Nature itself as an endless stream of beauty is the source of inspiration for both costumes
Two costumes form a showcase for the project Creating Opportunities from Waste. They embody many of the techniques that can transform waste into some new and beautiful. They represent the process of transformation itself.
The source of inspiration for both costumes is Nature itself as an endless stream of beauty – from the canopy of trees, with the movement of the leaves in the wind, to the shades and patterns on the surface at the sea.
The costumes started the journey of exhibiting with a display in the window of Moray Reach Out in Buckie, to celebrate the return of life with spring. They were planned to continue on to Moray Art Centre for the month of April. With that physical exhibition delayed by lockdown to December, we are bringing you a preview online.
In this video you can see the creative processes involved in making the costumes and reimagining waste from varied sources. These include discarded plastic, pre-loved vintage pieces and fabric remnants. The costume design by Selena S Kuzman and headpiece design by Caroline Bury included many techniques, including 3D shibori and sashiko needle felting, and reconstruction of materials.
From Cycle Tubes to Statement Necklace
We round off the series of workshops by looking at how to turn cycle tubes into a simple statement necklace.
Moving on to plastic
After a successful start transforming T-shirts, our online classes moved on to plastic, to turn them into jewellery pieces.
T-shirts Transformed
It was quite a change of plans for the project as we had got up to full speed on practical workshops, with excellent feedback from the various sessions and further venues and groups all ready to go.
Online upcycling classes – welcome!
A brief welcome to set the scene for online classes on the way.
Moray Reach Out workshops with trainees
We had two sessions with trainees, to introduce some of the techniques in making use of pre-loved items and everyday materials.
Open Day with drop-in workshops at Moray Reach Out
We prepared a range of activities, with a number of displays as well for inspiration, from upcycled jewellery pieces to items created from yarn from pre-loved T-shirts. We also had one of the specially created costumes with us, with its bright spring green colour.
Upcycled costumes on display
Our costumes made from waste materials are now ready for display. They will appear tomorrow (Monday 17th) late morning in one of the large windows of Moray Reach Out in Church Street, Buckie.
Busy working on upcycled costumes
When constructing an art-wearable piece of garment from pre-loved and discarded materials, the process itself flows and grows organically.
Buckie Christmas Kracker
The annual Christmas Kracker is an event to look forward to, and we were delighted to be there for a creative collaboration with Moray Reach Out at their Yarns and Crafts Centre. There was a keen interest from young people, and sometimes very young, along with their parents, to see what could be done with upcycling t-shirts.
Doodling in 3D with Moray Wellbeing Hub
We tried out 3D-printing pens, using filament recycled from used plastic (from old food packaging and old bottles), to draw the hot thin plastic by hand into simple shapes from nature - feathers, butterflies and dragonflies.
Workshops in the Phoenix Centre, Buckie
We rounded off this series of workshops in the Phoenix Centre with fabric flowers sewn together with the help of scrap fabric, leftover ribbons, old beads and buttons and re-used laces, matching favourite colours for a special day out.
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the LAND and the SEA
In celebration of nature and its textures, these costume designs were born, inspired by the nature of the sea and the nature of the land. The materials come from various forms of waste – from plastic bottles to preloved textiles and jewellery pieces.
Upcycled costumes on display
Our costumes made from waste materials are now ready for display. They will appear tomorrow (Monday 17th) late morning in one of the large windows of Moray Reach Out in Church Street, Buckie.
Busy working on upcycled costumes
When constructing an art-wearable piece of garment from pre-loved and discarded materials, the process itself flows and grows organically.