Plastic cups, dog tags and nettles: The unlikely items that made some of Wearable Art’s memorable looks

Wearable Art didn’t just spotlight the talent of local creators.

Many pieces made use of recycled materials and showed the way refuse could be reused to create a new work of art .

These included Rhonda Jenkins Gardinier’s first-place piece “Wishes & Prayers in Turbulent Times,” which also placed second in audience voting.

Jenkins Gardinier’s piece made use of wire, wire hangers, tin can ends and fishing swivels, and moved in surprising ways while she made her way down a tarmac-themed runway.

“I love tin cans because it’s a beautiful material we throw away every day,” Jenkins Gardinier said after the show.

The tin can ends in the ensemble had words punched on them, “like a prayer wheel idea,” Jenkins Gardinier said.

She wasn’t the only one to make her mark using person’s trash.

Here are five other notable entries from Wearable Art 2019: Tailwind that captivated the crowd with sustainable materials.

“Plastic Resurrection” by artists Karen Smith and Olivia Moore

The piece was modeled by Moore and made use of every part of a few hundred discarded Alaska Airlines Plastic cups. The artists used a heated blade to separate the rims of the cups from the rest of cup and used them to create the piece’s high collar. It finished third in audience voting.

Flipping Out” by artist Michelle Morris

The juror’s second-place selection also made heavy use of reused material, including plankton nets from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Ahead of the show, Morris said she had been working on the piece since fall of 2018 and said seeing how everyday items are transformed is a big part of Wearable Art’s draw.

“I guarantee you will never look at some everyday materials the same way again,” Morris said.

“Kith and Kin” by artists Peggy Corazza and Alicia Harris

The 13th entry in this year’s wearable art was a swiveling, jingling ensemble made of recycled rabies tags, dog licenses, slip leashes, basket muzzles, umbrellas, tuttle, fishing line and snap swivels. The artists thanked Juneau Animal Rescue for donations and materials in the Wearable Art Program. “Kith and Kin” was selected by judge Melissa Griffith for an honorable mention.

“Calm in the Wild” by Jessica Sullivan and “Magnolia Grace” by “Serena Drazkowski”

Not every piece relied of man-made leftovers.

These two pieces made use of plant materials to create two of the night’s most memorable pieces. “Calm in the Wild” placed third in the show and made use of stinging nettle, fireweed, beach rye grass, spruce roots and cow parsnip.

“Magnolia Grace” featured dried flowers, leaves, berries, pampas grass and activated charcoal along with copper wire, fishing line and glue.

Drazkowski modeled her piece and shed a small trail of plant matter while she danced down the catwalk with the night’s coolest moves.

“She’s a bad mama jama,” said Ericka Lee, one of the event’s emcees.

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• Contact arts and culture reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.

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