I was born January 23, 1979. Carter was in office. Russia would soon invade Afghanistan. Disco was hot. Blondie topped the pop charts and Punk Rock was starting to leak out of the underground into the main stream. The Punk Movement, like many Aesthetic driven Movements, had inter-continental connections and branches. Aesthetics is a very interesting area of study. The term is most frequently associated with whether or not something is pretty, but it is much more than that and extends well beyond the scope of of Visual Art. Aesthetics refers to more than the exterior appearance of an object, idea, or event. Aesthetics describes beauty through the lens of truth which is informed by the how and why of the existence of the object, event, or idea. This how and why is determined and defined by context, culture, history, and politics as well. It’s about a whole lot more than the exterior of anything. Facades are superficial and lack complexity and nuance. They are finite in comparison with the whole. The idea of calling something or someone pretty (visually appealing) is trite and meaningless if you are unable to describe why you find the object of discussion pretty and understand how it became that way. Pretty is superficial. Beauty is eternal.
I am a punk rock girl, though I Love and appreciate a wide range of Aesthetics, particularly when it comes to musical expression. Punk Aesthetics extend beyond the realm of musical expression. The most prominent philosophy of the Punk Movement and ALL of its branches and sub-categories, is DIY: Do It Yourself. I have approached the majority of my life from this perspective, mostly out of necessity. People have been more than happy to steal from me rather than work with/help, or pay me. I’ve never been rich enough or poor enough to catch a break. So, I’ve done things for myself.
When I was a little girl I remember watching the news with my parents. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan was on the news constantly. I remember asking my Mother at one point if Russian people were evil. It was difficult for me to reconcile the images of Russian brutality with the images of the Afghan people, many of whom looked an awful lot like many of my own family members. The first time I saw the iconic National Geographic cover featuring the Afghan woman with striking green eyes, it made me wonder if I might have a twin sister in some far off Country. The physical resemblances coupled with the stories my Grandma Rose had told me about her Mother's hatred for Russians fueled my question to my Mother. My Great Grandmother was an Austro-Hungarian immigrant. She and my Greatgrandfather immigrated to the United States because of oppression by Communist Russia between WWI and WWII. My Mother answered, telling me that Russian people were not inherently evil, their government was bad. They were Communist. I accepted the explanation not understanding what Communism was, but understanding that governments were fallible and in need of my skepticism. As soon as I was able to write I began writing letters to the President of my Country. I’m sure my FBI file is a long and interesting read. My veiws have certainly changed greatly since I was a child with a child's understanding of the World.
In the 70’s - 80’s the Punk Movement was pushing the limits of Aesthetics and what was deemed appropriate for general consumption. Punk itself began to faction into smaller groups based on political affiliation or lack there of. In general, the Punk Movement was anti-establishment/anti-authoritarianism, which is quite understandable, particularly in the United States. The Regan administration seemed to be in the business of waging war on it’s citizens — The War on Drugs, The War on Poverty, The War on HIV/AIDS. The Dead Kennedys raged with songs like California Uber Alles, Holiday in Cambodia, and Let’s Lynch the Landlord. Then in ’85 Pop-music countered with We Are the World. It was a very confusing time. Given the Nancy Regan stance of “Just say No” to anything and everything that then gave way to Tipper Gore’s video games and heavy metal are the devil attitude, it is easy to see how Regan Youth lashed out in ’94 with Jesus is a Communist. Though, Jesus was anything but a Commie. Communism makes no room for religion, spirituality, or Right of Conscience. Jesus was a staunch supporter of Separation of Church and State. Communism makes no room for Church at all and certainly leaves no room for the right of the Individual to dissent to anything on any grounds. And just what were those Punks wearing anyway? And couldn't they just sing nice like that Ms. Dion? This is the realm of Aesthetics.
Of course Aesthetics are a prevalent part of the Fashion World as well, and Fashion is a much bigger player in politics than anyone wants to take responsibility for. Fashion causes much controversy, and Fast Fashion has created some of the biggest waste issues on the planet. In 2015 I made a book about the topic. The focus of the book was on upcycling and recycling textiles to make custom garments. I was told the book wasn’t appropriate by stores and colleagues because I focused on using and merging mass-produced patterns and utilized the nude human form as part of the educational vehicle. I was told I was being a narcissist because I used my body. In reality, I couldn’t afford a professional photographer or models and I didn’t have any friends who wanted to help and if I was going to use myself as a model then I was going to make clothes that fit me. Besides, no one wanted to pay me for my garments or wait for the time it took for me to make them. I have seen many of my designs knocked off by Asian companies selling on Amazon and other sites. The knock offs are cheaply made and while they may share physical resemblance, they Aesthetically are the opposite of what my garments were about: waste reduction and unique personal identity. My works were all one of a kind. They were anti-Communist. But this is another topic all together. What I’m really looking at here is the impact of the Fashion industry on the environment and political climate.
I could go on and on about the politics of textiles; about dyes and weaving techniques, printing and embellishment and how these things are intrinsically tied to other industries like mining and farming, but I think you would be better served taking some Art History courses and seeing for yourself, or learning how to make something yourself. Skills like sewing are not very common these days in “First World” Countries, are they? I learned from my Mother and Aunt. Both of those women still are way more skilled at garment and textile object fabrication than I am, but I get by and the quality of my work is high.
Textiles and Fast Fashion are such a problem politically, environmentally and culturally because of the waste they rely on creating. Natural fiber fabrics are more expensive because it takes longer to make them. Synthetic fabrics are cheap and fast. However, the cost of cheap fabrics is exponentially higher than that of natural fiber textiles. Fast Fashion focuses on what’s hot This Season and not on longevity or quality of construction. So we, as a species, are left with a huge glut of waste; textiles that won’t decompose filled with dyes that made those who manufactured them sick. Non-toxic doesn’t really mean good for you. All non-toxic means is that once the product reaches the consumer, interacting with it falls below a decided upon threshold of health risk at the point of consumption. It does not take into account the process of manufacture or transit. Pair these issues with extremist views on modesty and a woman’s body and you have many shades of Afghanistan and beyond. Even in the US a woman's breasts are cause for scandal because of sexist modesty police. Countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China (among others) have long histories steeped in the trade trade of pigments, dyes, and textiles. If you have a minute, look up the history of Celadon glaze, ultra marine pigment, indigo dye, Indian yellow pigment, or henna — just to name a few. Look up the history of The Silk Route. Find out how it got that name. Look at the countries The Silk Route traverses, then try to tell me Fashion has nothing to do with the politics of yesterday, today, or tomorrow.
Even as a person who is able to sew, avoiding Fast Fashion is nearly impossible. My husband is not interested in wearing the types of garments I am able to make at my skill level or the styles I enjoy creating. He’s a conventional person who likes his Levis and T-shirts, and honestly, I’m not interested in making underwear or socks. So what to do with spent textiles? How do we keep them out of the landfills? What do we do with all this waste that is choking humanity, especially with plastics as part of the equation? Even natural fibers can last for centuries under the right conditions. Just look at Egyptian and South American mummies or European bog-people. Well, I’ve been doing a few things with our waste textiles for the past five years.
This is a cushion I made for our kitty, Sassy-lass. It is made from a ball of braided T-shirt yarn I made from old T-shirts then stitched together in a rug making technique. It is stuffed with an old stained (but clean) bed-pillow. It is machine washable, though it takes a long time to dry and I need to take it to the laundromat because it is too bulky for our machine…but it IS washable.
This is Brody on his similar cushion watching a painting I’m currently working on come together. His cushion is stuffed with old threadbare curtains that were left on the windows by the previous owner of our home.
This is a quilt made of ten years of Omar’s old jeans backed with an old bedsheet. For all you quilters out there, this is considered a “Crazy Quilt”. Basically, I cut up the jeans into pieces that would lie flat then pieced them together into yardage and backed it. It’s too big for me to use my current machine to top stitch. It needs top stitched. I hope to some day have a top stitch machine or find someone who will do it for me for a reasonable price.
This is a quilt made from T-shirts and old beach towels. It is a simple patchwork style quilt. I used two beach towels, eight T-shirts, and three packs of binding. So far I have three of these in the house. You can never have too many blankets. And yes…keep the cut away bits. I’m getting to that.
These are two quilts are made of fabric scraps left over from other sewing projects and fabrics I found at garage sales and other reuse places, or were given to me. One is a jelly-roll style and the other is a combination of patchwork and jelly roll. Like I said, you can never have too many blankets.
Remember all those bits and corners of fabric and thread left over from other projects? Or clothes and towels that are too worn to be upcycled? Well…I used them to stuff these yoga bolsters. The longer bolster is made of recycled upholstery fabric and the other is made from the legs of two pair of jeans. Both are stuffed with all the bits. I processed all the fabric stuffed inside into small pieces approximately three inches square. I did all that by hand with scissors. It was very hard on my hands and I have had much pain in my arms, wrists and hands since, though it has gotten better. I made a total of three bolsters. Would I do it again? Yes. But it would be much easier if I had some kind of shredding machine that could tear the textiles into stuffing for me.
Did I make masks? No. I didn’t.
I did wash all the textiles before use.
This is a basket I’ve been working on for some time now. It is made of a braided yarn made of plastic bags collected over the span of a year a half and cotton and jute twine. It’s still not done. When it is finished it will be a wonderful thing to use to harvest herbs, fruits and veggies from our property. I am using a basket weaving technique that has roots in many North American tribes. It is a figure eight stitch know commonly as the “Squaw Stitch”.The technique is called coiling. It was taught to me by Susan Aaron-Taylor when I was her student at CCS.
So, then there’s this too…those herbs I was talking about. This morning I harvested fennel, thyme, sage, oregano, catnip, and bay laurel to process for culinary and medicinal purposes. That will be much easier once my basket is complete. This season I’ve already collected, dried and processed nettles, thistle, apricots, plums, lemon balm, more catnip and oregano. There are other wild herbs, fruits and greens on the property as well as things I have cultivated. It’s all a process of figuring out what grows wild where and what can be best cultivated in our local ecosystem. I’m particularly interested in oregano because of it’s amazing and wide spread properties and uses. When I had COVID, I used Oil of Oregano supplement to support my recovery. I’m neither a doctor or licensed herbalist, but I have done much research for my own personal use over the years for many reasons. I chose to use Oil of Oregano (among other things) for a very specific and human reason. Oregano is a member of the Lamiaceae family and Origanum genus. Like Hemp and Grasses, there are species of naturally occurring Origanum on every Continent, with the possible exception of Antarctica. I don’t know if oregano grows wild on Antarctica or not for sure. As a plant that grows along side humans all over the planet, and knowing it has such deep and effective medicinal properties, I figured it would be a good thing to use to support my immune system while I was recovering. I just used my good old common sense. In addition to taking the supplement I ate lots of it too. Oregano is delicious. So, I’m interested in growing oregano to make my own supplement as well as for cooking. It seems to do well and the bees Love it. I learned about oregano’s wide spread habitation when reading The Philosopher’s Kitchen.
Morals of the story are:
Afghans and Afghanistan are more complex than the crocheted blanket on your bed your Aunt made for you as a wedding gift.
The change in the climate is a big deal. Everyone thinks so.
Barbie needs an update. Don’t just throw her in the ocean.
There is no room for Socialism or Communism on a healthy planet.
PS. I finished a new novel last week. Would LOVE to get it, along with my other three novels and anthropological culinary text, published. But I won't hold my breath. I'm not good looking enough, disadvantaged enough, or retarded enough for any publisher to be bothered.
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