For art viewers everywhere, one thing you may not know is that the venue space looked completely different, perhaps even disastrous, just hours before any exhibit opens. Ryan Melshenker and Cameron Jonas stayed up all night before the sun rose Friday morning on Art Hop weekend to install all the submitted art made by Generator members. Their efforts paid off with the amount of excitement and pride the Generator community felt in one another’s talent on display. It is that moment of appreciation that the South End Art Hop is all about.
Art Hop weekend was rainier than most but that didn’t slow down the fun-making at Generator. There was always something to do between the DIY photo booth supplied by 802 Events, talking to the Makers at their booths, Music Visualization with Leif Hunneman & DJ Gabriel Nigh, and workshops. Generator instructors were busy sharing the joy of natural dying, laser cutting, electrical soldering, t-shirt hacking and more.
Generator member and teacher, Adriana Lentrichia, is an artist that is actively promoting responsible fashions and lifestyle. It is with that mission in mind that she demonstrated how to naturally dye fabric. Using a menagerie of dried flowers, you can create an organic colorful pattern on silk. Her simple natural dyeing method can be used to give your old textiles (bed sheets, curtains, clothing) a new life.
Karen Freeman, Generator Studio Member, created a casual sewing session for anyone to hop in and out of on Saturday. The Learning Lab was packed with t-shirts for materials, sample bags, and instructions.
What I thought was going to be a stroll through Burlington’s Art Hop yesterday, ended up to be a HANG at the Generator (Burlington’s maker space) reconnecting with SEWING as Making!As I was going through my ‘making’ I got to watch a magical process happen. A young girl approached the sewing machine but stayed at a distance. Karen (one of the Generators sewing experts) invited her to join us and make with us. The young girl kept her distance mumbling that she didn’t know how to use a sewing machine. Within minutes, Karen had engaged her with the colorful upholstery samples and piles of available T-Shirts as they looked at some of the T-Shirt Hack bags on display! She started to imagine and talk about the type of bag she would like to make. It didn’t take long for her reluctance to transform to fully engaged and then to the confident maker! By the time her bag was finished, she was begging her grandma to stay longer so she could make a pillow person, too!
-Lucie deLaBruere
