 | Sunday, March 06, 2022 | |  | Sunday, March 06, 2022 | | Hi, art lovers! | | | I don’t usually have outtakes to share, but one character was left out of this article I wrote last week. The story is a bit of a resource on where to find upcycled art supplies around the country, and when I started looking into the topic — at the very dawn of Googling keywords — I thought I’d track down some artists who might have tips.
Like just about everyone else on the internet, I’ve been creeping Alexandria Masse on Instagram recently. She’s a student at NSCAD University who’s seemingly everywhere online, all thanks to her handmade balaclavas. Woolly ski masks have been one of the winter’s trendier items, and not without some controversy. Or maybe you just think it’s hilarious because you, like me, carry some low-level childhood trauma related to balaclava hat hair. Alexandria’s been interviewed a few times as one of the more notable designers out there, though her headpieces are more like standalone sculptures than something you’d pick up on Net-a-Porter. And they’re so popular that a bunch of her looks, including this pink bunny mask, have inspired a whole genre of fan art. | | |  | @alexandria.masse/Instagram | I’d read that Alexandria works with second-hand materials, which is true; she crocheted this enormous mama centipede with discarded yarn. (It was up at the Anna Leonowens Gallery last month.) | | |  | @alexandria.masse/Instagram | But her main thing — those headpieces — are always done with new materials, usually natural wool that’s been purchased through a local supplier. That’s why our chat was left out of the article, but here’s a snippet from the interview. (For ease of reading, the convo’s been edited a bit.)
Leah: The headpieces, are you still working on them? How often are you working on a new piece?
Alexandria: I’m working on them for a concept for a class right now. But usually I try to do one a week or one every two weeks, depending on how complicated it is.
[For class], my whole concept and idea is about identity and about my connection to my grandparents’ restaurant. | | |  | @alexandria.masse/Instagram | I’m just so very fascinated with the sculptural aspect of headpieces right now. I find I’m able to express what I’m aiming to make through headpieces. Like, I consider myself a sculptor because I’m sculpting things out of yarn.
So you’re kind of freestyling when you do it?
Oh yeah. A lot of people ask for patterns or tutorials, and it’s like, I don’t work from patterns or tutorials. I just like to think of a shape and I start making that shape and then I just continue. | | |  | @alexandria.masse/Instagram | How did this all begin? Why did you make your first one?
I’m a yarn hoarder. Very much. I had so many scraps ... and I just started making a bunch of these little circles and I wanted to make a cardigan. But I didn’t have enough to make a cardigan. I mean, I didn’t even have enough to make a tank top. And so I started placing them on my face. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is an idea. This could work." | | |  | @alexandria.masse/Instagram | | People started messaging me being like, “Could you make one for me? Like in red, grey and black?” “Can you add horns?” “Can you make a teddy bear?” | | |  | @alexandria.masse/Instagram | And then it morphed into more of a sculptural thing. Especially now, I’m working very sculpturally, and that’s what I absolutely love.
A lot of the pieces, like the maze, the teapot, the bunny ears, the dragon hat — like, that’s wearable art. And I feel like wearable art is — it’s art. It’s in the name. And art is allowed to have a function that’s purely aesthetic. | | |  | @alexandria.masse/Instagram | | |  | @saintjavelin/Instagram | | | | | Heard of Saint Javelin? By putting the meme on merch, Christian Borys has already raised $350,000 for humanitarian aid. | | | | |  | HBO | | | | | It’s not a new phenomenon, especially in Canada. So what’s all the fuss about on Twitter? | | | | |  | @artsjunktion/Instagram | | | | | | | Thrift like an artist. These creative reuse centres can hook you up with whatever you need. | | |  | @hannaleejoshi/Instagram | | I’m a little shy … but that’s OK by Hanna Lee Joshi. (And for a shot of digital dopamine, check out the logo Hanna designed for us.) | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
