Marcia Lee Hartnell
"Footwear: My Story"
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| (Photos by Patrick Fraser) |
Footwear or shoes in particular have never been a joy for me. Being born with wide feet, as documented on my birth certificate, was a factor that dominated decisions about my personal footwear. It was never possible to walk into a shoe store and casually pick out shoes and have them fit. Trying to be in style with various shapes and colors of shoes and having them match outfits was a constant challenge. Basic black, white or navy were the mainstay. A great discovery was shoe paint. Another was a class that taught how to cover shoes with fabric. These provided a means to explore color but not style.
Long ago, I found a pair of soft ankle boot moccasins in a shop in northern Michigan. I bought them and wore them until they were no longer wearable. The memory of those comfortable shoes sent me on the journey to my footwear project.
Shortly after the theme of the project was announced I was thumbing through an old craft book and found the directions for constructing mukluks. After making the decision that this would be my project, the search for material was my next hurdle. Since fabric is my preferred medium I started a personal inquiry: fabric (quilted or not) suede, fur, texture, etc. A search of my stash revealed suede skins and rabbit fur from a past decade. All the pieces came together and this pair of mukluks is the final result.