Crystal's Chaotic Creativity

I’m still not super confident in my actual sewing skills, so lately I’ve been focusing on making one-of-a-kind pieces by playing around with fabric instead. I’ll take plain dresses or skirts and add trims, dye them, bleach them—sometimes I even break out the airbrush. It’s all about experimenting and seeing what happens. For this project,…

Part 4 In the fall of 1998, I took another field trip—this time with the fashion department at SAIC—to New York City. It was my first time on an airplane, too. We visited alumna Cynthia Rowley, Mood Fabrics, M&J Trimming, and other iconic spots in the fashion district. I also had an interview lined up…

PART 2 Fast forward a bit, and our university organized a field trip to Chicago (side note: field trips have triggered some pretty major life decisions for me). I grew up pretty sheltered, so just the three-hour bus ride to the city felt like an adventure. As we rolled in and I saw the skyline,…

Part one When I started college, I had absolutely no idea who I was or what I wanted to do with my life. It was the mid-90s, and it felt like the only options were “starving artist” or “graphic designer.” I remember watching the graphic design students obsessively draw the same letters over and over…

My husband gave me a gift card to the Chicago Mosaic School during the Covid days. It was freaking heaven! Imagine a room full of stained glass and tile…all colors and textures. I’ve always loved stained glass windows and lamps. The way they lit up when the light showed through, and the vibrant colors and…

Let me introduce myself! Art has been an obsession since I could color with a crayon. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been confident about. It’s what defined me growing up, besides being that weird kid….. Of course my inner critic is in there too….. and she is brutal. But when I create from a…