Craft + Cinema

Amongst the multitude of detriments the world has experienced last year due to COVID-19, we as people have discovered new hobbies to 'distract' ourselves from the pandemic. In the context of this new distraction and my craft as an artist, I've found myself to be submerged into the vast realm and artistry of cinema in quarantine. As I began to renew my sense of nostalgia through revisiting old films and trying new films, I devised a way to weaponize these movies to combat my constant boredom. I realized that merely watching movies as a pastime simply wouldn't suffice. Despite how egotistic it sounds, I've decided to put my divine-given talents to use. As a result, I've begun my quest of immortalizing my favorite films on my garments.

I began with one of my favorite films of all time, Pulp Fiction, directed by the legendary Quentin Tarentino. First, I gave my denim jacket a wash and hung it to dry for a couple of days. Then, I used acrylic gesso to prime and cover the back of the jacket. Upon the gesso fully drying, I would then sketch out the movie cover with a soft charcoal pencil. This would ease the task of painting the figure, background, title, and any of the contents of the movie cover. The most challenging part about sketching the entirety of the movie cover was making sure that Uma Thurman's character (Mia) was drawn to accurate proportions. Within the same session of applying gesso and sketching the cover, I would then mix my acrylic paints with a fabric medium developed by Liquitex. I wanted to be as accurate and precise with the ratio of fabric medium mixed with the acrylics. The most luxurious thing about using the fabric medium was the fact that it did NOT require the fabric to be heat-pressed. I could not ask for anything more convenient in the process of creating my masterpiece. I was able to establish an accurate depiction of the color scheme as a result. Next, I began painting the Pulp Fiction movie title. As I finished the movie title, I began to transition to Mia's face, as well as the background of the poster. After I've completely covered the gesso-applied 'canvas' of the jacket, I began detailing the objects and Mia upon 'fleshing' everything out. Then, I revisited the film in search of a line or quote to add to my denim jacket. I devised a change of scenery/location to paint this quote for the jacket. I've decided to paint the movie quote, "Don't be a Square." on the left sleeve of my jacket. The intent of this was to give the jacket a renewed sense of depth and versatility. This allowed friends, peers, or whoever would see it, to view the jacket in its totality instead of just focusing on the main painting in the back. Finally, it was time to put my embroidery skills to the test. Instead of shelling out $400+ on my first denim jacket prototype, I still wanted to experiment before making this a full-scale commitment during quarantine. I began the embroidery process by purchasing needles and thread to start making the logo around the front of the denim jacket. I decided to stay committed to the true color scheme of the logo and typography of the 'Pulp Fiction' branding.

To conclude my story and recall the beginning of my newfound craft, I would like to say thank you to Vocal for this platform, as well as the fellow readers who will indulge in reading this. The pandemic has been extremely detrimental to everyone on a global scale and I developed this story to showcase to everyone that there are things that we can learn about ourselves through isolation, as well as find new strengths, skills, and purpose. As a result, I urge everyone reading this to find their purpose in life, whether it is through fine arts like me or any other endeavors in the world.