
I worked briefly in a Lees jean plant during my 13 years as a sewing machine operator, and remember that it took 13 separate types of sewing machines to make a pair of jeans. I pointed out the flat fell seams on the jean that have them, that make a decent handle for a tote. And the rivets which you do not want to include in your seams! A broken needle will be the consequence.
By the second day of the two-day class, the 5 members had learned each others names, and seemed really happy with their projects. An eleven year old fit in as an equal. A 70 something gentleman decided to make a second belt pouch to balance out the first pouch which he had completed. And wine totes abounded. They were based on my own design, but each bore the distinctive personality of its maker.
This class is scheduled for another session. I hope the magic happens again.
Martha Ressler 