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The Cardboard Cobbler

June 10th, 2006 | Uncategorized

phranc's studio

Yesterday I went to Phranc’s studio for a couple hours. We worked on stuff for a show we’re doing together this fall at Pine Street Art Works, the gallery in Burlington where I had my book launch last week. Phranc’s been making astonishing things out of cardboard for years–it started with shoes, I think, then she moved on to all kinds of clothes and other objects. Pop tarts! Lifejackets! Cardboard chocolates! Check out her blog.

Her latest venture is Phranc of California, a line of clothing fabricated entirely from paper and sewn on her grandmother’s sewing machine. Here she is creating a hand-painted length of striped fabric from which she’s going to make a shirt. That’s me in the background making a life-size paper doll of Phranc. It’s a mock-up to see if we can figure out a way to get the paper clothes onto flat cardboard cutouts of these big drawings of people. The people will be part of my contribution to our art show.

pinstriper

Here’s a close-up of Phranc making stripes. She’s gonna painstakingly stripe up that whole huge sheet of paper. It’s an amazing feat.

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3 Responses to “The Cardboard Cobbler”

  1. Susan says:
    June 10, 2006 at 9:41 pm

    Wow…that’s exciting.
    I would love to see the show so I hope you’ll give us the details.
    I always liked paperdolls…used to cut ’em outta the back of McCall’s magazine…and once made clothes for some playboy models from a magazine I found in the depths of my dad’s closet.
    (okay, won’t make a joke about Alison not finding Playboy in HER dad’s closet or share that I shouldna known then cause I hid the centerfold under my bed. My mom found it and didn’t say a word but hung it prominently on my bulletin board in my bedroom…)
    Anyway, to secure the clothing…you could use magnets…the flat kind that come on a roll that you can cut with regular scissors…or there’s always velcro but…my daughter’s latest “design your own outfits for your paperdolls kit” came with the magnets and they worked well.

    I adore the idea of huge or lifesized paperdolls that look like real people and then a rack of clothing and accesories so the viewers can dress the people…or…maybe that’s just cause I haven’t outgrown playing with dolls yet?

    I also adore looking at Phranc in her skivvies…is that how you spell skivvies…love that…and her reading the Navy Seals book too…classic.

  2. Miriam says:
    June 11, 2006 at 7:09 pm

    Hey Allison – looking forward to seeing you up here at Powell’s. Just wanted to share with you the great review you got in the local newspaper (although maybe you have a publicist which is keeping up with all this for you)

    http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1149719121325490.xml?oregonian?albssf&coll=7

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