Cinco de Mayo-Recycled

The Fashion Club's recycled design is ready to hit the runway this Cinco de Mayo.  Today is your last day to purchase tickets online at https://artscouncil.ticketspice.com/2018-recycled-runway  Remember, we are celebrating the 45th anniversary of The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and should wear sapphire in solidarity.

"Glitter Ghost" Haunting Market Street

Do you remember the "Glitter Ghost" we created for Recycled Runway 2017?  The Gaffer District in Corning, New York was kind enough to help promote this year's event by displaying several ensembles in store front windows.  "Candy Wrapper's Delight" by Hiedi L. Allison stands beside the ghost and represent a bit of the talent that goes into these fashion shows.

Final Details

Last week, our school district closed for spring break, so the Fashion Club met twice to complete "Starlight Wishes."  Our lovely model and her mother stayed late one night creating some of the final details.  These shoes were decorated with 3-D printed scraps and cardboard tabs, which were glued and glittered.

They devised a purse, which will hold the wishes we make when we see that first star of the night.  She will grant those wishes at the end of the catwalk with a glittered slingshot.  The grace of this model will win the hearts of the audience--no doubt!

Sneaky Peeky

This is your last sneak peek of the details of this dress before it hits the runway on Saturday.  We hope you venture out to celebrate our accomplishments.  There are over 10 hours of dedicated work put into this ensemble alone.  That does not reflect the amount of hands working on it.  There are 34 models set to walk this runway, each working over 40 hours each on their own pieces.  We promise this is a show you do not want to miss.

One note of respect:  

Recycled Runway is not connected to (but is applauded by) Recycle Runway.

In preparation for the seventh installment of Recycled Runway Fashion Show, we discovered an artist using (and owning) a very similar name.  Nancy Judd is an established designer with copyright protection to her business.  From her website:  Artist and environmental educator Nancy Judd of Recycle Runway creates couture fashion from trash as an innovative way to provide education about conservation.

With respect to Nancy Judd and protection of artist's rights, the name of this event will be changed in 2019 to Runway Reboot.  It's an exciting moment for change.  Time for a REBOOT!

Spider Mums to Celebrate 45 Years!

I'll leave you with some sapphire Spider Mums that I crafted in the Creation Station, the Southeast Steuben County Library's Maker Space.  There are 2 Cricut Machines that cut the paper needed to establish a mum shaped flower.  Mums and sapphires are traditional gifts for a 45th anniversary, so we plan to celebrate in style. 

Cinco de Mayo-Recycled!

Check back in a few weeks to see the final "Starlight Wishes" ensemble on stage.

xo,

Erica

Fashion Club, January 2018

The catwalk is calling our Fashion Club for the fourth year in a row.  As you may recall, this Fashion Club designs an outfit made from recycled materials.  Students collaborate on the design and work together to construct the entire ensemble.  With the help of our master fashion designer, Tat Buchholz, our model always steals some hearts on the runway.

Suffrage Safety Gear, 2015

We started this group in 2015 in hopes of having a model walk in the Recycled Runway Fashion Show.  That fashion show is an annual fundraiser for The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.  By participating in this fashion show, students get a real-world view of entering an art competition.

Age of Reason, 2016

This art competition requires a design to be submitted for a juried decision for acceptance into the show.  Anyone who wants to pursue a fashion or art career must become familiar with this process and learn steps involved in a successful effort.

Glitter Ghost, 2017

The work that is produced on our fashion club is similar to what you might see on Project Runway, but with young artists.  Tat keeps everyone going with enthusiasm.  Students love learning new folding techniques and processes of construction they might not learn in school or until much later in life.

The "Palette"

Our "palette" of materials consists of punched paper packing materials, which were donated by an enthusiastic patron.  Scraps from the 3-D printing process will be used as colorful embellishments on the surface of the design.

Hot Glue

What would we do without hot glue?!?  It seems to be the most versitile adhesive for this group.  We love how quickly production goes when the hot glue does it's job correctly and is our hero.  It's upsetting when we burn our fingers and see hot glue as the enemy!

Will we Wing it?

The structures created in this first session have so much potential.  Will they be a corset?  Will they be wings?  Only time will tell, but I will keep you guessing over the next few posts.  The final design will be revealed after the Fashion Show on May 5, 2018.  Stay tuned!

Fashion Club with Tat

Our next class meets during Wintet Break.  Two afternoons in one week of design and embellishment.  Oh Joy!

See you next time,

Erica

Recycled Runway 2017

After seven classes and over twelve hours of hustle and bustle, Southeast Steuben County LIbrary's Glitter Ghost haunted the catwalk of the 2017 Recycled Runway Fashion Show. This fashion show is the annual fundraiser event for The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and it was a smashing success!

Dress Rehearsal

The show was on June 3, 2017.  Being a Saturday, models and designers gave up their day of sunshine and outdoor adventures to be stowed away in the corners of the Corning Museum of Glass behind black curtains.  Every design was a surprise to our guests and no one wanted to spoil the anticipation.

Wig Design Plan

Jacket Design Plan

After each design session, led by Tatyana Buchholz at the library, I would write a blog to tease readers about our progress, but now is your chance to see the final product.  We had a vision to create a wig using that famed elementary school technique of folding paper in an accordion pattern.  The jacket was built with the simple looping process used to make advent chains for Christmas.  I remember making bracelets using these techniques on my bus rides home from school, but this class pulled it all together as a professional level design worthy of Project Runway--using only trash!

Final Hours of Design

As our group finalized this design during the last class, our model, Claire, got a good taste of how much attention she would receive on the day of the show.  Every model who participated in Recycled Runway was treated like royalty for a day, from hair and makeup to treats to keep everyone happy.

Silver Lashes--A MUST!

Our wonderful photographer, Chris Walters, shot images during the entire day. There were 31 fashion looks to fit and fluff along with 34 models to glamorize.  Bella Capelli Salon provided 7 stylists to sponsor the hair styles.  The SSCL Fashion Club created a wig so hair was not an issue.  Painted Love by Jennifer Sekella provided makeup and face painting for everyone.  Being a ghost character, Claire only needed a white wash to her face and a little bit of lipstick to give her a sense of "life" as she haunted the catwalk.

Glitter Ghost about to Emerge

I had the joy of organizing the grand event, so the moment I got to give a hug to our Glitter Ghost, I stole this shot before she stole the hearts of the audience.  Claire has been a dedicated library program attendee since 2010 and I have had the pleasure of watching her grow into a young lady.

Tiny Claire in 2012

Time brings change and watching kids grow and flourish into successful adults is a feature I appreciate in the library field.  I help develop individual interests and it seems that Claire is dedicated to the same interests as my own.

Style and Swagger

There were 2 rehearsals for models and technicians to refine their performance before the audience arrived.  We originally chose high heels to finish this outfit, but the boots gave a cow girl feel that everyone in the class preferred.

Glitter for Days

The moment our Fashion Club created their design proposal and named it "Glitter Ghost," the girls could not stop thinking of how to use glitter on stage.  During the final session, two students devised a ring-like pouch that could be used to dip into and dazzle the crowd.

Haunting

The glitter effect was haunting and our photographer captured it wonderfully in this shot. After all 31 designs graced the catwalk, I was honored to lead the encore presentation.  Being the Queen Bee of Organization, I held my trusty magic wand to take our bow.  It is apparent that we were adored and got tons of approval for the best show ever!

Find our Glitter Ghost in the Light Beam

This production is a tremendous labor of love.  There are 12 dedicated members of a planning committee who jury the proposals.  The planning team spends months scheduling meetings, arranging details and editing everything in their path.  This was my first year with the Queen Bee title and it was a fun ride!  You are sure to see me sporting that magic wand again in 2018.  The question is, will our SSC Library Fashion Club proposal be selected???

Talent Gala

Recycled Runway 2017 received so much talent and competitive designs, I worry our little Fashion Group will be against some tight competition next year.  The bright side is all 8 students want to submit personal proposals!  Best of luck to them.

Glitter Gone

That is a wrap for Fashion Club with Tat at the Southeast Steuben County Library.  If you would like to see images from the gala, check out the ARTS Council's Facebook page. Prepare to be IMPRESSED!!!

Fun for All Ages!

Be sure to save Friday July 28, 6:30-9 pm. on your calendars.  Construct your Steampunk Cosplay and entertain your friends and family at the 3rd Library Unmasked experience.  

All gears, cogs, and frills welcome.  

Thanks for visiting!

Check ya on the flip side.

~erica

Fashion Club in Full Swing!

While our Fashion Club project is really top secret, it's essential to tease our followers with some progress photos.  I know you're so intrigued by this process and cannot wait to attend the Recycled Runway Fashion show on June 3 at the Corning Museum of Glass.

Fashionista Assembly Line

In order to complete this project, we built an assembly line of teens to create the silver jacket for our "Glitter Ghost" look.  If you have a Blue Apron subscription, you may recognize the packaging!

From Mess to Mesh

Ashti holds up the 2 hours worth of work to reveal the mesh from the mess.

Our model, Claire assembled the start of the accessories for this fashion.  

Sandwiched Imagery

Sara, our model from 2016, prepared the pants legs by sandwiching images from tissue paper packaging with clear mylar and plastic bags found in the SSC Library offices.

Lydia shows a sample of the wig we are creating.  The final look will be very textural and voluminous.  Remember folding your gum wrappers this way and making bracelets?

The countdown is here with the show less than 60 days away.  The pressure is on to get this fashion look complete and refined!  Stay tuned for more sneak peeks at our progress and be sure to attend this annual fundraiser for The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

xo,

erica

Friday Fashion Club- Recycled Runway Preparation

The time has arrived, once again, for us to prepare our design submissions for Recycled Runway Fashion Show, a fundraiser for The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

Tat leading the Fashionistas

Tat Buchholz is the lead instructor for this series again.  Tat's energy and ideas push this group to levels of design usually seen in college courses.  This year will be no different from previous, but we have a smaller group, so everyone will work a little harder.

Aside from preparing our design proposal, teaching techniques to manipulate materials was the main focus of the program.  In order to make a grand impression on the runway, the audience needs to see big, impressive shapes.  The need for volume to each detail is important to make the design memorable.  These techniques the students learn are stepping stones for future project designs.

Amelia helps prepare the Proposal

After each technique was learned, we included it in our proposal page.  The collage of our proposal started exciting the group of girls.  We chose a title for the design- "Glitter Ghost" will be an ethereal existence, garbed in garbage.  Once the title was determined, the girls had visions of shoes, big eyelashes, and motorized thingamajigs....we get dreamy on the design floor.

While the details I provide in the coming months will be limited to techniques, you get a sneak peek at our jacket destination from our inspiration photo.  Lydia learned how to make chains with packaging from Blue Apron.  The volume created from this technique will certainly make our model waif-like.  The goal is for bigger presence than the body provides.  I just can't wait to see how this looks on the catwalk!

This group will meet each fourth Friday, with some dates added for flavor (meaning extra work time).  We have gotten off to a great start, even with less students than previous years. To catch up on recent designs, read up on our impressive entry from 2016.  It WoWed! the audience!!!

2017 Fashion Club Schedule

We meet again to work, work, work, work, work just 6 more times before the big event on June 3.  Check back often to see our progress--at least up-close detailed shots of our progress.  This is really a top secret project until revealed on the catwalk.  Get your ticket and enjoy the fun evening in store.

Until next time...thanks for visiting!

-erica

Fabric Holiday Cards

Fabric Holiday Cards

As a wrap up to 2016 and another chance to make gifts for loved ones, we hosted a Fabric Holiday Cards program with the fabulous Tetyana Buchholz, lovingly known as Tat.  We discussed offering this simple project to give students a chance to craft a gift, while learning valuable sewing skills.

The Lesson Begins

Tat started the class showing the basics.  Everyone needed a square of cardstock, a piece of fabric cut to the same size, and the same size sheet of Heat and Bond fusible fabric.  The process involved sandwiching the fusible fabric between the cardstock and fabric, then ironing them to bond the three as one.

Heat and Bond was a new experience for these crafters

After fusing the paper and fabric, Tat instructed everyone to cut out two different fabric patterns in half moon shapes with a template.  Once that step was complete, she showed the students how to roll and fold the fabrics to create a tree shape.  This tutorial from Life After Laundry provides clear instructions to create a different version of the tree.

Simple Folds make a Tree!

Once this step was covered, the projects started taking on individual appeal.  Each artist had their own vision and were on a mission to make their's perfect before class ended.  The tree needed a straight stitch running down the center to hold it onto the fused fabric square.

Stitch down the Center

When the tree was stitched to the fused fabric square, then individual designs stared to pop up.

"Gift Boxes" were placed under the "Tree"

Rhinestones, pom poms and more stitches

A border accent frames this card

Craft supplies were flying at all angles, but these students worked until the final seconds to finish.

Hot glue goes a long way

Each card was unique and made with love and care.  Projects like these are wonderful for creative outlet, as well as utilizing important skills like sewing.  The success of this simple project will lead to more of these classes in the new year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Thank you for visiting and staying awhile.  Check back in January for the next installment of Fashion Club with Tat, where we start the process of designing fashion from trash for the Recycled Runway Fashion Show.  You don't want to miss it!

Taking Trash to the Catwalk

Wishing a Happy and Healthy New Year to you and yours' in interweb land and beyond!

xoxo,

erica

Friday Fashion Club - Accessorize!

For Fashion Friday Club, we had a TON of bric-a-brac donated by the Art Institute of Chicago.  Our resident fashion designer, Tetyana Buchholz is an alumna of the school and we are grateful to have this professional connection.

Craft 'til the table is clear!

We emptied the contents of two large tote containers and told the budding designers to "Craft until the table is clear!"  That joke was quickly understood.  These supplies are the type that never deplete.  A few parents also offered to add to the collection after seeing the projects at the end of the program.

Sewing lessons included

For some students, it is difficult to dream up a project when seeing a pile of supplies.  Some students had a mission from the start.  The hurdle several students faced was wanting to sew something, but not having the skills.  Luckily Tetyana is a seasoned sewing instructor and at least 3 students were trained on sewing machine basics within the 90 minute session.

A project in process

Learning to sew and design your own bag is fun, but requires some patience.  This designer had to remember how to place the fabric right sides together and pin the trim correctly in order for it to be sewn in place, but not bunched or cinched.  

Patience leads to project success

This rainbow bag inspired another designer to create a pouch for her mother.  Gifts made for parents always make me happy!

Pouch made for Mom

If you grew up in the 1980's, you are sure to remember, and possibly used these t-shirt clips.

Well, move over T-shirt Clip, you have now become a Veto Necklace.

Power of the Veto

The Big Brother reality television show inspired this simple necklace.  You can spend over $50 to get a replica from the CBS Store or you can get crafty in the studio to make your own for free!

Beginning of a Halloween Costume

With Halloween just around the corner, it was suggested to make costume essentials that cannot be purchased.  I look forward to seeing how this designer finishes her Chess Piece costume design.

Our designers had a blast rummaging through supplies and creating good and bad designs.  This is part of the process.  Not all creations are great.  Not all creations take forever to make.  We all appreciated the freedom to make without fear.  It was especially fun to get together and learn, while sharing silly stories and giggling away the afternoon.

Thanks for visiting.  Check back soon for more exciting stories from the SSC Library!