community ^ makers
LYF3 Upcycled Clothing by Calli Green
“It’s not you that needs to change, it’s your clothes!
— Apryl McAnerney (Maker)
VKC: Why did you start making?
Apryl: I have become increasingly dissatis- fied with clothing styles, prices, and standard sizes over the years because I have an eclectic style, minimal budget and haven’t been a “standard” size since I was 17. Like many women, I’ve spent my life thinking there was something wrong with me, with my body, because I just didn’t conform to what was available. It’s not us, it’s the clothes! Add or subtract a couple of inches here and there — draw, paint, dye that favorite shirt with the stain; patch that hole with a fancy fabric, and it’s yours all over again, but better! I can continue to do that for customers over the years, until it becomes a pillow, a purse, and finally part of a rag rug. And then, of course, I’ll take that rag rug back apart and use the pieces in a set of curtains. There is absolutely no waste when it comes to the usefulness and creative potential of fabric. Apryl: As a professional artist of 30 years, specializing in highly detailed pencil draw- ings, but constantly dabbling in mixed media and found object sculpture, I’d become dis- heartened by the notion of creating precious items that simply sat on a shelf or hung on a wall under glass. As a “gallerist” I recognized that matching an artist with a collector was tricky because eventually the collector ran VKC: What inspires you?
Top left: Instead of wall hangings and paintings she has made in the past, Apryl uses paint pens to create moveable, wearable art-painting fictional characters and non-fictional elements, like this perched bird on the chest of a button-up shirt. Bottom left: A fictional painting, giving the back of a timeless jean jacket new life and a pop of color. Top right: A formal dress, acquired from a friend, became something new with dye and whimsical floral artwork.
6 VINTAGEKC SPRING 2017
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