September Sessions

Beyond the Garment: A Wearable Art Exploration

What You Need to Know
 

 How SoCo or Arts Intensive fits into your summer 

 Fast Facts about Deadlines, Commitment, Schedule, etc

 How much does SoCo or Arts Intensive cost?

 Storage and Spring Considerations

 On Campus in September 

 Apply in the VCA

TAPS 24AX

Immerse yourself in the exciting process of creating Art you can wear! In this studio course, you’ll learn the basics of garment construction while creating bold, creative pieces that mix fashion, sculpture, and experimentation. Open to all skill levels, this course will cover basic sewing techniques as well as how to use more unconventional materials to create clothing. We’ll start with traditional tools and techniques, including hand and machine sewing, to build a strong foundation for your designs. Along the way, we’ll explore garment construction and patternmaking to help you turn a two-dimensional idea into something real and wearable.

the "liquid gold" dress submitted by the wearable arts collective

Digging into the design process, we will use research and experimentation to support both idea development and technical skills. Everyone is encouraged to bring their own interests and experience into the class. Diverse skillsets and wild ideas can be a great spark for great art! Techniques you may learn include sewing, patternmaking, soft sculpture, corsetry, textile modification, thermoplastics, and more.

By the end of the intensive, you will design and build a wearable art piece inspired by the guidelines of the World of Wearable Art international competition, demonstrating your work to the public at the Arts Intensive Showcase. Students will have the opportunity to continue with the Stanford Wearable Art Collective after this course and enter their work in the 2027 Competition. Past categories have included Bizarre Bra, Gold, Kinetic, and Air.

This class is open to all skill levels, and students from any department on campus are encouraged to apply.

This course has requested certification for Way-CE, decision pending.

Potential Field Trips

  • supply runs to creative reuse stores like FabMo and SCRAP, or to fabric stores
  • local fashion exhibits if the September schedule aligns

Potential Student Projects

  • Bizarre Bras
  • Headpieces or other adornment
  • Corsetry
  • Garment décor
  • Textile painting or manipulation
  • Unconventional material research and experimentation

Meet the Instructor

Becky Bodurtha, Senior Lecturer

Becky Bodurtha is a Senior Lecturer of Design in the TAPS Department. Outside of Stanford she is a professional costume designer with a background in garment construction, fashion and soft sculpture. Recent productions include the world premiere of Froggy by Jennifer Haley and The Gift of Nothing at Marin Theatre Company. She was nominated for 2024 Bay Area Theatre Award for Best Costume Design for Cabaret at Center Repertory Theatre which featured a 20 foot parachute dress, a cartoon deer costume and costumes made entirely out of fake money. Wearable Art is essential to her professional work and research practice; combining traditional materials and practices with technology and new materials to create costumes and other art pieces. Each year she hosts a Wearable Art Collective at Stanford with students from across campus. In 2023, their garment, Liquid Gold was a finalist for the Gold Section at World of Wearable Art, an international competition. See more at https://www.beckybodurtha.com/ .