Seen and Heard : Lorraine Lerman : TieDyeSkye

23 x 15", textile: recycled t-shirts, thread, dowel, ribbon

“TieDyeSkye”

I created this piece of textile art from old t-shirts, using a technique I learned from Ellen Hauptli, a Berkeley artist. I cut three layers of cloth and sewed them together with a free-hand stitch and then hand-cut through the top layers to expose the bottom layer.  The result is a mosaic-like design and a new piece of cloth that can be hung on a wall or used as fabric for almost anything: a blanket, poncho, garment, or tote bag.

Many of us have drawers full of t-shirts.  Mountains of discarded clothing are thrown away or donated, but where does it go?  There is a landfill in Chile for fashion discards that can be seen from space.  In Ghana, the phrase for these mountains of trash, “Obrani Wawu”, translates as Dead White Man’s Clothing, signifying excess and worthlessness.  Our charitable clothing donations are an environmental burden in other parts of the world where they are incinerated or become landfill.

Transforming waste into something beautiful, new, and useful invigorates me. It calms me to cut away and discover the new transformed from the old. It reminds the attentive viewer that over-consumption is wasteful and a symptom of our consumerist culture.