A dress made of feed bags and bailing twine may not be to everyone’s taste but Dungog artisan Liz Hughes hopes it will help to get people thinking about reusing materials.
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A stalwart of the Dungog Boomerang Bag project and the Saturday morning growers market, Liz has a passion for developing and supporting activities which promote more sustainable lifestyles.
Liz’s work The Wicked Witch of Waste is a formal dress made from reusing things familiar to all country people – such as strips of discarded feed bags and surplus bailing twine.
“So much of these materials go into the waste stream,” she said.
“My work aims to highlight that these and other waste materials can be re-purposed in lots of different and creative ways.”
So much of these materials go into the waste stream.
“My work aims to highlight that these and other waste materials can be repurposed in lots of different and creative ways.
“ A dress made of feed bags and bailing twine may not be the epitome of wearable art but if it helps to get people thinking about reusing materials and products my work will have been a success,” she said.
Liz has long been an advocate of natural fibres for wearable art works and more conventional clothing and household furnishings.
“Natural fibres are not just beautiful but highly functional, especially in the extremes of climate we are experiencing more often these days,” she said.
According to Liz the big challenge ahead is to develop wearable clothing from recycled or repurposed sources.
“Country people already know about the importance of sustainable practices in land management and animal production.
“That knowledge and experience needs to be focused on developing innovative ways to repurpose waste into functional and sustainable products.
“This is just as much an artform as any work displayed in a gallery.
“It is what the art of sustainability is all about,” she said.
