Aneesa Vaez-Iravani
Webmaster
Instead of throwing out her old shoes or placing them in a forgettable place, senior Taylor Kamsler turns them into wearable pieces of art. Using shoes and supplies she already has at home, Kamsler's latest hobby has captured the eyes of many of her friends and several students around campus.
Kamsler was first introduced to the methods of sketching and acrylic painting in the fourth andfifth grades in an after-school art class taught at Casa Di Mir Montessori. “It was probably my first experience learning real art techniques and I really liked it; I think that was probably one of the reasons that I started to become more seriously interested in art.” Kamsler noted, “I really just take art classes because I like to create things, which I do all the time even when I'm not in an art class. Especially in ceramics class this year, which I have both fifth and sixth period, I try to challenge myself all the time to make things that I don't think I'll be able to pull off; so far that has worked out pretty well.” Kamsler is currently working on carving a wooden block, which will be shaped into a Wall-E stamp.
The shoes Kamsler uses for her creations are typically plain, simple, and relatively cheap. “I usually use Vans or Converse because they are a canvas material and you can write all over them." Using a variety of different colored Sharpies, Kamsler draws whimsical designs and various mythological creatures like monsters, and frequently uses multi-colored acrylic paints for crazier and more “psychedelic” scenes. She also saves a great deal of clothing from middle school, and sews and paints on t-shirts to give them a new innovative appearance.
Though she has considered producing her shoes in larger quantities or possibly even selling them over the summer, Kamsler’s designs are mainly a way for her to have a little fun while doing something she loves. “It's really fun to collaborate on them with my boyfriend, [senior] Raja Stanley and it makes us both think of things we wouldn't have come up with on our own. Also, they're just a cool way to personalize someone's look. They're wearable art which is great because people can see what we have created anytime we have them on."
? For the recent Sadie Hawkins dance themed “Opposites Attract,” Kamsler and Stanley each wore hand-decorated shoes depicting scenes of day and night, each person wearing one "night" shoe and one "day" shoe. Kamsler's "night" shoe was a crazy cityscape, while her "day" shoe was a simple landscape of trees. With a similar idea in mind, Stanley ’s “night” shoe was a tree in a dark setting in contrast to the bright orange landscape he wore for “day.”?
Art and designing aside, Kamsler loves to spend Friday nights and weekends hanging out with friends, eating out at fast-food restaurants like In-N-Out and Falafel Drive In, or simply lounging around and chatting on relaxing evenings. She also frequently plays Taboo and likes to joke around with friends while playing Rock Band. Kamsler has even made several attempts at playing the guitar; her petite-sized fingers are her comical excuse for playing poor bar chords.
Keeping an open mind for her future and options ahead of her, Kamsler has not yet decided where she will attend college. For the time being she plans to major in art and see where her creativity leads her.