Gregory Kloehn goes dumpster diving, or as we would say in this country tipping! He isn’t homeless or looking for food. He is in fact, an artist from Oakland, USA that is trying to help the homeless and develop his craft at the same time. He moved away from making static sculptures by utilising the dumped materials around his locality to make portable homeless shelters, creating solutions to problems instead of making functionless, aesthetic pieces.
I found his work to be fascinating and truly inspirational. It reminded me of the journey that makers sometimes go through and how directions can change, just like my own. I went in to study an AS Level in Textiles after the death of my daughter to develop the designs I had been making whilst I was pregnant and then after she died. The creative things I emersed myself in pretty much saved my life and I felt at the time that I wanted to get more skills to produce a bigger range of children’s wear. Once I started completing the briefs for the one year course, I realised my potential in other areas and it became clearer that in actual fact I was still searching for the craft that would define me. I still very much feel on this journey as I have come from textiles to ceramics and now into jewellery making using a variety of materials and processes.
What I like about Kloehn’s work is that by making things with a function using recycled scrap his work has found a purpose a life of it’s own that has tremendous benefit to the people using it. Emotionally durable, sustainable, thoughtful design.
Read more at http://www.realfarmacy.com/incredible-upcycle/#ZqOlHW030kV4Ojy5.99
Public Realm 