Calf leg shirt

Back in August last year when I had a big hiatus from the blog, I was working on this leather garment following an example from traditional american indian clothing.  The important findings here related to material expression.  The natural shape of the leather has inherant information which guides the making and design process.  The neck part of the animal creates a shape similar to the head of a sleeve.  I named this approach "whole hide use" and differentiate between this and an approach of zero waste.  When this traditional American Indian method of creating garments was conceived, the concept of waste didn't exist.  Thinking in zero waste terms would be anachronistic.  Being in a headspace where waste doesn't exist or have meaning offers a very different way of looking at the problem.

Conn, R & Denver Art, M 1974, Robes of white shell and sunrise : personal decorative arts of the native American : [catalogue of an exhibition] Denver Art Museum, November 9, 1974-January 19, 1975, Denver Art Museum, Denver.