Once upon a time there was a teddy bear named Pepe. At first it was really beautiful, the joy of the owner, that she just couldn't fall asleep without her. But time, the bad antagonist of this story, began to ruin, day after day, his beautiful cloak. Until, after the years, Pepe was left with only one eye, completely worn and worn. Yet his affectionate owner, now grown up, decided that she could not get rid of it at all and gave it new life. How? Transforming it, along with many other soft toys, into a splendid colorful carpet.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Once upon a time there was a teddy bear which was called Pepe. At first he was really beautiful, the joy of the owner, that she just couldn't fall asleep without her. But time, the bad antagonist of this story, began to ruin, day after day, his beautiful cloak. Until, after the years, Pepe was left with only one eye, completely worn and worn. Yet his affectionate owner, now grown up, decided that she could not get rid of it at all and gave it new life. How? Transforming it, along with many other soft toys, into a splendid colorful carpet.
It is not a figment of the imagination, but a true story, that of Agustina Woodgate, an eclectic artist of Argentine origin who works in Miami, and of her faithful teddy bear, transformed into a new and beautiful creation: a large psychedelic-looking carpet and kaleidoscopic, in which the pieces of various puppets, artfully worked, chase each other in a whirlwind of the most varied themes and colors, based on the "material" available ". Because, for example, “black is not that common or available in soft toys, while brown or white are easier to find”, explains the artist.
“One day I was looking at Pepe - says Augustina, also famous for other discoveries, such as the practice of secretly sewing, inside the garments for sale, small cards on which short poems are printed - he was without eyes and was falling apart. Even if it wasn't true, just an object, I didn't really want to throw it away. This was the moment when I decided I wanted to do something with the bear ”.
In short, a story made of affection, creativity and creative recycling. Less beautiful, however, is the way in which these splendid tapestries are made: like a ruthless serial killer, Augustina, armed with very sharp tools, first cuts the animal's head, takes out the eyes and extracts the padding. . A procedure with a rather macabre flavor that she describes as follows: "taking out that shell is like looking into the soul of these animals". After that, she tries not to cut the fabric and to keep it as complex as possible. The result, after the hard work of sewing the pieces, is a series of rugs that are beautiful to look at and full of childhood memories.
The artist is, in fact, particularly fascinated by the specific meaning of the arrangement of the designs on the carpet, in the wake of the intimate artistic and religious significance of carpets in oriental cultures, and how each of her creations represents past stories, each different from the other. that tell the personal stories of the owners of the toys. So, thanks to Augustina, no one will ever have to give up their soft toys, which will have a new life displayed all together in the living room. In their new artistic expression with an oriental flavor.
Roberta Ragni
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