Working with Alternative Materials

 Last Saturday I attended a workshop by Jan Hopkins, one of the Northwest Artists currently showing at the Boise Art Museum in the exhibit Critical Messages: Contemporary Northwest Artists on the Environment.  She is known for using alternative materials from the environment in her artwork. We were treated to a slide show of her work, showing her use of Bull Kelp, Rhododendron leaves, Sturgeon Skin, Black Bamboo, and many other materials.

We then got to do our own project using grapefruit peels. We used waxed linen thread and a chenille needle to do the stitching. We also used beads and brads that went through the peels like butter.

Here is my finished project. I am still working on the chair.