Patterns of \’wer\
\’wer\ | wear | ware | where |
Š Copyright 2013 Diana Wagner
Patterns of \’wer\ an exploration of Tuscan vegetable-tanned leather
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Patterns of \’wer\ | an exploration of Tuscan vegetable-tanned leather I am inspired by the way vegetable tanned leather wears with time. Artifacts made with this material show their history as the leather’s surface transforms with every change in climate, every touch and every stain. Age and wear enhance the beauty of this material. When handled, the leather becomes soft as the oil from our hands is absorbed into its surface creating a reflective sheen. Exposure to light, change in temperature, and the elements adds layers to this story as patterns and textures emerge on the leather’s surface. Artifacts made from vegetable tanned leather live, grow, and alter as they are integrated into our lives. I am drawn to shoes because of the stories they have to tell through the patterns of wear that accumulate with every step—from stains that are gathered with spots of rain or an accidental spill to holes that burrow in the soles and heels. I have developed curiosity and passion for shoemaking as it offers opportunity for material exploration. With vegetable tanned leather as a canvas, this collection creates a conversation between a material and the way it is worn. I look to the terms wear, ware, and where or phonetically written, \’wer\, to interpret my collection. In this series I have created three pairs of shoes that reference and illustrate narratively the various definitions of \’wer\ in their form, surface treatment, and transformation of the vegetable tanned leather over time. In considering these terms I look to several objects as further inspiration for this concept—objects that have collected their own patterns of \’wer\.
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Lace tainted with age, old rusted metal, and rocks covered in lichen tell a story through the patina that has collected and embedded into their surfaces. I think about the hands that have touched and stained this delicate lace, the salt and moisture that have corroded these discarded scraps of metal, and the many years it took for the lichen to grow scattered patterns on the surface of the rock. These shoes serve as a vehicle for my experimentation enhancing and exaggerating the inherent qualities of vegetable tanned leather, and transforming its surface to reflect the patina of these objects. As a series each pair of shoes illustrates the process of growth and decay as materials are layered, grown and then worn away. The laced contour is represented in the topline of the shoes. The rusted patina emerges though an exaggerated lifetime of wear applied with layers of salted water, heat, and oil repetitively to saturate, stain, and polish the leather. Finally the formation of lichen is introduced with iron that has accumulated and reacted with the tannins in the vegetable tanned leather, leaving behind an ebonized patina. In each pair form, contour, and patina, mimic how these shoes would otherwise alter with time—illustrating a story of accumulation through their intricate patterns of \’wer\. Diana Wagner
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INSPIRATION lace | rust | lichen
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MATERIAL STUDIES leather | metal | reactants
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metals + acetic acid
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metals + sodium hypochlorite
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heat pressed
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iron + latex paint + acetic acid
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gel medium resist + iron + acetic acid
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gel medium resist + iron + acetic acid
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heat transfers
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pigment dipped
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wet pressed
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steel + acetic acid
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rusted steel + acetic acid bath
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steel + hydrogen nitride
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steel + sodium hypochlorite
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steel + sodium hypochlorite
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iron + acetic acid
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iron + acetic acid
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iron + acetic acid
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iron + acetic acid
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iron + acetic acid
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iron + acetic acid + magnet + pigment dip
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iron + hydrogen nitride
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iron + hydrogen peroxide
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iron + sodium hypochlorite + magnet
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nickel + sodium hypochlorite
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gold + acetic acid
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gold + hydrogen nitride
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iron + steel + sodium hypochlorite + acetic acid
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brass + hydrogen nitride
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brass + sodium hypochlorite
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iron + sodium hypochlorite
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brass + copper + steel + sodium hypochlorite
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brass + iron + steel + sodium hypochlorite + acetic acid
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brass + iron + sodium hypochlorite
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brass + iron + sodium hypochlorite + acetic acid
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brass + copper + steel + sodium hypochlorite + acetic acid
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DRAWINGS inspiration | concept | material
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SHOE COLLECTION grow | wear | decay
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leather + iron + acetic acid
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