SXTNimpressions

I started my gummi bear collages when I had Covid and had to miss most of my first week at a new school. They started as 2″ “little things” that didn’t take too much time or energy. Now for me they represent the little things we can do when it feels like we can’t do anything.

I collaged an exclamation point with 20+ larger rainbow colored collage bears as a reminder that we only have to do one small thing at a time in the face of overwhelming challenges, but that those little things add up. I used a combination of colorful scrap paper and prints on recycled paper from my classroom, mixing the fresh and new with pieces of my past, illustrating how they both make those little things possible. Each bear contains up to two sheets of paper that otherwise would have been in the trash. Scaling up the bears and coating them in varnish made them an enticing tactile experience for the public as well!

Traditional granny squares crocheted with plarn (“yarn” made from plastic shopping bags) evoke handmade projects designed to be passed on to children and grandchildren, but instead of soft and comforting materials, the harsh disposable plastics represent the cruel reality we actually are leaving to future generations.

Expanding on the juxtaposition of comforting granny square patterns and harsh plastic waste, the egg is covered with 18″ plarn granny squares sewn on. The entire design is rendered entirely in upcycled shopping bags, thus removing those plastics from dumping while raising awareness about the extent of our disposable plastics addiction as a society. The crocheted texture invites the audience to touch but also convey the unpleasant, unwelcoming future we are manufacturing at present. Curious audience members may also be able to identify shopping bag brands from their favorite stores and consider reusable alternatives.

I was asked to create a window display for the South Park Holiday Hop at Legion Brewing. I drew inspiration from the Legion Brewing logo for the snowflake and their slogan “Friends and Cheer.”