How Many? By Textile Artist Aukje Boonstra

How Many?


How many people have worn it?
How many children has it kept warm?
How many times was it given and received?
How many times was it bought and sold?
How many cupboards was it stored in?
How many bags did it travel in?
How many lives did it lead?

Unknown stories…
Unanswered questions…..

Working with materials, such as woollen blankets and clothing collected in 2nd hand shops and what has been given to me, continues to fascinate me.
All the unknown stories…
All the unanswered questions….

By dyeing, stitching and embellishing the materials and make them into art works, I give them another life and honour them.

How many people will look at them?

How many…..?

Aukje Boonstra.

 
Artist statement of Aukje Boonstra.


I enjoy making textile art works of materials which other people don’t need any more. Going around tip shops and op shops to find treasures to work with, is one of life’s joys for me. Even small scraps of fabric and bits of thread, everyone else would throw out, I still find a use for. Often I am given, clothes or woollen blankets and all sorts of other things, with the words: You can do something with this. Most of the time, I can.

My main passions are Natural Dyeing and Stitching. Going into nature to collect dye sources in the form of leaves, bark, flowers is wonderful. And after a storm I often find fallen of branches with the leaves I can use for dyeing. I use woollen blanket and silk to dye and with stitching and embellishing I turn them into art works.
Another passion of mine is turning second hand garments into trendy wearable art.
Making do and recycling is important to me.