Before we can manifest our dreams, we must first, in the words of Greg McKeown, “have the courage to be rubbish.”
This dragon was my first draft for the Illuminated show, an awakening of the desire within me to create and bring forth these creatures manifest from another world. Before she was a dragon, she used to be a gold dress shirt that someone, somewhere, no longer wanted. Now, here she is, metamorphosed and “Frankenstein-ed,” claws ready to take on the world, messy but vital and alive.
What haven’t you started yet because you are afraid the first draft will not look how you’d hoped?
“It’s Alive!” . 2023
12" x 18" x 11"
Upcycled gold dress shirt, found scrap rayon satin, bespoke handmade ceramic beads, upcycled chicken wire, steel coat hangers, leather coat, scraps from other sewing projects as stuffing, glass marbles for weight, aluminum fence wire, foil from chocolate bar, acrylic paint, glass beads, scrap metallic spandex, found copper jewelry wire, metallic thread, thread.
Photography by Ryan LaFever