Neighbors helping neighbors, experts helping ingénues, and
everyone helping the planet: these seem to be the basic precepts that guided a
recent design contest organized between South Boston-based rug maker Merida
Meridian and collaborator Artists for Humanity (AFH),
a non-profit organization that brings creative entrepreneurship opportunities
and hands-on training - including paid employment in the arts - to at-risk
local youth. For the contest, which concluded in late November, six young
artists from AFH's graphic-design studio submitted colorful rug patterns to be
judged by a panel filled more than a dozen deep with Boston's expert eyes, from
interior designers like Dennis Duffy to STUFF stylist Liana
Peterson. And when the votes were tallied, three winning designs were chosen to
be manufactured as tufted rugs in Merida's forthcoming spring collection (the
company also made a donation to AFH). That the young artists, aged 15 to 22,
can add such an accomplishment to their creative resumes so early in life is a
pretty exciting opportunity.
But in putting together their designs, the AFH artists weren't
just required to flex their creative muscles and mouse-clicking fingers. They
also had to rely on their business savvy (the designs had to be practical to
manufacture using Merida's existing textile technology) and their
eco-consciousness. The latter element is key for Merida, a company that prides
itself on offering "sustainability with style," as its blog's slogan goes,
specializing in rugs woven from natural fibers like sisal, jute, wool, and even
sustainably sourced paper.
Besides offering a chance for young people to share their skills
and earn creative credentials, the contest also provided an opportunity for
them to contemplate the very meaning of "sustainability." Designers were
required to submit "inspiration boards" that included descriptions of what sustainability
meant to them and how the idea influenced the direction of their work. No two
artists approached the assignment from the same angle, as evidenced by the
final three winners' described inspirations: winner Massiel Grullon found her
creative catalyst in the colorful markings of peacock feathers, as the bird's
reputed ability to eat certain wild poisons without consequence symbolized to
the artist "incorruptibility and immortality." Kelsey Arbona found her muse in
leaves and flames, the natural patterns found within them inspiring designs
that reflect Mother Earth's predilection for consistency, moderation, and,
hence, sustainability. And Alland Torchon addressed the big picture by looking
to some of the tiniest creatures around, creating designs that evoked the
shapes of microscopic organisms. "As small as they are," he writes, they
nonetheless "act as pillars for all life."
"These rugs act as a reminder that every little piece counts in
the continuation of our existence and that our planet is fragile as it is
nurturing ... we must be kind to it as it is to us," continues the young
artist. Ah, from the mouths (and hands, and minds, and hearts) of babes.
- Scott Kearnan
For more information on Merida's
sustainable textiles, visit meridameridian.com. For more information on Artists
for Humanity, visit afhboston.com.
