Greensky Patchworks

As long as fast fashion is “in fashion,” the global mindset will remain a throwaway culture.
How do you change the global mindset? Fashion activism.
Fashion Dictates Culture.

New Upcycled Jeans I made! Size 14 Eddie Bauer. Lots of great patches!

upcycleuprising.etsy.com

After a serious artist block I decided for this custom Steal Your Face on a nighttime mushroom scene w a constellation bolt -which was a total experiment. Buyer likes astronomy & also wanted mushrooms! The shrooms are a super silky vintage silk that was once a wedding nightgown from the 70s that I dyed light blue. I hope buyer doesn’t see this post-wanting to surprise him. I’m 8days late on shipping—so says corporate Etsy who took a huge chunk of sale. I mean huge!

Inspiring

My mother makes embroidered art pieces like this and nobody believes me when I tell them how long each one takes. This cottage scene with its garden full of textured flowers, the dimensional trees in pink and orange, that little blue bird on the roof, it took her four months working every evening after dinner. Four months of tiny stitches creating depth and texture, French knots for flower centers, satin stitch for petals, each element layered to make it look like you could walk down that path into the cottage.
She started doing embroidery after my father died five years ago. Said she needed something to focus on that wasn't grief, something beautiful to create when everything felt broken. I'd come over and find her at the kitchen table with her hoop and threads, building these elaborate gardens stitch by stitch. At first I thought it was just a hobby to pass time, but then I saw the first finished piece and realized she wasn't making crafts, she was making art that belonged in galleries not stuck in a drawer.
I convinced her to start selling her work. She refused at first, said nobody would want to buy what an old woman stitched in her kitchen, but I took photos and opened a shop for her on Tedooo app anyway. Within a week she had three orders and I watched her face transform when she realized people valued what she created. Now she takes commissions for custom pieces, people send her photos of their homes or gardens and she recreates them in thread and fabric. She's also started buying specialty threads and embellishments from other makers on Tedooo app, building a community with people who understand the patience required for this kind of work.
Last month someone ordered a piece based on their childhood home that burned down, wanted my mother to recreate it exactly as they remembered with the garden their grandmother planted. My mother worked on it for six weeks, texted me photos of her progress, and when she shipped it the customer sent back a message saying they cried when they opened the package. That's what my mother does now, she builds memories in thread for people who've lost things they can't get back. Her embroidery isn't just pretty pictures, it's proof that beauty can come from grief, that broken things can learn to create again, one careful stitch at a time

https://upcycleuprising.etsy.com/listing/4471957783

My brother, Jonathan is an amazing talented filmmaker. His latest documentary is going to save the planet.

Food System Doc 'Fork In The Road' Premieres At Sonoma Film Festival The broken food system documentary 'Fork in the Road' premiered at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California's wine country.