Spotlight on AFH Sculptor: Dominique Butori
Dominique Butori is a senior at the John D. O’Bryant High School. Since she joined the AFH Sculpture studio in Fall 2009, she has made innovative contributions with her original accessory line made from recycled materials. Her impressive art portfolio gained her admission to Mass College of Art, School of Museum of Fine Arts, and Montserrat College of Art where she will attend in the Fall.
Q: How did you come up with the idea to make star earrings from recycled magazines?
DB: I was helping my friend Alice fold paper stars for her “signature star” table. Then I thought it’d be really cute if I made earrings out of them. So I found two of the same magazine strips and started taking out the pages that matched to be one pair. I asked my aunt who makes jewelry for help and she gave me a bag of earring hooks. Then I took a sewing needle, threaded the paper star to the hook then dipped the finished product in resin. The resin would protect the stars from wet weather.
I figured that if I wanted to wear them then somebody else would think they were cool and want to wear them too.
Q: How long does it take you to make one earring?
DB: First I fold the paper stars which takes 5 minutes; then, stringing both earrings would take 10 minutes to get the right length; then I dip it in resin and for wait a day for it to dry.
Q: What has been challenging about this process?
DB: Tying the string to the earring, hooking it through and making sure they were both the same length can get pretty difficult. I’ve had some that were off by a little bit. One pair was off by an inch so I had to start over again.
Q: What has been positive about this?
DB: I enjoy making them. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments from people who saw me making them. I wore one pair to school and I got a lot of compliments there.
Q: Tell us about your fresh idea for the new purses made from recycled bags?
DB: I was at my aunt’s house and I saw the 10 lb Domino sugar bag and I thought it’d be really cool to make it into a purse because my nickname is Domino. I really liked the design and I had a bunch of Duct tape lying around so I used it to construct my bags. From there, I brought the idea into the Sculpture studio and started making more for the Greatest Party On Earth.
Q: What do you use the Domino purse for?
DB: I use it to hold my cell phone, chapstick, pencils, sun block, lotion and a sketchbook.
Q: How long does it take you to make one bag?
DB: Two and a half hours.
Q: How do you make the bags?
DB: I use the recycled bag and Duct tape—that’s it! I make the inside pocket with Duct tape first, then I make the handles, and then I construct the bottom to give it more shape and more support.
Q: Why should people come to the Greatest Party On Earth?
DB: Because there are a lot of different artists under one roof and they all have different, wonderful ideas and they share their ideas with each other. It’s a great place to see what youth have to offer.
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By attending our annual fundraiser, Greatest Party On Earth, not only will you party with Boston's best entertainment, food and wine, you will also be supporting our arts program that provides jobs and training for hundreds of Boston's under-served teens each year!
Get your tickets today: http://www.afhboston.com/gpoe_tickets.php
Fun fact of the day: Artists For Humanity is the only place in the country with a line of sustainable furniture made from recycled magazines and junk mail!
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