IZZY COAT

IZZY COAT

SIZE 14 GIRLS

ABENAKI ACRES Bill and Elizabeth Johnson 
 Farm Address: 97 Yard Road | Stockton, NJ 08559

 This alpaca wool is grown down the street from my home in Stockton, New Jersey where I have a personal relationship with the owners and have seen first hand the condition of the animals. 

The raw wool, before being washed

Carding the raw wool before being spun

Spinning the wool into yarn

After spinning the yarn, it is steamed

The finished yarn

Pattern for the final garment

Process of hand sewing the garment

OTHER MATERIALS:
Leather- vintage re purposed from a local artist
Woven alpaca- woven alpaca mohair
                       Purchased from Mood NYC, made in Italy

currently

My mom used to use a lot of horse hair in her work. I don't remember how or why she used it - I was too young - but I've recently become really interested in using it. Apart from just being interested in it as a material, I have such strong memories or neatly tied bundles of black horse hair.

beauty&sublime

Recent piece for research dealing with humble materials, rhythm and repetition.
- hair, wire, knitted: burlap, cotton, plastic bags

Group instillation project dealing with elements of the sublime. The fabric covered the whole ceiling and the string extended all the way to the ground. A video was then projected into the corner of the room creating shadow through the string and as viewers walked around the room.
-netting, plastic string  - video component not shown

Def Poetry

My senior year of high school I took a poetry class, and it was one of the best classes I've ever taken in my life. It was a rare moment in my high school academic career, where the teacher and the students were equally engaged and smart. The whole dynamic of the class worked and we had the opportunity to see, hear and appreciate some amazing poetry. I've been writing on my own for as long as I can remember and it has now become crucial to my process. Writing is always a place where I start, and a place I go to if I get stuck.
The first four videos are of Def Poetry Jam, a show started by Mos Def. Famous rappers, singers, and poets perform original slam poetry. The third clip, of poet Taylor Mali, came to perform at my high school and is totally amazing. The last clip is from a competition called Nicks Poetry Slam, which is a national competition for high school slam poets. The girl performing is one of the most amazing people I've ever seen and continues to inspire me every time I hear it. 

first

Core final collection.
First magazine submission.