Works in Progress
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| On my way to the classroom, reading a wonderful note from Laurie Anderson |
It was a pleasure to conduct a workshop for Kara Feely Barnard's class, "Problems in Design." Together, we mended items, shared stories about our ancestors and the environment, while listening to Yueqi play the Pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument. The healing power of music.
Mending our clothes and our hearts. A shared moment, a chance to collaborate, a positive step for the environment, the world.
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| Thoughtful remarks by a couple of students. |
"My role in helping the environment
feels small - I feel that I hold little power."
"Mending can be imperfect. One step at a time.
Imperfection is beautiful. Mending clothes or the
mind, environment or soul. A small step goes a long way."
We read the lyrics of Marvin Gaye's " Mercy Mercy Me " and Joni Mitchell's " Yellow Taxi.
Mercy Mercy Me
Whoa, oh mercy, mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be, no, no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows
From the north, and south, and east
Whoa mercy, mercy me (mercy)
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas
Fish full of mercury, oh, oh, mercy, mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be, oh no
Radiation underground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying
Oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land?
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh, na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, ooh
Yellow Taxi
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
They took all the trees put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar an' a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
Hey farmer, farmer put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees
Please
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
Late last night I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
I said don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot
Thank you, everyone, for your welcome and enthusiasm during Friday's workshop. I really appreciated your participation, the stories you shared, and your interest in my practice. It was a pleasure to meet you all and spend those two hours together — they went by quickly!
Kara, thank you again for inviting me.
Yueqi — thank you for adding such a beautiful musical dimension to the session.
I wish you all fantastic and inspiring discoveries as you explore and develop your creative life.
Works in Progress is a project that breathes new life into ordinary, overlooked objects. Using unconventional materials such as lint, organic matter, fabric, yarn, twigs, wires, and more, I transform objects in various states of disrepair into unique, wearable, reusable works of art.
As an interactive performance workshop, I guide participants in repairing, upcycling, and transforming the damaged or incomplete item(s) they bring, turning those items into new wearable art creations and rendering them usable again. This workshop also fosters storytelling and an exchange of ideas relating to our collective and individual actions for the planet's well-being. You can commission this project. I will tailor it to specific requests or conduct it as a series of workshops for your business or personal events. Works in Progress adds meaning to objects, showing life cycles instead of discarding/replacing, and challenges to push past traditional utility. Please see @mck_workinprogress on Instagram.
