The Wearable Art Show is returning to Sitka after a one-year hiatus, featuring 19 designs from 16 designers, including one from Arizona and another from Washington. The event will showcase pieces from local designers like Linda Boord and Emmie Fish, as well as Jennifer Younger, who is known for her international fashion runway work. Bobbi Jordan and Bette Gray from the Greater Sitka Arts Council joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss the upcoming show on Feb. 7 at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Listen to their conversation here:

Downloadable audio.

The Greater Sitka Arts Council hosts their annual Wearable Arts Show on Saturday, March 10th. The theme is “Forecast.” The deadline to register is Sunday, February 25. Volunteer coordinator Jeff Budd talks about the origins of the Wearable Arts event in Ketchikan, his favorite garments over the years, and showstoppers for this year. Model and artist Bill Foster offers advice on generating ideas. “I tend to go to disco, because I miss the disco era.”

Applications and show information are available at sitkaartscouncil.org.

Downloadable audio.

Members of the Greater Sitka Arts Council are in to discuss the Wearable Arts show. The deadline to register is February 22. The 2017 Sitka Wearable Art Show is March 11, 2017 at Centennial Hall.

Matinee: 3:00 pm – Evening Gala: 7:00 pm

Tickets: $20/adults; $15/kids & seniors. Click here to get registered for the Wearable Arts Show.

“Consumed” by artist Alexandra Dailey and model Coral Pendell at the 2015 Wearable Arts Show. Pendell performed a ballet down the runaway, modeling pages from books burned slightly at the edges. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

Downloadable audio.

Jeff Budd and Sarah Lawrie with the Greater Sitka Arts Council (GSAC) talk about the 8th Annual Wearable Arts Show, alongside frequent artist/model Bill Foster. The show features 28 different art pieces and about a third of the artists are new this year.

The Wearable Art show will be held 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the Performing Arts Center. Sponsor Alaska Airlines will offer a raffle for two round-trip tickets to evening ticket holders. Eight of their customer service agents are in the show.

Matinee tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for kids. The evening show is $25 for adults and $10 for kids. The Wearable Arts Show is one of the hallmarks of Arti-Gras, a two-week celebration of art events in Sitka.

Gio Villanueva wears “Icarus Air,” a wearable art piece designed by Megan Johnson for the 2013 Wearable Arts Show. The piece signifies the hubris of the Greek mythological character Icarus, who built wings but flew too close to the sun. (Photo by Ed Ronco/KCAW)

It’s not too early to start thinking about the runway. Jeff Budd is the organizer of the Wearable Arts Show, which will be held March 26 at the PAC. He’s encouraging everyone to participate along with artist and model Laura Kaltenstein.

Downloadable audio.

Sixty models participated in this year’s Wearable Arts Show, whose theme “Seven Seas, Clean Seas,” was given both sentimental and environmental interpretations. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

At the 7th Annual Wearable Arts Show this past Saturday (3-7-15), sixty models walked the runway. Some donned their own design, while others modeled on behalf of artists and designers unseen. The show is a part of Arti-Gras, a two-week arts festival organized the Greater Sitka Arts Council, and invites artist to create works meant for the human body.

76-year-old Bill Foster did a disco covered in political brochures, while 7-month-old Noah Apathy was covered in K-cups to recreate the scales of a carp. He skipped his nap to swim down the runway in the arms of his grandmother, Carole Knuth. For model Coral Pendell, artist Alexandra Dailey synthesized a ballet tutu out of pages from five different book genres.

“Consumed” by artist Alexandra Dailey and model Coral Pendell. Pendell performed a ballet down the runaway, modeling pages from books burned slightly at the edges. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

Jeff Budd of the Greater Sitka Arts Council, who produced the show, said, “The people of Sitka are a tremendous audience. It was fun and funny and that is hard to beat.”

The handiwork on display was of endless variety: 780 used dryer sheets intricately sewn into samba ensembles, hundreds of bottle caps knitted together with wire in the shape of a heart, and silk on a coat lining depicting Mt. Edgecumbe at sunset. Laura Kaltenstein affixed a hula hoop to her back to represent the relationship between the moon and the tides.

“Aluminium Samurai,” by model/artist Emmie Fish. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

The theme of this year’s show was “Seven Sea, Clean Seas,” which artists had the option to interpret. Many did. An aluminum samurai marched in armor forged from pop cans left behind at parties and bottle caps thrown overboard from fishing boats. Of the samurai, emcee Peter Apathy said, “Beware of this aluminum samurai, for if she sees you being ungrateful to the sea, you shall face her wrath.” Artist/model Emmie Fish walked down the runway to the song, “I See Fire.”

SLIDESHOWS OF FULL SHOW: 2015 Wearable Arts

Part 1: “The Ladies (and Gent) of the Doilies” through “Dinosaur meets Minecraft!”

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Part 2: “Samba Expressions” through “Narwin Under the Sea”

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Part 3: “The Sitka High School Radioactive Sea Creatures” through “The Seven C’s”

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Budd, who tossed Tootsie Rolls to the audience in semblance of a toilet bowl to illustrate how humans contribute to pollution, was pleased with the creations. He said, “I think that the bar has again been raised again for the quality and creativity. I liked #16 “A Piece of the Ocean” – a middle school student [Morgan Feldpausch] was the artist and an adult family member [Danielle Rider] was the model – that is maybe a first. I am always surprised, delighted, and amazed with what people come up with.”

Danielle Rider sashays down the runway in a design by her younger relative, Morgan Feldpausch. The piece is called “A Piece of the Ocean.” (KCAW photo/Emily Kwong)

“Celestial Soul” was a piece from the 2013 Wearable Arts Runway Show and Extravaganza. Designed by Hilda Ramirez and Alicia Eells. Modeled by Alicia Eells. (Anne Brice/KCAW photo)

Downloadable audio.

Jeff Budd and Sarah Lawrie with the Great Sitka Arts Council talk about plans for the 7th Annual Wearable Arts Runway Show & Extravaganza. The theme is Seven Seas, Clean Seas. They were joined by model and artist Cynthia Bustos, who is making her dress out of six layers of dryer sheets. You can see the show from 2014 and 2013 on our website. The art show is a part of a two-week celebration of art called Arti-Gras, February 27th – March 14th.

Participants will showcase artwork made for the body on March 7th at 3pm and 7pm in Harrigan Centennial Hall. Tickets are available tomorrow at Old Harbor Books for $15 and $5 for kids 12 and under. For information, call Jeff Budd at 747-4821.

Participants in Sitka’s 6th annual Wearable Arts show flaunted their homemade haute couture before before a sold-out crowd at Harrigan Centennial Hall on Saturday night (3-1-2014). The show was put on by the Greater Sitka Arts Council, as part of the Arti-Gras Arts and Music Festival.

Featured in the slideshow above: Emily Reilly modeled “Queen of the Galaxy,” made by Jean Bartos of Ketchikan. “The Journey Home,”  designed by Angela McGraw, was inspired by a meeting with Roma women on a subway in Rome.  Fiona Digeatano, age 3, wore a dress created by Casey Orona from used plastic bags. Melody Kingsley modeled “Air-able Art,” designed by Jeff Budd, Liz Schababerle, and Cheryl Vastola. Christi Henthorn, Paula Langdorf, Blossom Twitchell, Renae Hill, Kate Petraborg, Lois Denherder, Ember Livingston and Karlie Smith created and modeled “The Denim Dolls.” Woods Hill bounced down the runway to the tune of “I’m A Gummy Bear” in an outfit that his mother, Angie Hill, constructed from his preschool art projects. Emmie Fish made her chain mail, in “The Metal Soldier,”  from more than 4,000 soda can pull-tabs. Sonya Linden modeled a quilted denim outfit made by Sabra Jenkins. And Kate Frederic modeled the aptly named “Dancing in Fire” by artist Tori Carl.

Photos by Rachel Waldholz, KCAW.

UPDATED 3/4/14: An earlier version of this post misstated the artist who made the dress worn by Fiona Digeatano. The artist is Casey Orona, not Elsa Hernandez. 

At the 5th Annual Wearable Arts Show, Sitka artists showcased their original pieces, from a gown made of moss to a dress crafted from colorful duct tape. Here is a look at some of the night’s flashy fashion. (Click on the image to see a full-size slideshow with captions.)