Painting with Denim

I wear jeans about 99% of my waking time. Working, out to dinner, church… the only significant time I spend in other pants is when I am working out. I love my jeans – durable, flattering, and depending on the cut, appropriate for most any event in southern California.

Since about 1999 I have been saving my old denim jeans, and I have asked my family to save theirs as well. The idea is that one day I will make a denim rag rug. I am not exactly sure how I will do this. I don’t want to braid it, and I can’t imagine there will be a loom involved. Maybe some sort of crochet technique? With strips of cloth and a huge crochet hook? I don’t know – but it will happen. It’s #30 on the life list.

Because this project has been in the development phase for over a decade, we have collected a lot (really a lot) of denim. When my parents moved house this fall they moved a few really heavy boxes labeled “Sarah’s fabric.” I might have heard it mentioned a time or two over Christmas.

It’s probably time to get on that. Or at least time to figure out the technique.

I started thinking about that back burner project because of these awesome images by Denimu.

These are scenes that have been created entirely from recycled denim. British artist Ian Berry takes weeks to painstakingly construct each image with the right shades of fabric.

I am blown away by the sheer awesomeness on display here.

The work could turn a little crafty – kind of like quilting – but it feels very far from that to me. It has something to do with the urban scenes that Berry has chosen to depict.

All images from the Denimu website.

via My Modern Met