In mid December I mended my favorite jeans to wear to the Autry Museum that had an exhibition curated by Bill Stern of the Museum of California Design. His story is here and the Autry Museum one here.
This is the only picture I could find as a "before" picture with them ripped. That's my Aunt's mink sweater that was handed down to me. It has since sold, but her silver fox fur stole is still available here.
I had mended them several times over several wears, but each time they ripped the hole just got bigger! Finally spent a good amount of time on them and it holds now.
Mending seems to be a creative outlet that calms me and takes my mind of my hoard and other stressful circumstances in my life. It makes time stand still and feels quite the accomplishment afterwards!
I've patched this up many times, so this time I spent over a half hour making it super durable! My sewing skills seem a little rusty and it looked like a patched up scar to me!
I've always remembered Catherine McEver's mend writing from her blog: Stuff you Can't have of Oakland, California. About five years ago, when I was bed ridden sick I read her entire blog and was inspired by all her interesting projects, many with directions using found objects, stuff around the house and recycling art.
So I added this word:
These jeans not only remind me of how good it felt to do create with my hands, but also of the Autry. I really got a lot of the California Designing Women, curated by Bill Stern who turned his collection of Vernonware into the Museum of California Design. He emailed me his story--- from Vernonware Collection to Museum.
I still remember how I had just that morning mended my jeans to wear to the Autry and I was too busy looking at everything to spend time listening to the video interviews. I saw mr. oz listening to quite a few, but then someone blurted out to no one in particular, "Oh my god, that's my neighbor. I didn't know she was an artist!"
So I went over there and started to listen. Before I knew it, I had paper and pen and was taking notes! I had just mended my jeans to wear to the exhibit and it felt so good. And to top it off, Gene Kavanaugh's words hit home when she said something like, "making things with your hands teaches your inside person something that's not explainable but transpires really being connected with yourself." I really wish I had spent more time listening to to all the artists.
Here is a shorter example of one of the interviews with Deborah Sussman here who loved and photographed Street Graphics. She worked many years in the Eames office and later branched out with architects, like Frank Gehry using Super Graphics, as an Environmental Graphic Designer or Urban Brander.
---Insert picture of me wearing jeans here----
It's a challenge for me to do creative work because for some reason I need a lot of space and tend to leave incomplete projects out to rest or work on later and then the next day turns into a week or I start another project. However, I can still remember how good it felt during and afterwards to mend those jeans!
Since mending my jeans, I have a small growing pile of other clothes to mend that I've been meaning to work on for the past four months. I'm going to set some time away from dehoarding the music art room and working on etsy, at least once a week to do some more creative work with my hands until the music art room is ready!
I'll need to set up small projects that can be completed in an hour or two. Wish me luck!
Thank you Germany, US, France, UK, Indonesia, India, Bulgaria, Canada, Israel, Pakistan and Poland for your support and visiting Hoarder Rehab: The Destiny of Things!
What do you do that's so pleasant time just flies by?
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