Pilot Project.

This project was FAR OUT…

I am notorious for ruining clothes, which means I typically shop at thrift stores because I know that buying new isn't always practical for me or my lifestyle. But, every now and then I go into a high-end clothing store and immediately find myself looking at the price tag. I’m not sure if it’s just out of habit, if I’m genuinely curious about the cost or if I think some external force is going to change the price into something I can afford. So, I set out to make a point to myself. This point is that just because an item has served its purpose, doesn’t necessarily mean its life is over. You’ve bought this item, you’ve used it and now you’re done with it? Meanwhile, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it other than that small bleach stain on the bottom left corner. How can you still love this item without throwing it away? It’s called “Reverse Tie-Dye” and it will be your new solution to bleach casualties.

With the overall look and style of the shirt determined, I started to think about the graphic. I wanted it to be a representation of myself, yet still be something that I’d want to wear every day. Resorting to online tutorials, I stumbled upon a technique where paint is applied to cedar leaves and then printed onto paper leaving an impression. You like this technique, you try this technique, you fail miserably but one out of ten looks half decent so you go with it. I then took the relief print and converted it into a digital illustration, added some text from an old concept, and voila!

From there, I began thrift shopping for fifteen black t-shirts to dye. Why only fifteen? I wanted them to feel like prints, like only a limited amount of them were ever going to be made. With each shirt being handpicked and dyed by myself it allowed me to connect with the project the same way an artist would with their canvas. The next step was to get the shirts printed and after reading several reviews I reached out to a local screen printer in Vancouver, British Columbia. Once the shirts were printed, tagged, and sent off to their rightful owners I felt a sense of accomplishment and immediately started to plan my next project.

I think it’s important to remember that…

We all live incredibly busy lives that sometimes don’t allow us to be as environmentally friendly as we’d like. In today’s world, it has become“trendy” to shop at thrift stores and purchase items that donate money to an environmental cause. This is a positive change. We acknowledge how our wastefulness is affecting our planet and we are acting on it.            

However, there are some of us that enjoy buying new, are brand loyal, and appreciate the quality they receive from retail stores (this is ok). My goal is to shift the mindset of at least a handful of individuals, educate them on recycling and how to prevent one-time use of products. I, myself am not perfect and I am sure that if you look in my cupboards you will certainly find an abundance of plastic containers. But, the goal of environmental outreach programs is to teach consumers how to be conscious about their overall consumption and how to recycle properly. Recycling is a learning process and you have to actively think and teach yourself how to change your overall habits. Just do better, this is what I hope to achieve for myself and for others.