ARTS 17
Visible Mending as a Political Act Winter 2025

Class Details

In this course students will explore a variety of hand mending techniques including patching, sashiko, darning, applique and embellished mending. We will approach this activity as both a sustainable practice and a relaxing skill-building experience. Learning about the waste produced by the textile industry will provide us with the impetus to resist our culture of fast fashion. Mending clothes is a political act that gives us a way out of the fast fashion loop and is a step towards divesting from the billionaires who own clothing chains. Visible mending can be a fashion statement that shows others that we have taken the time and care to extend the lives of our clothes. Students will be encouraged to bring in their own clothing with holes, stains, tears, and worn spots to strategize and create fun and fashionable mends of different types. Demonstrations and hands-on work will be supplemented with readings from “Mend! A Refashioning Manual and Manifesto” by Kate Sekules. All skill levels are welcome. Some hand sewing experience is good for this course but not entirely necessary. Anyone can learn to mend!
The Class: Format: studio
Limit: 12
Expected: NA
Class#: 1050
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: Presentation(s); Creative project(s)
Prerequisites: Basic hand sewing skills are helpful but not required.
Enrollment Preferences: Priority given to students who express an interest in learning mending.
Unit Notes: Megan Piontkowski is an artist and illustrator living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Her first visible mend was a "pocket patch" on the knee of a pair of leggings when she was about 10 years old.
Materials/Lab Fee: $100
Attributes: EXPE Experiential Education Courses
SLFX Winter Study Self-Expression

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