Katrina Perdue
garden tub revival, 2022
plastic Rubbermaid tub repaired with hemp cord 22" d x 14"h
This plastic tub was rescued from the curb after many years of use in our neighborhood garden. A drill was used to make holes for sewing hemp cordage through the plastic with a steel blunt needle. Cracked areas were sutured back together and holes were filled by darning patches with the cordage. The handles were missing, so I made new ones from several strands of hemp cord braided together. Imagine what change we could make if we all considered repair as an option before tossing something to the landfill.
Katrina Perdue
when the bottom drops out, 2022
seagrass basket, wood handles, repaired with hemp cord, cotton, wool, and polyester yarns 13"w x 7.5"h x 8"d
Our old sidewalk chalk basket had been used and left outside and dropped and at some point smashed. The bottom had literally fallen out. Most would throw it in the garbage, I saw a perfect opportunity for weaving by using the wire structure to create a warp.
Katrina Perdue
a vessel for water, 2022
rubber water bottle, cotton thread, purple heart plant cutting 13" x 8" x 2"
Mending represents emotional and physical labor while offering an alternative response to the modern realities of material excess. My work is about seeing the potential in worn-out everyday objects - not only to preserve and restore, but also to offer a renewed sense of value, appreciation, and usefulness. This visual interplay of abundance and scarcity calls into focus the paradox of fixing things in a culture of mass consumerism and disposability. Through repair, we can rethink consumption and imbue our own value on possessions and resources. Using darning techniques in traditional and nontraditional ways, stitching serves as a visual representation of mending as an act of care. To fix something – to make it whole again – is an act of healing.
Katrina Perdue
great garbage vortex (the modern “rag” rug), 2022
seam bindings, phone chargers, ribbon, zippers, elastic, rope, lace binding, tulle, badge neck strap, aux cord, piping, netting, disposable face maskes, faux leather bracelet, cloth lei, faux flowers, nylon strap, basketball net, nylon cord, twill tap, nonwoven reusable bag, camera charger, bead necklaces, wig strips, neoprene coozie, clothing selvedges, kinesiology tape, wired ribbon, guitar string, elastic straps, shoelaces, fake spider web, ethernet cord, pipe cleaners, pom pom, tangled thread, 50" + diameter
Old phone chargers that stopped working, strips of various netting, ropes, bias tapes, disposable masks, busted zippers, worn out elastic, shoelaces. To my knowledge, all of these items that fall in the textiles category are not recyclable. Where do they most likely end up? The landfill. The rivers. Ditches. The ocean. Wrapped around wildlife and trees. Most made from synthetic materials and will take years to break down, if ever. And they are all familiar to every one of us. The rag rug traditionally uses old clothes or sheets that are no longer wearable. We certainly still have plenty of that to work with - but now we have so much textile related waste that can’t even be made into rags. This is our modern "rag" rug.
Katrina Perdue
what would our grandmothers say?, 2022
handmade quilts and afghans in need of repair, from artist's family collection, 1925 Singer Sphinx treadle machine in custom table 46" w x 18" d x 46" h
