Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival 2013: The Trash Fashion Show

This dress is made from burlap bags.

This dress is made from burlap bags.

This year was my first to take part in the Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival, which was held Nov. 15-17. On Friday evening, there is the Trash Fashion show which features clothing made from things that would otherwise end up in a landfill. It was truly impressive what all the contestants came up with. Most of this post is going to be pictures, though I wish I had gotten a few more.

You’ll see that I was impressed with the seatbelt dress – red and black, such a great combo! The burlap bag dress was also very chic. There was this Flapper style dress that was made up of dangly glass bits, some of which fell off on the runway. It was also very stunning.

Another young lady made a Greek goddess dress from paper, though I only managed to get a decent picture of the dress after the show when many of the outfits are displayed.

Made from grocery bags.

Made from grocery bags.

One outfit was made from airline travel tickets. She brought her dog up on the runway too, who had a skirt made from barf bags. It was very cute. Then another young lady had this ballroom style dress made from chicken feed bags. It was very elegant. The skirt was also removable, and when it was removed, it revealed a chicken wire frame for the skirt, with a live chicken in it! Alas, the young lady was too quick for my older camera. Though I would be quick too if I had a life chicken up my skirts!

OK, so the rest of this post will be pics. Sit back and enjoy!

Made from filters.

Made from filters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made from seatbelts.

Made from seatbelts.

 

 

 

 

 

Made from photography film and cardboard packaging.

Made from photography film and cardboard packaging.

 

 

 

 

 

Made from some sort of foil?

Made from some sort of foil?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The skirt is from plastic table clothes and the top from plastic milk cartons.

The skirt is from plastic table clothes and the top from plastic milk cartons.

 

 

 

1920s style dress.

1920s style dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This dress was made from dryer sheets.

This dress was made from dryer sheets.

 

 

A few more dresses from the fashion show.

A few more dresses from the fashion show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three dresses from the fashion show.

Three dresses from the fashion show.

 

 

A hat made from cardboard of photography supplies.

A hat made from cardboard of photography supplies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This skirt is made from sneakers.

This skirt is made from sneakers.

 

 

Here is that burlap sack dress.

Here is that burlap sack dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One dress made from seatbealts and the other made from ????

One dress made from seatbealts and the other made from ????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Affordable Art

This is made from bedsheet fabric. I playfully call it 'Moonlit Water'. And that's Phil the cat.

This is made from bedsheet fabric. I playfully call it ‘Moonlit Water’. And that’s Phil the cat.

This will be my first year in participating in the Fuller Lodge Affordable Arts Show that runs from November 22 – January 4. Fuller Lodge is located in downtown Los Alamos, NM and is free admission to the public. I am very happy to say that I will be joining many other talented artists. Many of these artists have been featured on the Fuller Lodge facebook page, if you want to check them out.

Made from upholstery fabric, this rug turned out pretty handsome.

Made from upholstery fabric, this rug turned out pretty handsome.

So, what rugs of mine will be there? Well, a little bit of everything. I have 2 sock rugs, several wool shags, 3 cotton shags, 2 flat cottons, one upholstery rug, and a wool sweater rug.

All my rugs are recycled from waste fabrics. For the most part, these are the selvedge edges of blankets or bedsheets that would normally end up in a landfill. Instead, I turn them into rugs. All the socks and sweaters used in my rugs had holes, tears, or stains (or were lonely socks that had lost their mates). Now they are hardy, usable rugs. All the rugs are washable in a cold water cycle with air drying (no heat).

Here are a variety of wool shags for the 2013 Fuller Lodge Affordable Arts Show.

Here are a variety of wool shags for the 2013 Fuller Lodge Affordable Arts Show.

This is a cotton shag, which is cotton and rayon.

This is a cotton shag, which is cotton and rayon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are both cotton shags, which I nicknamed the Adobe Sisters.

These are both cotton shags, which I nicknamed the Adobe Sisters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These 2 rugs are made from socks. Yep, lots and lots of socks.

These 2 rugs are made from socks. Yep, lots and lots of socks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a blue & brown wool sweater rug (with sock rugs behind it).

Here is a blue & brown wool sweater rug (with sock rugs behind it).