EXHIBITION STATEMENT

 In this workshop students learned to revamp fashion items by adding embroidery to a pieces of old clothing. Each week students learned three sewing stitches, so for the final project, students could use a variety of techniques to revamp a fashion item. 

How is sewing revamping beneficial to the artist? There are a multitude of benefits of sewing revamping. According to Jess Cartner-Morley, a reporter for The Guardian, “Putting together jazzy outfits at a point when your social life is non-existent is a cheering reminder that, although this is seismic, it is temporary ''(Cartner-Morley). With fashion revamping, artists have complete control over the output; artists determine how the result of their fashion revamping. The aspect of control within fashion revamping has shown to decrease anxiety and improve mental health.

Artists such as Melissa Chen and Abby Barton (Abby; Melissa) are pioneers in the revamping sector, and are the main inspiration for this workshop; their creativity and originality motivated Amy Groves to hold a workshop exploring the wonders of sewing revamping.

Holding the workshop online proved challenging because the WIFI was regularly unstable. To overcome this obstacle, the most important lectures were recorded and posted  online for students to watch if the WIFI was shaky during class. The majority of teaching focused on demonstrating stitches that students utilized in their final projects.  

 Amy wanted to plan lessons that were interactive, so she incorporated breakout rooms and student-lead sections in her classes. Furthermore, If she had a lecture section in a class, she kept the lecture under 15 minutes.

This workshop and the themes that surround the project speaks to college students. Furthermore, the most important lessons synthesized from this project encompass fiscal and environmental ideas. As an explanation, college students are notoriously poor and the workshop taught how to make old clothing more appealing, to diminish the need to buy new clothes. Furthermore, this workshop exposed students to a sustainable fashion practice (sewing revamping is an eco-friendly alternative to buying new clothes), and students will graduate and carry this eco-friendly concept  into various sectors of the work world. Personally, this workshop improved many of Amy's skills. For example, this project made her a better public speaker because leading an hour-long class of 15 students improved her speaking skills.

Finally, Amy would like to thank you Heather and Harold, the directors of the Art Scholars program, for your mentorship through this project!

References:

Abby Barton [@abigialpearl1]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Retrieved September 29, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/abigailpearl1/ (Links to an external site.)

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Cartner-Morley, Jess. “Why Revamping Your Wardrobe Is the Perfect Lockdown Distraction.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Mar. 2020, www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/mar/25/why-revamping-your-wardrobe-is-the-perfect-lockdown-distraction.

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 Melissa Chen [@melissachen.art]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Retrieved September 29, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/melissachen.art/ (Links to an external site.)

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