Joshua Altobelli
Zheph Skyre; Book I; Fire
digital print
9x6x1
2022
This is my first novel that I have published. I wrote and illustrated all of it. It is a science fiction and fantasy novel with a lively yet relatable cast of caracters.
@jdadragon
Joan Avato
Beach Fashion
photo
16″ x 20″
2019
As I walked along the beach, I was surprised to come upon a photographer taking a picture of a model while she was standing in a boat. Her formal gown was the color of the sunset.
Kaitlin Beebe
Collected Reflections IV
acrylic, oil pastel, and collage on stretched canvas
36″ x 36″
2022
First in the amalgam of processes, I structure the canvas with overlapping blind contour self-portraits. I use acrylic paint to highlight intertwined shapes from the drawings. To create my collage elements, I begin by sourcing material from fashion magazines. I gravitate to textile patterns that I used to be intimidated by, but I now express myself with, in life and art. These clippings are scanned and digitally manipulated and enlarged into archival prints. The collage pieces are traced from shapes in the initial drawings. A selection of cut-outs are mounted on foam core to cast shadows onto the canvas.
@bbkaitlinartist
Susan Black
Delightful Excess
acrylic with paper collage and mylar overlay on canvas
21.5″ x 17.5″ x 1.25″
2022
With Strut for the exhibit theme, Oscar Wilde’s quote “Nothing succeeds like excess” came to mind. Continuing my love affair with the collision of abstract acrylic painting and collage elements, this piece strives for a dreamlike (or nightmarish?) effect.
Katarina Bloomingdale
Self Portrait 2022
acrylic on cradled wood panel
8″ x 8″
2022
Self Portrait 2022 depicts an outfit. Clothes represent a huge portion of our identities, and yet they are often inaccessible to those who may be disabled, fat, poor, or sick. In these cases, we lose our identity and we must wear only what is available or accessible. This outfit is the first outfit I’ve been able to purchase for myself in about 5 years due to illness, and the first since coming out as non-binary. For me, this outfit is the perfect intersection between my gender identity and my sensory needs as an autistic adult. Owning it is a privilege.
@katarinaartwork
Sally Bowditch
Saori Woven Dress
Saori weaving: rayon
42” x 22”
2022
The fabric was woven with rayon yarn while I was attending weaving classes at Saori Worcester. I then attended a day long sewing workshop at the Saori studio and designed and made the dress.
Chelsea Bradway
Who Says Shopping Can’t Be Glamorous
black and white photograph on fine art paper
30″ x 24″
2021
This photograph was born out of the ideaa. One is that we have all these fabulous clothes that we wait for an occasion to bring out of the closet. That seems so silly, why not wear them to vacuum, go grocery shopping or rake the leaves. Life will pass by in a moment, why not live it!
official.all.things.sparkley
Julia Cahill
Mom Circa 1986
oil on canvas
11″x14″, oval
2022
“Mom Circa 1986” is a portrait that captures my mom at Elm Park in the 1980s when perms, baggy t-shirts, bangles, and bright colors were quintessential to the time. My vision with this portait is to help the viewer feel nostalgia through the colors of the painting and fashion trends of the time similar to that of when viewing a film photo in old photobooks.
@juliacahillart
Aimee Cotnoir
The Walk
oil on canvas
15″ x 30″
2022
This is a the second painting in a new body of work for which I haven’t yet entirely thought out the corresponding artist statement. It is an exploration of painting, layering, and intertextuality. It is a painting created by the combining, editing, and reworking of several machine learning versions prompted by a slew of words, ideas, and phrases regarding fashion and art. The work is meant to be a discussion of the artist versus technology.
aimeecotnoir
T.I.M.E. DaArtist
Baile Típico
acrylic yarn on monks cloth
23 1/2″ x 32 1/2″
2023
This art work is an illustration of a Panamanian tribal dance “Baile Típico” & comes in a plethora of different dance styles like “El Tamborita” which is one of many dances. The dress you see the woman wearing is called “Pollera” and behind the woman is a geometric pattern called “La Mola.” La Mola is owned by the Kuna tribe, a print of the indigenous people of Panama. This form of art work is originally displayed on clothing. They’re often decorated with intricate needle work & many feature Panamanian tribal symbols. I designed mine with colors of the Panamanian flag.
@TimeDaVrtist
Jennifer Davis Carey
Imagining Cahokia
vitreous enamel on copper, wood, feathers
15” x 10” x 4”
2022
Enameling, the fusing of finely ground glass to metal, is an ancient art dating to the Bronze Age. Requiring precise firing at temperatures generally between 1400 and 1650 degrees, the process renders permanent the vibrant transparent, opalescent, and opaque colors of glass frit. It is a medium placed firmly in the zone where art and craft merge. Imagining Cahokia is informed by recent archaeology in Illinois of a city populated by indigenous people from about 1050-1350 CE. Cahokia represents the northern-most reach of the great civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Cahokia residents were renowned for their copper work.
Jessica DeHaemer
Autumn Leaves
hand-woven and hand knotted with wool, cotton, and acrylic yarns, recycled silk sari, recycled cotton sari, banana fiber yarn, recycled tee shirt fabric
16″ x 36″
2022
Building upon the ancient tradition of hand weaving textiles, the artist hand weaves and hand knots freeform designs for her tapestries on a frame loom. The artist uses a mix of fibers such as recycled sari fabric, banana fiber yarn, and recycled tee shirts, along with traditional wool, silk, cotton, and acrylic yarns. Many are hand spun and hand dyed in traditional ways by other local artisans. The inspirations for her highly textural and colorful work are primarily landscapes and seascapes.
@LerayjessDesigns
Kristi DiSalle
Radial Waves
yarn, acrylic paint
24″ diameter
2022
This piece is about color, texture, and movement. The cool colors are meant to recall ocean waves and their constant motion. As the waves undulate around the center, they draw the viewers’ attention to the woven portion of the piece. The radial weaving maintains the motion of the waves as it weaves into a textured central focal point.
Instagram.com/kristileighcreations, Facebook.com/wonderandwhimsy, Instagram.com/kristileighgillustration
Annamarta Dostourian
Wearing the World (Heliacal Rising of a Star as Seen from a Blue Planet)
jeweler’s wire, copper & industrial wire, Czech and Japanese crystal & glass beads, copper beads, wood
24″ x 13″ x 20″
2018
I envision my sculptural headdresses/apparel are magical windows allowing glimpses into unseen worlds when worn as living sculpture, allowing all people to wear crowns. I seek to resacralize apparel just as garments of antiquity signified dialogue with sacred dimensions. References for this piece come from such sources as art historical depictions of globes/maps, Carahunge, ancient astronomical observatory in Armenia (5,500 BC) and science fiction cinema costume. My practice relies on processes of weaving and crochet, translating these forms of women’s work into a contemporary practice with industrial materials. I loop and stitch wire, revealing interlaced form/emptiness, spheres encompassing the grid.
@annamartadostourianart
Rebecca Duffy
Reel Talk
digital photo
11×17
2022
“Reel Talk” takes a look into the world of Competitive Irish Dance, the fashion and the fun.
@redartichoke7
Kate Egnaczak
Culotte Gown, Collection Clothes
graphite on marker paper
8″ x 10″
2022
How do we quantify the human impact on a place? The “Collection Clothes” is a series of conceptual garments created for the collection and categorization of trash and other debris found on walking surfaces. Designed to complement and maximize walking as artistic practice, “Culotte Gown” is the first in a series of work clothes visually mending denim segments to elongated vinyl pockets. The garment’s ultra-wide fluted leg design incorporates varying elongated see-through pockets, a detachable train, and a fanny pack to add capacity. Imagine the artist cloaked in this, moving down a road or sidewalk, collecting artifacts of human consumerism.
@train_by_Living, FB Kate Egnaczak
David Etedgee
Ancient Patterns in New Light
stained glass
27” x 18”
2022
This window is based on a textile pattern on a woven rug acquired on a trip to Morocco. The woven and tile patterns in Moroccan design and architecture are both inspirational and personal to me as they reflect my own Moroccan origins.
Francine Gintoff
Dress For Success
acrylic paint and ink on found vintage chiffon dress
50″ x 24″
2021
This dress was the 1st inspiration for 55 dresses that followed. The series comprises vintage dresses from 1910-to contemporary examples. They range from children’s styles to adult.
John Gintoff
koochoor
drawn on inkjet print
11″ x 22″
2022
The Russian word for couture is drawn over the original collage.
Libia Goncalves-Quintero
Bambuco Dress, Heritage of Colombia
mixed media
16″ x 20″
2022
Typical women dress for this iconic musical and dance genre of Colombia, which indigenous origins come from the times of the colony; related to the countryside people. Women wear a ruffled white blouse that hangs off the shoulders adorned with lace and ribbons. A wide skirt made of satin, opens during dance showing the white petticoat made of tulle and lace. The Bambuco dance represents a couple’s romance, the flirt, the conquer through movement. In my work, the man is represented by the hat, that he usually throws on the floor, and she pretends to step on it.
libiagn@artsworcester
Emily Gowdey-Backus
Matching Set in Rust
cotton, spandex corduroy blend
69″ x 24″
2022
This is a matching outfit I made to wear to a wedding this summer in which guests were requested to rust-colored clothing. I had the fabric in my collection and chose to create an Ashton Top by Helen’s Closet and a wide-leg pair of Free Range Slacks by Sew House Seven. As garment prices rise and quality plummets, and clothing manufacturing practices continue to harm the environment, it’s increasingly important to me to procure clothing through sustainable methods and sometimes that means sew it myself.
@em_gowdeybackus
Martha Hauston
Mother Wore a Pillbox Hat
mixed media assemblage
13″ x 17″
2022
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994), was an international style icon known for style and elegance. She popularized “pillbox hats” and wore a Halston pink pillbox and Chanel pink suit on the day of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. My class practiced lettering that day, when the Principal announced the President had been shot. Jackie’s strength and grace fortified the nation and was a model for my Baby Boomer generation. This conceptual construction transforms personal memories into physical form. Found materials and constructions combine to evoke ot reflect experiences. My mother and I copied Jackie’s hair and clothing style.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthahauston
Lisa Hayden
Woodland Scarf
fabrics, wool embroidery thread, wood
6” x 14” x 36”
2022
I created this abstract scarf with a focus on texture and abstract forest elements. I’m imagining a woodland fairy hanging their scarf on tree branches at the end of their day. The circular shape of a wrapped scarf has always reminded me of birds’ nests – maybe a bird will come and make a nest while the scarf is unattended.
@meltedtheory
Obiamaka Igwenagu
Aplomb Pieced Together
oil paint on canvas
40 x 30 in
2022
Instagram: obiamaka.i & o.amaka.i
Courtney Johnson
The Corner
denim collage, glue, tempera paint and marker on paper
11×14
2022
I tend to express myself through my home decor. There is a corner in my home that I find simple yet beautiful. In this work, I chose to simplify this corner by creating shapes and using a monochromatic denim color scheme. I used layering/collage to create rhythm and texture.
Elijah Johnson
Harry Styles
acrylic on teabag
6 1/2” X 8 1/2”
2022
British pop star and fashion icon.
Christopher King
General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Pullover
woven fabric twine and cotton yarn
22″ long x 36″ wide x 7″ thick
2022
I experiment with up cycling materials into artwork, clothing, and sculpture. I use polyester and non-woven textile waste torn into long strips, twisted into twine, then woven with cotton yarn to form thick, flexible, and unique fabrics. These fabrics are hand sewn with twine joining selvedge loops to form this comfortable pullover. To me, the arms are reminiscent of those of The Robot in the 1960’s television series, Lost In Space, thus, the title of this work.
@kingchrisg
Louise Laplante
Paris Summer
pastel on collaged vintage paris guidebook pages
39 x 26 inches
2021
In my work I used collaged vintage book pages as the background for my pastel drawings. Paris has been the style capital of the world for many years. These vintage Paris guidebook pages inspired the stylish woman’s bathing “costume” from the 1930’s I placed on them.
www.LouiseLaplanteart.com
Stevie Leigh
Promise Everything
upcycled denim scraps, selvedge, thread, metal zipper
38″ x 26″ x 7″
2022
Stevie Leigh is a sustainable fashion designer based in Worcester, MA. Promise Everything was conceived from her process to make her other denim designs. To create her designs, Stevie must process the denim scraps she receives from tailor shops to be upcycled. She does this by removing the hem, selvedge and side seam; creating a lot of waste. Stevie decided to use this waste to create a textured textile. Stevie designed this coat to show that even the smallest of material need not to be discarded. Promise Everything is a reversible garment that also features a non-distressed denim patchwork side.
@ItsMeStevieLeigh
Madeleine Lord
Fall Collection
welded found steel
59 – 29 – 7
2022
All my works starts with the story in the scraps. The legging and Bolero scraps were the inspiration for this piece. Working with solid and see through to imitate heels to head was a blast.
@madeleinelordmadimetal
Ashley MacLure
Daddy Likes Your Hair Long
mixed media: collage, drawing, Play-Doh, acrylic, ink
2’x2′
2022
I was not allowed to cut my hair. “Daddy and Papa like long hair”, my mother said. I learned to please everyone around me. I never learned to say no; not in high school, not in college. My body does not exist for others. My hair is mine. My body is mine. What messages are we sending to our children through seemingly benign statements? I was more than the length of my hair.
@ashley.maclure
Rebecca McGee Tuck
Rogue Balloon Robe
graduation gown, single use plastic packaging, found and reused mylar balloons, thread
45″x60″
2021
Wrack Line- A trail of debris left on the beach by the high tide. I walk the wrack line of the coast of Massachusetts, collecting debris that washes ashore. The impact of trash in our environment has driven me to take a more active role in the ocean’s protection. This robe is covered with balloons collected on the beach. It raises awareness to the constant misuse of the ocean’s ecosystem. I transform pieces of marine debris into works of art and symbols of hope; calling attention to the consequences of polluting our oceans and encouraging a new commitment to action!
@rebeccabombshellart
Parker Milgram
Macrame (with acute accent on top of ‘e’)
colored pencil, marker, Uni-Ball pen, and Wite-Out on paper
6 x 8″ (without frame)
2022
@parkermilgram
Abu Mwenye
Abstract Women’s Skater Dress
polyester, spandex
Medium
2019
Dress to impress with this sleeveless skater dress! The soft fabric and flared skirt give it an elegant twist that brings out the intricate design with a beautiful vibrancy. This dress is printed with sections from original artworks which makes each dress an artistic original.
artbyabu.m @instagram
Raven Nelson
Untitled Self Portrait In Drag
graphite and charcoal on paper
18” x 25”
2021
This piece was created when I first began exploring gender and my transition into my identity as non-binary. I sketched myself looking in the mirror modeling drag that I felt identified with my idealized gender expression. My shirt is vintage and the top buttons are left open exposing some of my feminine chest, yet I sport a pencilled on mustache and a masculine up-do. I feel comfortable in the way that my feminine side intertwines with my masculine side. I crave to have someone look at me and question which gender I could possibly be.
Instagram.com/_rav3n.h3art_
Kat O’Connor
Shift
acrylic on wood panel
9 1/2″ X 4 3/4″
2022
Shift’ plays with the idea of clothing hiding or exposing the body beneath. It takes its cue from Greek sculptures of women where thin drapery allowed the artist to explore the human form. In order to create a diaphanous, ethereal quality to the fabric, I repeatedly layered paint on the wood surface then scraped it off. The body exists only where the shift exists, all other figurative elements are removed.
@katopaints
Emmanuel Opoku
Good Listener
oil on canvas
18″ x 24″ inches
2022
As a contemporary artist, I employ inspirations particularly from the surrealist technique – an involvement of juxtaposition with which I navigate my diasporic experience relating to uncertainties and forms of cultural assimilation. I consider photography as the initial stage of my paintings, and I understand photography as the means to present my body as an object. My portrait navigates the mysteries of identity that are shaped by time, space, and multiple experiences. The work expresses the status of and the values of the individual in the picture as well as expanding their autobiographical narratives and emphasizing the personal qualities.
emmanuelmanuopokuart
Stephen Paulson
I’m Too Sexy for My Hat
wood, metal, glass, found objects
28″ x 21″ x 11″
2022
stephenpaulson48 (Instagram)
Sophie Pearson
Locket
oil on wood
6×12″
2022
Lockets are personal; they contain photos of loved ones, items that we want to hold close, sometimes even the hair of those we care for. Mine contains the following: several sharks teeth I found with my husband in the place I grew up, a seashell from the same beach, a piece of pottery from the home in which I spent my teenage years, and some Swarovski crystals just for fun. The front is glass to show off its contents. It is special, it is mine, and it feels like home.
@creating.sophie
Anju Pillai
Hijab or No Hijab, We Will Shine!
acrylics on canvas
16”/16”
2022
This artwork is dedicated to the strength and determination of the women in Iran in their fight for freedom and a solemn tribute to those who died in this fight. To every woman across the globe fighting for the right to be allowed to make choices. To wear or not wear a hijab or any type of clothes should be the individual woman’s choice. No government or person has the right to dictate what a woman should be wearing, saying, behaving, or doing with her body. My Body, My Choice! To woman’s rights!
www.Instagram.com/artaesthetics_by_anju_pillai
Dominic Quagliozzi
Suit
used hospital gowns and thread
Men’s size 36S jacket, 30 pants
2019
Suit is a wearable soft sculpture made out of used hospital gowns that I wore during a hospitalization for complications from my double lung transplant. This work is serves as costume and uniform for me, as I feel like I’m cosplaying both a chronically ill patient and an healthy person, oscillating between two worlds.
@ArtistDominic
Rachel Rinker
Sinful Colors Protect Me
acrylic and collage on canvas
20”x10”
2022
“Sinful Colors Protect Me” is loaded with a passion for protecting queer and trans bodies. There is a kind of armor often found in what people wear to be safer in public spaces. There is a hint of irony in “Sinful Colors” from the name of the golden nail polish color I use in this piece and the inclusion of an “America the Beautiful” national parks pass holder. With the dangerous and real fear that exists in this country of queer and trans bodies, comes “Protect Me.” Protect queer and trans lives because they matter, period (all fashion choices aside).
@rachelrinker1
Pamella Saffer
Legacy
found plastic, cane
11″ X 14″
2022
What determines precious or fashionable? What, precisely, do we value? What legacy do we leave for those who come after? What do we do with all this plastic? The oldest living participatory democracy on Earth is widely considered to be the Iroquois Confederacy. Its founding document, the Great Law of the Haudenosaunee, is based on an ancient Iroquois philosophy: “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”
Piya Samant
Jasmine Marigold
oil on linen panel
12”x9”
2021
For centuries, western artists have celebrated women by portraying them as beautiful, powerful, and as nobility. Few parallels exist for South Asian women in art because we see them playing their designed roles in society. They have been captured as doting mothers, loyal wives, goddesses in temples, and homemakers performing chores Seldom does the art world have them as a muse to capture their beauty for who they are independent of their roles. This painting is part of a collection that portrays South Asian women in ephemeral moments of solitude, beauty, and thoughts of self-worth, free from societal burdens.
@art.by.Piyali
Brittany Severance
Butterfly Goddess
archival inkjet print
11″ x 14″ x 0
2017
@brittanyseveranceartist
Catherine Smith
Self-portrait in a Corset and Puffy Sleeves
archival print on paper
8 x 10 inches
2022
I have collected photographs for years, mostly old images of women in pants, before it became acceptable for us to wear these garments in public. I am always looking for examples of uncomfortable clothing and just found this from one the late 1890’s recently. The woman’s faint smile may have been genuine but I can only look at this image and feel pain. With a little help from photoshop, it has because a self-portrait.
Catesmithart
Edwin Smith
Flower Pattern #9
photo composite
16w x 20
2022
I have been experimenting this year with patterns and mandalas created from digital captures of flowers and other natural elements.
esphotodesign.myportfolio.com
Michelle Stevens
Chicky Shirt
fabric marker on fabric
XL Crew Neck Sweatshirt on Clothes Hanger
2022
@michellestevensart
Jill Strait
Rosie
watercolor, colored pencil and beadwork
14.25” x 17.25” framed
2022
This is the first complete piece in a series I am creating of watercolors embellished with beaded embroidery. This combines my history of beading which dates back to my childhood, and my love of watercolor. This series depicts local and not so local musicians and their instruments with patterns and flora. This is Rosie of Rosie Porter and the Neon Moons, from Western Massachusetts.
@jilldaisybanjo
Jacob Strock
Abominable Amalgamation 002: Fashion
mixed-media sculpture and collage – magazine cutouts collaged onto a button-down shirt stuffed with t-shirts and a wig, draped upon a 27”x12” stretched canvas attached to a clothes hanger
30″x30″x4″
2022
Created for Strut, “Fashion” is the second installment in my new collage series of what I dub “abominable amalgamations.” This work allows me to throw every material I have at the canvas without abandon, without standards for myself, without expectations, and with a sense of play, release, and discovery. The meanings of each work is shown to me progressively as I work on it. This one, of course, releases ideas of fashionable expression, gender expression and expectations, personal expression and time periods of fashion trends.
@jacobsalad_
Cathy Taylor
Crone Robe
patchwork cloth
36″x 36″x24″ mannequin
2021
I was brought up with my last name Weaver and have always been attracted to images with spiders and spiderwebs. As I am getting older I put together this crone robe and wear it whenever I need to reacquaint myself with my spider beginnings and the interconnectedness of life.
cathy_weaver_taylor
Trevor Toney
Glam-O-Rama
reconstituted east Indian rosewood, Baltic birch plywood, acrylic paint
11″x8″x2.25″
2022
My work is about wood and its interaction with shape and color. My forms are constructed with Baltic birch plywood and then veneered with wood. I then add paint in ways that compliment the qualities of the veneer while respecting its innate natural traits.
@TrevorToneyinColor
Katherine Valkyrie
Suit of Spite
acrylic on canvas
24 in by 24 in
2022
Over the years, I’ve found myself with a wardrobe that’s a mix of what would be considered traditionally male or traditional female clothes. I enjoy wearing both, either, or mixing it up, and breaking and contesting norms that currently exist. So, while some might argue whether a person simply either male or female, I would ask them again to consider neither.
@The_Dying_Sun
Michelle Valois
Manifest Under The Full Moon
acrylic on canvas with pyrite, jewely, gems and dried paint flowers
20 X 16
2022
1970 Scene, sweethearts manfesting a life together with light of the full moon
BellaTrees
Mihoko Wakabayashi
Double layered coat
alpaca, wool
22″ x 13″ x 53″
2022
I made this coat for myself last year. The outside layer is all alpaca yarn from local farms and the inside layer is all my handspun wool. It took a long time to spin enough to make the fabric. It is very practical and fashionable. It appears Japanese kimono style, which outside layer fabric is modesty but inside layer is playful and colorful. The slow fashion is my aim. Knowing the source of the fiber and making yarn, weaving, designing and sewing brouht me so much pleasure and I will cherish this coat for a long time.
@saoriworcester, @mihokotextiles
Jill Watts
Woke Up On The Wrong Side Of The Grass
cone 10 ceramics, stains, glazes, monofilament, fiber hat, glass head for base, photo images by anne mcnevin of artist in graveyard
H 10″ X D 12″ X W 10″
2022
A wise woman says repeatedly that, “It’s a good day if you wake up on the right side of the grass.” We know that one day, we will wake up on the wrong side of the grass. In some traditions, it is said that the dead do not realize they are deceased and wonder why they are not being included in their old life so food is set out for them and Lamas remind them that they have died and need to let go of their previous life, thus the artist wearing a portion of “ground” in the graveyard.
jillwattsart.wordpress.com/
David Wesley White
Jingoist Jester Hat
White House souvenir snapback, vintage American flag, cotton, thread, down goose feathers, various fabric, yarn, bell
24″ x 24″ x 84″
2021
This tongue-in-cheek jester hat sarcastically critiques American imperialism by turning symbols of war into a playful headpiece. The American flag has been cut up and crafted into spires with colorful, frilly details. The medieval court jester played an important role in medieval Europe—to entertain, educate, and challenge the ruling class, much like artists and comedians in the modern era.
@davidweswhite
Mark Zieff
You Can Talk Until You Are Blue In The Face
colored pencil on Canson paper
24″ x 18″
2021
I have always been fascinated with old, manufactured objects – the well-worn and imperfect. These objects are a link with the past, our human past. Though ordinary, they are a quiet reminder that the true meaning and richness of life still comes from the simple and mundane activities of everyday living. More recently I have begun to focus on our relationships with clothing – it is the most complex and unique among manufactured objects. Many of the clothes in my drawings are my own and I use my artwork as a way to explore my own connections with the past.
@markzieffart
