Knee deep in plastic! Upcycling Plastic with Auli Sookari

I met Auli at the local Tam Valley Craft Fair in November. On my way out I noticed a sublime stack of gauzy looking scarves in divine colors. Her booth was simple and welcoming. She dyes with natural dyes and teaches classes. I took her card so I could peruse her website. I saw she offered a number of fun classes: Weaving 101, beeswax covers, natural dyeing and upcycling plastics.

Auli is Finnish and has that clean Scandinavian sensibility. She has a small but well organized studio off her house in the valley down from where I live. She has the goods for this fusing of plastic: loads and loads of apple bags from Trader Joe’s, newspaper sleeves in all colors, bubble wrap in a couple of hues, circles that don’t melt but leave a texture after being sandwiched, and much more.

Though this was not a difficult process, it was a fun way to get juicy and creative. And what I love about a class is the inspiration we get from making things all together.

My friend Myrna brought a couple of her elements for plastic making: plastic yarn in neon pink (loved it!), and some drop cloth with random paint markings on them.

Auli knows the right temperature to make the irons and what parchment to use. Of course there is some trial and error, but that helps us learn and maybe we can reuse our mistakes. Toward the end of the class she brought out lovely colored zippers and made each of us pouches with one of our finished pieces.

Though this was not a difficult process, it was a fun way to get juicy and creative. And what I love about a class is the inspiration we get from making things all together.