April Gallery Night

Join us Friday April 17th for gallery night at Fasten

6-9pm Opening Reception of

"Bad Winter" by Christopher Macdonald

Bad Winter is a collection of black and white drawing and comics depicting my surroundings and emotions of this past season. Graphite drawings of streets and alleys covered in ice recall the grainyness of the source images; quick, blurry digital snapshots of walking and freezing. Late night hours of sketching, and thinking, and waiting. The work reflects the months of lack of direction, isolation, frustration, cigarettes and wasted time. The four page comic is about apathy and indifference among the twentysomthing generation in the midst of historic change. Together these works some up the greyness of a tough winter in troubled economic times, where sometimes we need to force happy times upon us to get through, and quietly wait for it to get warm.

Christopher MacDonald is an artist and illustrator living and working in Wisconsin. He recently received his BFA from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. His work ranges from fine art drawings and paintings to comics to apparel design and everywhere in between. For more information please visit http://www.chrismacstudio.com/.

March's Featured Artist- Owl Eyes

Owl Eyes has been gracing Fasten with it's screenprinted tees since early 2008, but only recently has this line expanded to beautiful handmade clothing. Rachel Muza, the genius behind Owl Eyes tells her story below.

What brought on the switch from screen printing to making dresses?

With screenprinting, I could only print the same design so many times before I got bored with it. There's much more freedom with sewing. Each thing I make is different, I can put a lot more of myself into it.

How did you learn how to sew?

I basically taught myself how to sew. I started by looking at other pieces of clothing and figuring out how they were made. I ruined a lot of awesome vintage fabric that way, but I learned a lot. I also watched my mom sew all my life, so I pretty much knew the basics just from being observant, and kind of worked my way from the there.

Your whole family seems to be creative, it doesn't seem like you had a choice in designing. Are they your muse?

I'm the youngest of 6 children, and we each have our own artistic thing. I could go down the list, but there is so many of us!!! My mom, who also designs for Fasten, deserves a lot of credit. She helped me out whenever I had question or could not figure something out. She has also been pretty awesome at sharing her fabric collection.

Initially, the fabric itself inspires me. Sometimes I know what to make out of a piece of cloth as soon as I see it. Sometimes I will look at old patterns for ideas and try to re-create vintage styles with a modern touch.

What is the best music to sew to?

Vinyl!!! I have been sewing to Bob Dylan and Kimya Dawsom records. Also, I discovered that Elton John used to make really really good music, back in his early days. No one believe me, but it's true!!

What's next for Owl Eyes?

I'm working on my summer collection right now. I'll probably bring it all into Fasten around April or early May.