And now, things are getting physical...the first shirt has rolled off the production line!
I have gesso'ed 48 shirts (although I'm pretty sure I won't need anywhere that many; I'll probably need about 35 or so). So far, I have collected enough data pairs to sew around 2 sets of tags on each shirt. I'm also still setting up appts with ESL & literacy programs for the next few weeks. I will continue to add the tags while the installation is up. Hopefully, by the end of the installation period, I'll have 3-4 tags per shirt.
The back of each shirt will be a landscape sketch that I hope people can interpret in various ways. Each will be a sketch of mountains, rivers, and/or oceans, all natural national boundaries. But landscapes can mean so much in terms of what a 'home' is.
The front of the shirt will have tags of people's professions before and after immigration. Each pair will be stacked on top of each other; the "after" tag can only be read when you lift up the "before" tag.
The serger has been a great investment. It's handy in finishing the tags so that they won't fray as people lift up the before tags to read the after tags.
I have bought the dowels that will serve as the laundry lines, and the clothespins. I just need to finish sketching the remaining shirts, sewing/writing the remaining tags, then it's install, and the show opens!
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4 comments:
I must remember to get to the Portland Building to see this!
Will there be an opening at the POrtland Building for this??
There won't be an official opening reception, but I will set up a few times during the month when I'll be there, and hopefully enough people will come that I can make some photographs of people walking through the maze. I'll send out the announcement when I have it installed and can send a photograph.
Wish I could be there! Sounds terrific!
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