Jean Jacket Makeover

I need to start with a little backstory first, and then I’ll get to the project! For many long years I had kind of a surly approach to art making! I would start each work by making a mess on the page. I would start with splashes of color and make a real mess of it. Once I had something to start with, my creativity would take over and a memory or idea would come to mind…a way to turn the mess into something tangible…beautiful even!

I still carry that torch in my art journals, but not so much in my polished art. However, this jean jacket project is kind of like that! I thought about what I was going to do for weeks! I was going to do a peace sign on the back of the jacket, and add length to it to make it a trench coat. I kept overthinking it! So one afternoon I got a srike of inspiration, that I could celebrate my favorite musicians on the back. I wanted to pay tribute to Xavier Rudd, Mike Love, and Rising Appalachia. Their music has carried me through a lot of rough times in my life, and has also been guiding me to try to be a force for good in the world!

So I filmed myself decorating the back of the jacket! Here’s the video, where I completely screw up and make a mess of the jacket! Hahahaha! Sometimes though making a mess is a part of the creative process!

I used a fabric marker first to write everything out, then I picked up some puffy paints. <Trigger warning! I am not an expert on puffy paints!> The paint did absolutely nothing for my muse at all! I kept trying to get the design how I wanted, but was sure the jacket was ruined. So I threw it in the wash, to see if the puff paint would wash away. Some of it did, but some remained. Also, because I didn’t heat set the fabric marker, it also dimmed.

So I went back over the text with Sharpies! Sharpies are great for writing on fabric, and they can withstand being washed. I filled in the letters with different Sharpies and outlined the letters in black. Then I used Jacquard Textile Paints to fill in the tree and add the orange beams surrounding the tree. I’m going to pop this in the dryer on medium, and then pop it like it’s hot!

Sometimes a mess can turn into magic! Here is the final result! I am going to wear this like a rockstar all Spring!