Art Fx is a year-long series on Huntsville Doppler featuring Huntsville-area visual artists. This month has been generously sponsored by Artists of the Limberlost.
“Garageland” upcycled vegan leather rings by Jackie Stanley (aka Cursed Arrows Trading Company) are made from scraps of synthetic leather-like material and recycled polyester thread. They are comfortable, durable, water-resistant, and lightweight.
“All of my pieces are named after songs, and these rings were a family affair: when my son saw the finished design, he suggested that it be named after a song by The Clash [and]‘Garageland’ was born,” says Jackie. “The song is, in my mind, about embracing and championing that which isolates you and confines you to the fringes of society.”
Jackie is self-taught, both as a jewellery designer and as a musician. She is singer, guitarist, and drummer in the band Cursed Arrows. “My guerilla approach to creating art, I believe, is evident in the sharp lines, bold geometric shapes, and unapologetic jet-black of these rings.”
Cursed Arrows Trading Company began in earnest in 2016, notes Jackie, “when I started cutting up old damaged clothing headed to the landfill, and making as much of it into jewellery as possible. I found myself trading these pieces in exchange for small pieces of furniture, toys for my infant son, and other people’s art. Friends began to commission me to make them punk-inspired wearable art pieces, and I happily obliged, thrilled to be using up tiny scraps of what would otherwise end up in the trash, and infusing them with new life. Most of these pieces have lasted five years and counting. Not bad for upcycled waste, right?”
Jackie has recently begun to incorporate colourful, earth-friendly textiles into her work, like cork, hemp, and cotton. “These are sourced from fellow local makers and suppliers in an effort to connect to my community, while ensuring that I use as wide a variety of textile scraps as possible in my designs.”
About the artist
“I strive to work in solidarity with the hundreds of millions of people worldwide whose nimble hands create almost everything we in the West buy new,” says Jackie. “Synthetic fibres, in particular, comprise the majority of worldwide textile consumption. These folks—mostly women—work countless hours behind machines earning next to no income, and attempting to learn what they do in factories every day is humbling. Hence my focus on reusing the textiles they labour so hard over, building awareness around the issue of textile waste, and the ethics of labour in the fashion industry.”
A wide selection of Jackie’s jewellery is currently on display and available for sale at The Great Vine (36 Main St. E, Huntsville).
You can find the Cursed Arrows Trading online shop on Etsy, follow along on Instagram @cursedarrowstrading, or email Jackie at info@cursedarrows.com.
See more local art in Doppler’s Art Fx series here.
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