I broke my ankle right before Thanksgiving, which really stifled my ability to lead any workshops since that time. I’m easing back into some, and have several events and activities planned already for the next four months. In many ways I’m playing catchup, sharing the fun events that took place during the fall season as I collaborated with the community through the Entangled and Ingested plastic sewing activism workshops.
The goal of these workshops was to bring awareness to the issue of plastic pollution and to create a life-sized portrait of the Pygmy Right Whale by re-using unrecyclable plastic materials. The final product will measure 24 x 12 feet, but to make this more manageable to transport, I created 128 individual 20-inch square pieces, that once sewn together will produce the portrait.
The workshops were held in collaboration with various organizations, including Wilton Go Green, the University of Hartford, and the Seabury community in Bloomfield, and the Charter Oak Cultural Center‘s after school program.
On November 5th, we teamed up with Wilton Go Green to bring awareness to the importance of sustainability and the role that each individual can play in reducing plastic waste. This is such an amazing and active group! So well informed about the issues and doing a lot of great work to change things! Participants worked together to create a unique and stunning portrait of the Pygmy Right Whale.
We also had the opportunity to collaborate with Professor Billie Lee and Professor Christy Corey’s classes at the University of Hartford on November 7th and 10th, respectively. The students were eager to learn about the issue of plastic pollution and to use their creativity to make a difference.
Finally, we held a workshop at the Seabury community in Bloomfield on November 9th and had a great turnout (also, they have the best baked goods around!) Participants came together to learn about the impact of plastic pollution and to use their sewing skills to create a beautiful and meaningful work of art.
I also lectured at the Middletown Garden Club, with students at Irving Robins Middle School, for professor Nirav Patel’s class at SUNY Binghamton, and with the McLean community in Simsbury Connecticut.
I am so proud to have collaborated with the community to raise awareness about the impact of plastic pollution on our oceans and to bring people together to take action.
The workshops were a huge success, and while I’m still not back to 100%, I am already planning for more in the future.
Stay tuned for more updates on our upcoming workshops and other exciting events.
Kat Owens 