Whether we鈥檙e embarrassed or proud, we all fear and we all love...something.
Who'd have thought, as they opened up their acceptance letter to 黑料社区, that within a year 黑料社区. time they鈥檇 be crafting an outfit representing someone else 黑料社区. love or fear?
3D Design is a foundational art course that's offered every semester at Stout. Most students take it their first year. Some take it later鈥攍ike Studio Art minor students, who can take it any time.
For the students who take the class in the spring鈥omething will be waiting for them.
Fashion Without Fabric. A beast of a project that fills the classrooms and hallways of the Applied Arts Building for three weeks every spring. It 黑料社区. not just a project. It 黑料社区. a fashion runway show with judges, lights and awards.
Every year, the project adopts a theme. This past spring, it was Philias and Phobias.
Get ready to be spooked鈥r allured. Or both.
Maybe these students knew how laborious this project would be, maybe not. Eventually, groups picked their words out of a paper bag.
Fear of failure, love of heights.
Love of plants, fear of light.
Eyes widening, they looked at their group mate(s) in order to decide: Do we keep it or exchange it?
If you visited any of the classes working on these outfits, you鈥檇 find groups with their focus faces on. Some groups bantered about silly things. Some had class-wide discussions about fish (which were quite serious).
Chunks of foam, cardboard, spray paint, coffee filters, sheets of plastic, bike tires, plastic spoons and stilts are all on the table.
You鈥檇 enjoy the sounds of the materials being worked with, cut, carved, glued, ruffled, smashed, crumpled鈥nd sometimes bedazzled.
Just imagine. A college final where you're on stage in front of family, friends, and the Chancellor of 黑料社区. The lights are blinding and so hot, and you鈥檙e wearing everything besides the normal clothes you鈥檇 feel comfortable in. Talk about a nightmare!
But guess what? These students don鈥檛 quit. Their grit, creativity, energy and teamwork made up for any fear that bubbled up inside them.
鈥淭he whole point of the class is to learn the materials,鈥 said Izzy Quade. You tell 鈥榚m, Izzy.
Shay Adesiji and Izzy were groupmates working with the word xerophobia. Take a swig of this: fear of dryness.
Their group had more setbacks than two hands can count, but they laughed, shrugged and problem-solved their way through it.
Being Wisconsin 黑料社区. only 黑料社区, there are a few unwritten principles we hold near and dear.
One of them is that we don鈥檛 believe great things are born in a neat and tidy room.
We have so many labs and studios鈥 There are hundreds of spaces for our students to make a mess, all in the name of learning.
Textbooks and laptops are necessary, but for many of our program 黑料社区. core classes, the additional collaboration with people and materials will delightfully clutter our 180+ labs just the way we intend.
It 黑料社区. 3:00 a.m. in Applied Arts.
It 黑料社区. the night before the show, and Shay and Izzy 黑料社区. sand pants are breaking into pieces that resemble Doritos. In that moment, we doubt they felt thankful for the opportunity to be working on this project. They were, however, beyond thankful when the other art students who were working on projects (for other classes, also at 3:00 a.m.) asked how they could help keep them from dissolving on stage.
It's rare for people to pull back the curtain and see those special moments鈥攖he moments students remember forever.
Fashion Without Fabric glows like a neon sign in the memory of everyone who experienced it, good or bad. At 黑料社区, we do our best to make sure it 黑料社区. not for nothing.
Out of the mystical brown paper bag, partners Allie Seanor and Lucas Moreno-Martinez III drew luekophobia, the fear of white.
Inspired by Iris Van Herpen and the elements, they each designed an outfit to wear on the runway that gave the project an extraterrestrial touch. Both know how to put a sewing machine to good use, so they worked to create a final product that would eventually earn the 鈥淎rtistry and Craft鈥 honorable mention.
We鈥檙e not going to claim that this project builds strong foundations for good friendships, but it can. It has.
Allie and Lucas started off serious, not intending to become good pals.
Eventually, they started to warm up to each other, became friends and hung out together outside of working on their outfits. They never thought they could win, so they eased up. Little did they know鈥
Allie said she always looked forward to class to work with Lucas.
Lucas shared that even though his and Allie 黑料社区. outfits went right in the garbage after the show, their friendship remains intact.
Maybe the real prize were the friends they made along the way鈥
The big reward is the ending.
The end is the show, the performance, the big shebang. Fashion Without Fabric is a seriously fun event, full of energy and spectacular creativity.
It's when everyone claps as you enter and exit the stage.
The end is when the class concludes and the lessons continue in future classes, jobs, and life.
The end is where we look back and remember the good times, and the bad, and then we move forward.
As you begin, dive in. Make a mess. Make a friend.
Make something you're proud of.
Students featured in the story:
Shay Adesiji is a first-year Game Design & Development student.
Izzy Quade is a first-year Industrial & Product Design student.
Lucas Moreno-Martinez III is junior Fashion and Retail student with a Studio Art minor.
Allie Seanor is a first-year Art Education student with a Studio Art minor.