Firebird Fabrics and Packable Art

The Rocking Duck Boat next to its cousin The Firebird, 2014. Photo by A. Laura Brody

When necessity is the mother of inspiration...

The Summerset Festival of the Arts in Baraboo, WI has invited me back for the 4th year in a row! I've been a guest artist there, offering staple draping workshops and collaborating on exhibits and a fashion show. This time, they asked me to share some of my mobility art and to share how the community can re-imagine mobility too. I'm thrilled about the prospect. But...The pieces from Opulent Mobility are huge and heavy and just not that packable. It would be an expensive nightmare to try and ship them. So what to do?

Well, how about wheelchair slipcovers and covers for jazzy power scooters? Ones where I can reuse a lot of materials? Perfect! Take multiple re-used and donated fabrics, a lot of stuffing and a spool of monofilament, add in some some swearing and... ta da! Firebird fabric to cover a Quickie QM 710. It's still going to take up a lot of room, but at least it will fit in a suitcase.