Art made with bridal gown remnants? Be still our hearts!
As part of our commitment to environmental conservancy, we donate all our textile remnants to the Toronto District School Board and the Ontario College of Art and Design. So, when artist Stephanie Fortin contacted us about her Zero Waste project, we were beside ourselves with excitement!
Using remnant textiles (including those from our atelier), Stephanie created baskets and a woven wall piece entitled “Kumo,” which means spider web in Japanese. Kumo’s design is based on a traditional Kumo Kanoko Shibori wrapping pattern and, if you’re wondering about the color in the work, like our gowns it’s all hand-dyed! Stephanie used Shibori, a traditional Japanese technique, to pigment the silk.
If you live in or near Toronto, you can see Stephanie’s Zero Waste works in the windows of the Craft Ontario Shop in Yorkville on Cumberland Street.
photography by Erin Simkin, more of Stephanie’s work at Cour de Lion
“Kumo”, 3′ x 8.5′ aprox, organic cotton warp, silk bridal remnant weft, cochineal, indigo, 2015
From left to right: Onion Skin Basket, 1’x1.5′ aprox, silk bridal remnant, onion skin, iron, braided and laced, 2015, Onion Skin Basket, 1’x1.5′ aprox, silk bridal remnant, onion skin, alum, braided and laced, 2015, Cochineal Basket, 1’x1.5′ aprox, silk bridal remnant, cochineal, braided and laced, 2015, Indigo Basket, 1’x1.5′ aprox, silk bridal remnant, organic indigo vat, braided and laced, 2015
