School is out and the beautiful California sun is shining this morning as I reflect back on this last year. I began a new teaching position last fall teaching ceramics full time. Previously I split my days up teaching multiple fine arts subjects including photography, graphic design, art and ceramics. I always found myself dreaming of the day that I could focus all of my efforts in one area. As crazy at it can be starting a new job, it has been amazing. With everything falling into place this year, I was able to find a tiny amount of time to design a dress for RAFS this year.
My last design was created in 2014 of recycled military uniforms. This inspired me to continue honoring other professions with my designs. I began collecting firefighting uniforms from various donors. Protective gear is retired after so many years in service or after being damaged and much of it is donated or destroyed. After three years of collecting miscellaneous gear and uniforms, I had a great collection of materials to work with. Each year I attend Educator's Day at FIDM which includes attending their amazing fashion show, FIDM Debut. After attending FIDM Debut 2018 in the spring. my vision for this year became clearer. Inspired, I moved forward in creating my design. I was challenged by the color of the turnouts and various gear I had collected, and the hues which I wanted to use in the design. As usual, during the creation of the design, the decontruction of the materials and the process of manipulation the elements transformed the design and became it's own creation. I have posted a few of the images from this process. I have so much to share about my passion for recycled fashion. I will continue sharing more about this design and the 2018 RAFS event.
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It's that time of year again. The lost & found at school is piled high with forgotten pieces of the last school year. Moldy lunches, muddy gym shoes, long forgotten books, sweatshirts, water bottles and whatever other items a student can lose is located in the mountain of goods. Besides cleaning out the lost & found for next year, teachers are also cleaning up and getting organized for next year. As I was organizing the files on my computer at school, I stumbled upon several photos that have accumulated on my desktop over the last several months. Among these were some images I took last October while attending a retreat. During this time, my students in photography class were learning to take photos in black and white, capturing lines, values and textures in their work. I used these elements in a series of images I captured over that weekend in the mountains. I am glad I did not lose these forever.
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CategoriesAuthorApril Estoch is a Fine Arts teacher for grades 9-12. April has worked in advertising design, graphic design and as a commissioned fine artist. She also works in ceramics, photography, upcycling furniture as well as fashion design. Archives |