NSCAD
Two years ago I went to Halifax for a visit. I loved it. Ridiculously, I mean everything about it. I walked the boardwalks on either side of the port every day, either in Dartmouth, Eastern Passage or in Halifax. I couldn’t get enough of it. One day, while trekking on the beautiful waterfront, I passed the Port Campus of NSCAD. “One day I’m going to go to school here”, I thought to myself. So here I find myself, enrolled in school after 27 years and volunteering at Artist for a Day. And that’s how my summer started and what dreams are made of (at least for me).
This photo does not show the full scope of the mass of clothing. I should have plunked a human in for scale.
Welcome to our canvas. Hundreds of pounds of rejected thrift store clothing that would now have new life as rope. Just pulled in to volunteer at the last minute (by opening my mouth and saying, hey that sounds like fun, count me in) I had the arduous task of sorting through for what I could cut in a continuous piece and knot so that it could be twisted into rope.
As the room started filling with eager children waiting to have their chance at the fabric I could feel the production cutting coming and the need for speed. Luckily I was able to “rope in” a friend from Vancouver who was visiting (thanks Leta) who logged several hours of cutting and scored a few vintage rock t-shirts if I remember correctly. Other NSCAD current students and grads came by to lend a hand and it was an amazing experience. All because I took a walk on a pier and expressed a desire out loud.
Stilton in the fabric pile and didn’t lift a finger to help!
Anke and Kelsey (my partners in crime) and their first rope maker.
Finished rope piles. Part of a grad project from last year.
Here are some photos of the day. I did manage to take off with my camera and leave the room a few times to explore the other art stations and see what folks were up to. The fish printing was my absolute favourite. Although by 4:00pm, that was not a room you wanted to spend a lot of time in. And to be honest, this is like so many experiences that you can have in life. They aren’t all easy and they all don’t smell like roses. Sometimes you have to be near the stinky fish to find the beauty.
One of many of the fish that gave it’s life in the pursuit of art.
Awesome fish art.