Studs, Lecture, and Oil.
I’ve been busy working on a handful of projects. One of which has been studding/patching a denim vest. Apparently, studs are now becoming fashionable as Burberry is releasing their own line of studded biker jackets for the Spring. No joke. They do have one sweet coat, that I like the design called Warrior Biker Jacket which looks super expensive and out of some science fiction movie. Plus, it’s leather which isn’t vegan. I tried to get into riveting before my own clothing – so I found a cheap rivet gun that came with “all sizes” of rivets. Sounded like a good deal. Turns out, there’s special rivets for clothing and I got a wood riveting gun. I thought I could use rivets of any sorts to rivet but these were so long. Now, I can rivet a boat but that’s not what I wanted to do. I haven’t looked back into it since. DIY mishaps, right?
I am almost done studding the vest – debating if I’ll post pictures of it. It looks pretty awesome. I also started working again on my crust pants. This isn’t an overnight project. I’ve spent 10 hours on them so far (started out of necessity because I wore a hole in my legs by my crotch) and no where near being close to done. Mine are going to be different then those pictured because I am sewing on every single patch – around the patch with white dental floss. Which means, they’ll be as tough as nails and not fall apart but the trade-off is that it’d take forever. But, I’ll also be able to wash them.
Apart from that, I am working on putting together a lecture so I need to read a couple of books for that about oppression. There’s more to it then that, but it’s a secret. I am planning on turning the lecture into a zine and have it available online so other people can make their own presentation. More on that later.
Oh, remember that big oil spill that I wrote about a couple of months ago? The oil leak has finally stopped. We’ll see if it holds. It’s the biggest oil spill in United States history.
As if to state the obvious, I’ll be posting less as I get my lecture together plus finish up these paintings I’m doing. I’ll have an epic post once the lecture is completed though. I am also halfway done reading “Watership Down” and I’ll be writing a book review soon. I also need to get my paintings done if I’ll have them together in time to make a calendar so I have a bit on my plate right now. I’ll write again sometime. Blog isn’t forgotten – just on hold right now. 🙂
Designs and Punk Gear on Etsy
So, I thought I finished my jewelry designs. I have four done so far. But inspiration struck and I am trying to figure out this design. It’s going to be something great and iconic. It’s a logo for something that has yet to be define and needs definition to represent itself to the world at large. I can do this. So, my brain is currently in logo land.
I’ll share my work once they are made/copyrighted and all that fun stuff. The pieces have anarchist/feminist/queer/vegan themes to them. The idea of the project is to donate some of the profits to charities to support the different causes. So, you get a cool piece of jewelry plus help fight the good fight.
So, I’m an artist or I pretend to be. I am still working on some awesome paintings that I’ll post pictures of them when they are done. I have very little of my current work online but you can see it on my etsy if you want.
I have a patch I made and a few vests I worked on for sell online. For stuff, here at etsy.com. The Riot Grrrl vest has about 2,000+ studs on it. They aren’t the cheap studs either, they are steel with bronze. Which means if you are daring like I was, you can wash it without it getting rusty. I hang dried it. It’s really clean though so I don’t think it needs to be washed again. It’s really awesome but it’s like 8 pounds of studding. The other vest is really cool and a lot lighter. It’s a classic punk vest. It’s a little ironic with the band Conflict being painted on leather. It has about 1,000 studs on it. It’s pretty easy to repaint over the bands if you don’t want those/want different ones. I used Tester Acrylic Paint Markers.
Punk 101: Studs and Spikes
Where would punk rockers be without studs and spikes? I recommend only using studs because it’s not mosh pit friendly having spikes. You can really hurt someone with spikes. I never wear spikes – because I don’t trust myself not to stab myself with them.
Studs and spikes are the perfect accessory to any punk look. They are intimidating and shiny. The best website to get studs and spikes from is http://studsandspikes.com/.
Denim is pretty easy to stud. You just take the stud, push it through the fabric, and use a spoon or pliers to bend the ends secure. Studding leather is a little bit more involved. First, you need to put the stud on the leather and let the prongs leave a mark. Then, where the mark is left from the prongs, take a dart and make holes in the leather. Then put the prongs through the hole and use a spoon or pliers to secure the stud in place. For a video tutorial go here.
It takes a lot of time to stud things so be patient. I usually prefer studs with some space between them because solid studding gets really heavy. I have a vest that’s very well studded and it weights 8 pounds. My favorite studded vest has about 100 studs on the back – it looks awesome without being too heavy. Sometimes less is more – remember that. Good luck! Happy studding!
