During the ten or so years of making these funny pants out of used tees, there's been a couple of really memorable moments that make me feel extra lucky, happy and proud of my work. Used tees aren't a thing of great financial value, or usually considered as a fine arts/crafts material. For some people it might even seem too weird to have pants made of tees that somebody else has already used. Unless that somebody is a person you love, or in this case, somebody you really loved and who no longer is with us. Then, the value actually is incredibly big, and the material turns into something irreplaceable and beautiful.
A couple of years ago a dear friend was cleaning up her late husband's closet and getting rid of some of the clothes that used to belong to him. Some clothes could be passed on to friends, some given to the thrift stores, but what to do with a bunch of t-shirts left from a number of marathons that he participated in? You know what happened, right? Yes, she asked me to make pants out of them. Two pairs for her and one pair for their daughter. I remember clearly how my friend was saying that "these shirts don't have any value - except for me". Pretty. Sweet.
This spring another wonderful lady came to me asking if I would be able to make a pair of pants for her, and that she might have something I could use as a material. We met at my studio, and with her she had a black t-shirt full of random, different color paint stains. That t-shirt used to belong to her adult son, who passed away more that 10 years ago. He was an artist and he would use this shirt while painting. You can clearly see some places where he has swiped and cleaned his fingers, and it makes that material crazy unique and super special.
I know I'm not healing anybody's cancer or preventing wars from happening, but I definitely feel like what I'm doing is positive and important. And that feeling keeps me going during those moments of doubt and insecurity! This is about love, respect and being real.
