I can’t figure out who did it.










I can’t figure out who did it.
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they arrive at a fork in their road. They are faced with a choice. For some of us, we decided long ago what our answer would be. Some of us have no choice. For some of us, the fork is still in the drawer, hanging out with the spoons.
The choice I’m speaking of, obviously, is to make shoes, or not. I took a break from my regularly scheduled deadline production and I made some. They aren’t practical in the conventional sense, but, they can be useful.
I’ve been thinking about this project for a long time, and I have stored up materials to make other kinds of shoes. This month’s Punk Frocker’s challenge prompt is #pfSewNotClothes, so I thought I’d dip my toes in and finally start this project. I’ll write more about it when I refine this process and develop the other prototypes.
I think it’s pretty cool.
For Christmas, my darling bought me the experience (and shoes) of custom made sandals. COVID-19 was in full roar, so we had to postpone our trips to Jutta Neuman’s shop in NYC.
We went up for an initial consultation, and they traced my feet. We made a weekend of it, and had a wonderful time. We both found some great books and other treasure, and the food was delicious.
The second trip involved two visits to the shop. In the morning, they fitted the straps to my feet, and glued them in place.
We went out a delightful lunch that began with some fried anchovies, to give them time to assemble the sandals and allow the glue to set.
We we returned to the shop, I walked in the sandals, and they traced my feet in them to cut them down. After we left, they added a Birkenstock type tread and put them in the mail.
I love sandals, and I’ve always wanted to learn how to make them. I tell a story about in 1993, I was in NYC for the CMJ festival, and happened upon a leather shop that made belts, bags and sandals. I was enthralled with the place, and while I never had the chance to have sandals made for myself, I did strike up a correspondence with the proprietor the resulted in the offer of an apprenticeship. I had just bought my first house in Baltimore, and couldn’t make it work. I figured someday I’ll do this. Meaning both learning to make sandals, and also have a bespoke pair for myself. I can happily cross one of this off my todo list.
These feel amazing – they fit perfectly, and I never want to take them off. I love them – what a wonderful experience and gift. So very thoughtful!
While we were in NYC, we visited the garment district, which was a lot of fun. I found some neon PVC which I’m going to make some repeated things with – more on that soon.
Happy Spring!
P.S. My nail polish is OPI Blue my mind. It matches the drums I use in Coastguard, and is my favorite color.
For this month’s exhibition at the Hamilton Gallery and Artist Collective, I threw my best feet forward. These giant drawings were only home for a day from the last exhibition before heading back out.
On view until October.