Chelsea Sharp is CrossXpollinatioN's youngest exhibitor

Published on 20 July 2018

Chelsea Sharp web.jpg

CrossXpollinatioN’s youngest exhibitor Chelsea Sharp took a journey into her family’s past to create her entry for this year’s exhibition.

Her patchwork and denim top and skirt entitled Things worn, loved and put back together weaves together elements owned by Chelsea, her mother Jill and grandmother Mavis.

A pre-loved pair of Chelsea’s jeans provided the base for her garment, with a 30 year old Simplicity pattern of Jill’s providing the framework.

Finally, the finishing touches came from Mavis Sharp’s extensive button collection, which Chelsea painstakingly sorted through to find the right accents for her piece.

Chelsea also pieced together fabric remnants from the textiles room at Colac’s Trinity College, where she is in Year 11, to create a bespoke patchwork that was incorporated into the top and skirt.

Having spent her childhood in close association with COPACC as a regular attendee of school holiday workshops, programs and shows; Chelsea said it was a thrill to be exhibited in CrossXpollinatioN.

“It feels really good as a young person to be accepted into such a great exhibition,” Chelsea said.

Currently studying textiles at Trinity, Chelsea said she hoped to make a career in the textiles industry after secondary school.

She created Things worn, loved and put back together as her semester one VCE folio piece, and serendipitously it had the perfect fit for CrossXpollinatioN’s Journeys theme.

Chelsea is considering career paths including fashion design, visual merchandising, costume design, curating or teaching within the arts disciplines.

Chelsea is one of five exhibiting artists giving a 10-minute ‘pop up’ artist’s talk this Sunday at COPACC as part of CrossXpollinatioN. The free pop up talks start at 2pm and are open to the general public.

CrossXpollinatioN is on at COPACC and the Red Rock Regional Theatre and Gallery until July 29. The exhibition is proudly sponsored by Tarndie, Irrewarra Sourdough and Star Printing.