Kate's Vest

I've been part of a wearable art round robin group since last fall. There are 8 artists (I think all from the dollmaking community) working on each piece of clothing as it comes around. I've had Kate's vest for a while, knowing I wanted to do something with hands on the front, but not quite how to put it together. (Note that it's hanging in my lilac by the deck.)

Each article of clothing travels with a journal, and Kate's instructions were to do something to the vest that celebrates being a woman, what it means to you to be a woman. Once I read her request, and considering the 8 artists in the round robin, I knew I wanted to show hands - hands that do so much. (Incidentally, there's a nude flying woman on the back, embellished, and Anne Hesse did an amazing large beaded face for one of the pockets that will be on the front.)

So...last weekend I worked on those hand doodles (Zentangles - see below), and decided to take the scan of those, print it on fabric, and use them to make at least one hand on the front of Kate's vest. I misted them with one of the Adirondack sprays and a glimmer mist, and used one of the hands to represent the spiritual/mystical aspect. The top hand represents the artistic/feminine, and the bottom hand represents the earthy/nurturing. Each hand has a symbolic decorative element at the wrist (pulse point), and I have a metallic thread that swoops from one hand to the other to connect them all.

There are still three artists remaining to work on Kate's vest...I hope she'll be happy when it returns to her (fortunately, we aren't keeping our work secret). I'm anxious for my purple wool felt jacket to return - I love what I've seen so far.