The Mask

For the second phase of the A Dressing the Future project with the Persephone character I created a mask that she would wear as protection against the toxic smoke outside. This second phase depicts the environmental devastation of forest fires, which have destroyed crops. Persephone is able to scavenge for food because she has fashioned a mask based on the concept of the medieval plague doctor mask, which had a long snout filled with herbs to protect them from the miasma of disease. Her mask is made from organic materials and features 2 respirators made from halved pomegranates filled with …

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A Dressing the Future Exhibition

New Exhibition and Art Residency  “A Dressing the Future” Lycoming College Art Gallery Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA September 11 to October 10, 2015 WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Lycoming College Art Gallery will host Nicole Dextras’ “A-Dressing the Future” exhibit from Friday, Sept. 11 to Saturday, Oct. 10. A reception and gallery talk will be held and Sept. 25 at 25 W. Fourth Street, Williamsport from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. These events are free and open to the public. In addition to having Dextras’ exhibit on display in the Lycoming College Art Gallery, she will also be an artist-in-residence at Lycoming College from …

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A Dressing the Future

A Dressing the Future is a new series which integrates my artwork into a magazine format. The first of this series is called Jardin Culture and the first issue is “HortiCulture”. The editorial format of a magazine allows me to present themes in my work that raise awareness about socio-political and environmental issues. This magazine is placed in a dystopian future and I have created pseudonyms for the various aspects of my work. Dexter Nicholson is the editor and contributors include: Jean-Xavier Destroches- photographer, Nicole Vivian D’Extras- fashion designer and Élocin Sartxed-  sculptor. In mr. Nicholson’s inaugural editorial Art and Dystopia Today he writes: …

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Persephone and the Pomegrante

My latest Weedrobes garment is a fruit inspired two piece ensemble with a jacket made from pomegranate peels, which was inspired by my experience with this material while in Germany working on a dress for Weleda. The sleeveless jacket also contains details made with dried mushrooms and fish maw around the collar and armholes. The boots are made with pomegranate fruit leather on a cork platform heel. The skirt is woven with wool and Asian red dates. The concept for this project is based on the Greek Persephone myth where a young woman is abducted by Haides and brought to …

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Landesgarten Show in Germany

In June 2014 I was invited by the Weleda Company to create botanical garments for the Landesgarten Show, Between Heaven and Earth, in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. Weleda has just opened a new garden complex in this area and my work for them was part of the opening events for this new site.  Weleda makes organic beauty and medicinal products based on the Biodynamic© farming concepts begun by Dr. Rudolph Steiner in 1921 and this new 56 acre demonstration garden/farm was a fantastic place to be! The State Garden show was throughout the town but concentrated near the Weleda garden site and around the beautiful …

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MGD @ Eco Art Fest

The Mobile Garden Dress, part of the Urban Foragers series, participated in the first Eco Art Fest in Toronto during the summer of 2014. This new outdoor festival situated at Todmorden Mills is presented by No 9 Contemporary Art and the Environment, an arts orga­ni­zation that uses art and design to bring awareness to envi­ron­mental concerns. It featured 8 public art installations hidden throughout the site, live music, homemade organic dishes, beer and wine. Plus Public Art tours, Watercolour Painting Workshops, Sustainable building workshops, and Clay Stein Making. The Mobile Garden Dress was on hand at all the events onsite and she …

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Art And Ecology Now

Art And Ecology Now is a new book written by Andrew Brown and published by Thames and Hudson. My work is featured among 95 creators in a compendium of ecologically responsive work. Art and Ecology Now is the first in-depth exploration of the ways in which contemporary artists are confronting nature, the environment, climate change and ecology. As Brown argues in the introduction, “Once an area of interest for a relatively small group of people, art that addresses environmental issues has in the last five years become part of the artistic mainstream.” He adds that “there has been a growing tendency in contemporary art …

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Objects of Desire in Ice

Upon returning from my winter art residency in Banff in February 2014, I was happy to discover that Vancouver was under a layer of snow. This is unusual for this temperate climate and I am one of the few who relish in this rare occurrence. It meant that i could continue some of the ice work I had started in Banff and further develop the idea of covering objects that represent our desire for success and commercial goods under layers of ice. These are much smaller in scale than the chandelier in Banff but i had so much fun in …

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Queens, meet the characters

Queens in the Desert series, Meet the Characters: Dame Dracaena La Puente, heiress to the great Shelly oil conglomerates is still seeking paydirt with her fashion savvy. Oblivious to the environmental repercussions of her family’s over one hundred year legacy of natural resources exploitation, she still dresses to the nines to impress. Even though the oil wells dried out years ago, her privileged LA upbringing entitles her to the finest luxuries. She favors the exotic pedigree of the Dracaena Draco leaf, often called Dragon’s Blood, a red resin extruded from the plant, which was used in ancient times as varnish, …

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Queens in the Desert

I spent the last 3 weeks of my art residency at Cal State Fullerton creating new pieces at the Fullerton Arboretum. It was a fantastic experience for me because Chris Barnhill, Director of the Living Collections let me pick a large variety of plant material from their extensive botanical garden, tucked away on 26 acres within the university campus. It was my first time experimenting with tropical plants such as Palm trees and Citrus peels and i could have spent months there experimenting with new materials. I built 3 dresses based on the Little Green Dress Project, which were worn …

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Agent SeedBomb

Agent SeedBomb is the name of the character who wears the Traveling SeedBomb Dress; an eco agent-provocateur with good humour and style, advocating for self-sufficiency through food independence and sustainable practices. The dress houses 50 glass vials filled with enough seed to plant over an acre of vegetables, grains and herbs to feed a family for one year, which were purchased from the Sustainable Seed Company in California. In this role, Agent SeedBomb aims to inform viewers on the identification and preservation of seeds while also engaging the community in activities such as seed bomb making and sidewalk stenciling with grains. …

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Traveling SeedBomb Dress, the making of

The Traveling SeedBomb Dress is the third instalment in the Urban Foragers series. Like its predecessors, the Mobile Garden Dress and the Nomadik Harvest Dress, it functions as a garment, a shelter and a food source. As this series is about self-sufficiency, each new piece refers to a nomadic structure and for this one i chose the teepee because the shape resembles a Pine cone.  I am fascinated by the ingenious ways that plants propagate their seeds and so i have tried to incorporate this into the design as much as possible. There are cone shaped pockets all around the edge, …

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