GMU:Sustainable Aesthetics/Leandra Annekathrin Maretzky

My first thoughts about sustainable aesthetics:

When I think of aesthetics, the first thing in my mind is the appearance/look of something. For me this is a visual experience. Now when we connect aesthetics to sustainability, I understand that as a change in the way of creating a design for a certain product. Sustainability means working together with my environment - not against it. I take the items it is offering me and create something new out of it. I don't need everything to be "brand-new" - I can make it look like it is way more new.

I am highly interested in fashion and the sustainable way of creating/purchasing clothes. For me it can be a way of showing personality in a visual appearance. While I researched about this topic I stumbled upon a certain culture in the fashion industry - "thrifting". It is about reusing "old" or thrown-away clothes to make some new ones or even other things out of them. I would like to try this out and make a research/comparison with self-made vs. purchased/shipped/mass-producted clothing.

https://youtu.be/-SaPhS9c5Fw

https://youtu.be/4_Mt4haAp68

But why do I want to work with fabrics?

Fabric comes in all kind of forms, colours and textures. It is more durable than paper. It moves....

Step 1: Searching for fabric/clothes which could be used

Starting point: Which fabric can I find at home?

Old pants, tablecloth - squared pattern

some parts are ripped, not wearable anymore - but nice pattern, comfortable fabric

Bedsheet nobody uses anymore

Too slippery to work as a bedsheet, at some parts holes - but fresh colour, high qualitative silk

Fabric net thing for cuddly toys

At some parts ripped apart - but nice colour, interesting fabric

Leftover gift ribbons

Too short for present-wrapping - but beautiful colours, could be interesting for some details

I am still not shure what I want to make out of it - maybe fancy clothing or something more like art.

Step 2: Searching for inspiration on how to work with textile

Artists: https://www.artmajeur.com/de/kunstler/textilkunstler

General forms of art I could include: Journaling/Sketchbooking

Watercolour/Aquarell

-> (Maybe I could use different kinds of fabric layers to create new colours like in watercolour drawings?)

Of course making something fashion-related is kind of obvious when working with fabrics...

First Sketches

...but why not approach it more like an artist and not a fashion-designer?

References

Microbial Fuel Cell