Our 2024/25 Art in Nature residency season has officially come to a close. And while we wait for applications to roll in for next year's residency season (applications are due July 15th), we are reminiscing about the projects that came from this year's residents and what impact they made on our community. In the spotlight today is painter and printmaker who came to us from UCSB, Megan Koth
@megakoth .
In her own words, "My ongoing sustainable clothing project "+ Koth" materialized through my longtime love of cyanotype photography and secondhand clothing.
As a frequent thrift shopper, one is confronted with the sheer, existentially overwhelming volume of unwanted, discarded clothing that exists (85% of donated clothing in the US winds up in a landfill.) I began to contemplate how I could utilize this (never-ending) supply of donated clothing (especially clothing with minor flaws) as material for creative output. I began embellishing these flawed garments with my own designs using sun-reactive dyes, covering stains and discoloration that originally deemed them disposable, oftentimes also replacing buttons or performing other mending. This gesture of care breathes new life into clothing items that have had a rich life already, and due to their “flaws” were destined to be discarded.
Before my residency began, I asked my fellow artists in residence, those at Taft, and others in the community to give me well-worn garments of theirs to upcycle, to ultimately be returned to them at the conclusion of the showcase. During my residency, I walked the gardens capturing daily changes to the landscape, collecting specimens, and creating new graphics documenting the gardens."
Megan displayed her upcycled clothing, swaying in the wind, along the beams in our arbor that stretches between the Historic Art Studio and the Amphitheater. And from her exhibit, we all came away thinking more deeply about how what we wear impacts our environment and how we can be more mindful of our relationship with fast fashion.
#megankoth
