Good design takes several forms, and creativity is universal.
An inventive mind can find good material everywhere…including in salmon skin!
My young friend Julia, below, is working this summer with choreographer/artist Emily Johnson, an Alaska native based in Minneapolis.
A recurring theme in Johnson’s work through catalystdance.com pays homage to the fish that hold a central role in the lives of her fellow Alaskans.
Emily plans for her upcoming tour to include 50 lanterns fashioned from salmon skins! To that end, she has held a series of skin sewing workshops for friends and other interested parties to help in this endeavor.
So that is how I came to spend part of Saturday, ensconced at a table at Madame of the Arts at 34th and Chicago, stitching silvery hides together with waxy thread that mimics sinew.
Gal pal Kathleen, above, mom of Julia, lover of all things arty, took on the more gun-intensive work of scraping.
Filet – o- fish!
Here is her slippery, slinky salmon BEFORE!
Here are two skins I stitched, AFTER!
This is what a completed lantern looks like, though Kath and I did not come close to finishing one of these!
Can you imagine how great they’ll look, lit, as an accompaniment to Emily’s cool choreography?
Swell, I think!
For more fish tales: See a video of lanterns under construction for one of Emily’s earlier performances in Vermont here, and find her Catalyst Dances Facebook page here.
Creative pursuits are to be celebrated, even when they come with lingering scents!
Kim
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Interesting….. I prefer to eat my fish not sew with them. Think I’ll stick to fabric for my sewing endeavors…:)
Karla, you are such a talented seamstress that you could make even salmon look fabulous!
[...] can refresh your memory with the original post, here. But you can read about the end result, “Niicugni,” recently reviewed in the New York [...]