Meet the latest round of Emerging Artists at this year's Three Rivers Arts Festival

Isabella: How would you explain the type of art you have here today?

Rebekah: My current project is Flux Bene which is a line of zero-waste, gender-neutral clothing. So each piece is one of a kind, and we're upcycling clothing that already exists into clothing that will be loved for a long time by adding textile art and large pockets. And, yeah, we're really happy to be here.

Isabella: Where do you upcycle most of the clothing from?

Rebekah: A lot of shirts recently have been from eBay, so they're all secondhand, and I tried to find ones that have a small problem, like, maybe it's missing a button or has a hole or a stain, and not all of them are that way. Sometimes I’m going to the thrift store, and I look for shirts that are about to leave the thrift store. So, not everyone knows this, but things in the thrift store stay for about a month, sometimes even less, because they're incredibly inundated with clothing donations. So I look for the things you can tell by the color tags that are on their way out and think, “Well, maybe we can save these,” you know, like, let's see what we can do to keep these out of the landfill. And then the fabric I get from really just so many different sources. And then we add, we hand dye things, we add quilting and embroidery and block printing, screen printing, all that. A lot of different fiber arts. 

Isabella: What inspired you to start upcycling? 

Rebekah: I needed more pockets, and I've always preferred secondhand shopping. I think you end up with a more interesting wardrobe when you do it that way. And then as I started learning about fast fashion, the environmental effects of it, and the labor issues surrounding it, I was even more interested, I became committed and buying secondhand, so I was already doing that. And then I needed more pockets. So I started adding pockets to my clothes, and then other people were, like, “Whoa, I need more pockets too.” And so that's where I started.

Isabella: Do you have any advice for artists wanting to start creating art? 

Sarah: I would say, I mean, I know it sounds cheesy but follow your heart because when I started off doing this, people discouraged me a little bit because people said, like, “Oh, people just want to buy coffee cups, and they’re not going to buy vases.” But I just kept doing this technique, and, at first, it was, like, terrible. So I would just say find something that you’re really interested in, and, you know, don’t worry about what you think other people are going to think. Just do what you think is going to be good. 

Isabella: How long have you been doing art? 

Sarah: Gosh, about 27 years. I’ve just been experimenting with this technique and playing around with it for a couple of years. 

Isabella: What are you most excited about this week at the festival? Sarah: Lots of good food, just talking to people. I’ve talked to some really interesting people so that’s been really fun.

Isabella: Why did you initially decide to start making earrings? 

Prachi: I really love wearing statement earrings, but the statement earrings would be weighed down, and that's why it would get heavy and my ears would start hurting. That's why I started making macrame earrings using cotton, and it's very lightweight, and I love that about my earrings because it's different. I can add so many details because I use thin thread, and it's lightweight. So it looks very interesting, and I love that. 

Isabella: What does the process of making the earrings look like? 

Prachi: So what I do is basically I get my cotton thread, I attach it to my hoops, and I make knots one at a time, and at the end, I will cut the fringes, trim it, iron it, and that's the process.

Isabella: What are you most excited about being at the festival this week?

Prachi: Meeting people definitely, building my base, that's what I'm excited about, and, like, sharing my art.

Isabella: What kind of designs do you have here today? 

Bill: I have a lot of sports figures doing sporting things, hunters, guns, bartenders, Star Wars, just basically different activities, man-cavey stuff, and a few that aren’t guys but just kind of steampunk-ish. 

Isabella: What does the process of making these fixtures look like? 

Bill: I get a gas pipe from a supply house and electrical from electrical supply houses. I was an electrician, so I know all these places to get the stuff and just load up in my workshop. So then I have whatever I need for whatever I come up with to try next so I have all the stuff sitting there so I don’t have to go around every time I wanna do one or remake one. 

Isabella: What are you most excited about being at the festival this week? 

Bill: It’s just awesome, I never expected, you know, you don’t expect to be selected. You just hope for the best, and then when you actually get it, it’s, like, amazing.