I was invited to create a window display as part of the Safely Social SJ project 'Artists on the Alameda,' pairing businesses along The Alameda in downtown San Jose with local artists to shine a light on both. After some onsite research and brainstorming (the turnaround time was incredibly short) I made some concept drawings for Brixton Hue Salon & Style Studio that presented my idea for suspended sculptures based on stylized, dimensional locks of hair.
It was a new kind of project for me to design for a brand and a location in order to incorporate the style of the business and yet maintain my own aesthetic. With an enthusiastic go-ahead from Lori and Stu at Brixton Hue I jumped right into making the eighteen pieces. In a signature ‘me’ move, I decided to try a new technique under deadline: stiffening and then machine-stitching craft felt to get the effect of light-diffusing, sculptural forms that would hold their shape and still move in the slight breeze from the doorway.
This was another patterning challenge, although I tried to keep it simple. I’ve learned a lot about the ways one can cut, shape, and join flat materials to create different shapes in space. The biggest difficulty came from the necessity to add several rounds of fabric stiffener sufficient to give the pieces the body and movement I wanted— which necessitated them drying in a timely fashion as well, always a difficulty in a cold studio with little air circulation. Fans were my friend. When stitched together some of the pieces needed to be softened and then re-stiffened while held in particular ways, with the aid of a hair dryer— which seemed appropriate given the destination of the installation.
I’m well pleased with the result, although I am well aware that the word ‘Hue’ is in the title of the salon and yet my pieces are (as usual) white. I choose to see it as the potential for color, which again seems fitting.
Those pesky reflective glass windows make it hard to photograph (although I did my best, below). Now these pieces hang in my studio!
