LTD. J-Flo’s: 2010 / sz 9 / Found denim & nike air max, spandex, cotton batting

These are a pair of Japanese “Boro” inspired patchwork sneakers made from found denim scraps & spandex, fused with an old pair of Nike Air Max sneakers. I made the body & tongue of the sneakers myself, basing the pattern off a pair of my own Nike Dunks.

I originally tried to make the base out of denim & batting, but they looked too much like slippers. So I sought out a shoemaker who could add some rubber sneaker soles to the bottom. Turns out this isn’t an easy thing to find - and as far as I know, it’s not possible to add a new pair of rubber soles unless you cut them from a new pair of sneakers. I ended up finding a guy in Saint Marks Place who agreed to fuse my patchwork tops with rubber bottoms. If you live in NYC you may be familiar with his shoe repair shop. It’s small and literally overflowing with a mountain of old shoes. The only catch was, he refused to make them into classic Nike Dunks. He hated Dunks. He wanted to make them into giant platforms, but I wasn’t onboard with this idea. Yeah, yeah, supposedly it’s really cool in Japan or something - I don’t care. If there is the prospect that someone could possibly wear these, I wanted that person to be able to dance in them too. So we dug through the pile of shoes looking for something in the right size and finally decided on Air Max bottoms. 

Process shots…Maja is beading in the face, I’m prepping the patchwork to stretch over the stretcher bars.

Chromatics Series: 2010 / 52” x 52” / Found Materials

Patchwork Tipi (Madewell Commission): 2009 / 9” tall / Vintage materials

In Loving Mammary: 2009 / 32 B / Grammy’s Handkerchiefs

I was invited to create a piece for my hometown’s “Bras for the Cause” event, where artists make “art bras” that are auctioned off for breast cancer research. In the process of mulling around about what I would make, two significant events took place. My mom and I simultaneously watched a beautiful contemporary routine on “So You Think You Can Dance” about battling breast cancer which spawned a phone conversation directly afterward about how my Grandmother had fought breast cancer and survived, and my Great Grandmother (a quilter) had died from it (both on my mother’s side).

My Grandmother was an Italian Immigrant, and I had saved a collection of her handkerchiefs after she passed away. These handkerchiefs are the main materials in the bra, with the exception of a small portion of denim detailing. The cups are a “postage stamp” patchwork to commemorate my great grandmother, who hand sewed a phenomenal postage stamp quilt while she was battling breast cancer. This quilt now hangs in my parents living room. The bra is entirely hand sewn. There are no metal components or underwire - all the structure is created from batting and quilting layers together to create a soft and comforting effect.

Digital photographs / 2008