USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia-S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 19, No. 36
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September 4, 2019
1 Section, 8 Pages Nester Taylor in his studio at First City Art Center. photo by Bara'ah Jaraiseh
Art with
PINS & NEEDLES NEEDLES by kaitlyn peacock
T
ired of the drab clothes on offer at Walmart or the stores at Cordova Mall? Looking for something more from your outfits? Well, you have the ability to do that with your own two hands. Surprise!
Tired of the drab clothes on offer at Walmart or the stores at Cordova Mall? Looking for something more from your outfits? Well, you have the ability to do that with your own two hands. Surprise! First City Art Center is offering their Pins and Needles class with instructors Melanie Elliott and Nester Taylor. According to her biography, Elliott has been employed at JoAnn Fabric Store fro 14 years and has been teaching for the past 13. She is also the person who first taught Taylor how to sew. After he went to JoAnn’s to pick up some fabric, she took him under her wing and taught him everything she knew. Now, Taylor is a student at Pensacola State College and runs his own studio, Studio G, out of FCAC. He teaches the Pins and Needle class alongside Elliott. For Taylor, his garments
are a way to express his art in the pattern as well as the way the fabric is put together. “I like to put my art in my clothes,” he said. “If it’s the stitching, or the way the pattern is cut, anything like that. When I sew something or do something, they can see that it’s my design. Just like when people look at these prints, they know they’re my prints without thinking about it. It’s the stitch and the art of it.” While clothing may not be someone’s first choice of art, nor what they immediately think about when they think of art, Taylor said fashion and the design work that goes into his garments work with the same principles as all other artwork. “It’s surprising that clothing doesn’t come up when people mention art,” he said. “The reason probably why is because most of our stuff is made in China, but if you ask any tailor or someone
that does pattern making or garment making, even someone who makes gowns and stuff. It has to be an art. It’s the same principle as graphic design, photography. You have to have it in your head before you put it out on paper. It’s ideas, and to make it art, it’s just taking the principle from the garments and applying what makes it beautiful to you just like the pictures that you paint. You can sit out here and paint an apple tree, but anyone is going to implement something different to that apple tree. The apple tree is the foundation of the painting. The fabric itself is the foundation of the garment. When the artist or the individual gets to it and applies scissor, needles and thread, that’s when it becomes art.” Taylor and Elliott have teamed up to help instruct Pins and Needles as a way to help people interested in their own style and fashion be able to express themselves. The class is designed to teach the very basic skills all the way up to more advanced skills, meaning anyone can enter the class and learn to make their own clothing. Taylor describes the first two classes as “boot camp,” where attendees learn the very basics. The six-week
Pins and Needles gives attendees a hands-on experience with basic and advanced sewing techniques. Photo courtesy of First City Art Center
course has already run once and is on its second series, with some students returning to learn even more skills. Returning students are given more private instruction along with a combined class where they learn more advanced techniques. While most people have to look up videos of how to do the very basic of sewing techniques, replacing a lost button for example, this class offers a next-level experience. “There’s nothing like this around here,” Taylor said. “There’s some fabric stores that teaches sewing, but there’s nothing else. Designers who know how to sew are out there, we just don’t have a group. I’m trying to create that society for us.” The class isn’t just for people interested strictly
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in typical fashion and clothing. Taylor also said the lessons can be applied for more abstract projects like designing and creating cosplay costumes. The techniques are still the same, even if the projects are a little different, and it’s all the same expression of art. “That’s a part of art, it’s fashion, it’s what interests them,” Taylor said. “They don’t have to sew a threepiece suit with a button down, if they want to sew something like a Link, Zelda, princess whatever uniform so they can express themselves, that’s the same.” Pins and Needles is currently ongoing at FCAC. The series will be offered again, so keep an eye on www. firstcityart.org for updates or for more information on the class.
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