mimyci’s tailors spend hours measuring, cutting, fashioning, and sewing discarded boat material into bags, but what happens to the leftover scraps? Because we value wasting nothing and bringing more beauty into the world, the scraps found new life!
We know that encouraging creativity in ourselves and in others leads to a more beautiful world. On Saturday December 9th, mimycri hosted a workshop led by Stephen Hiam, a local Berlin artist. With a group of about 15, they engaged with the rubber boat material. Each participant became their own artist, imagining what and how the scraps of rubber material could be made new.
The material was stretched, woven, hole-punched, twisted, and folded. Bracelets, key chains, chokers, and weavings came alive. Working with their hands, each fellow artist created something personal and unique.
“This makes it so real—the opportunities and possibilities we have with waste—we can think and consider everything much more multi-dimensionally.”
Sitting at the table was Maia, who shared while braiding her bracelet, “I would have never thought that the material from rubber boats could be made fashionable or wearable. This makes it so real—the opportunities and possibilities we have with leftovers—we can think and consider everything much more multi-dimensionally.”
Tracing the folds and lines from when people held on for safety and with hope, reminds us of the value this material has. And as we venture to create something new from it again, it serves as a tangible reminder that the material carries more than artistic potential, but also peoples’ experiences.