I'm so glad to say that I've teamed up with Vans to support art education. I designed these shoes to let everyone know about their high
school art program VansCustomCulture. One US high school will take home $75k for their art program!
I wish I had a good arts program and a supportive community growing up, but because I didn't I spent a lot of time making due with what I had, and testing ideas with no clue what I was doing. I used to put cheese cloth over a tee shirt and draw on the cloth with puff paint, letting it bleed through to the shirt. Later in life, I realized that I was essentially screen printing but not efficiently.
Much like most trial and error things I do, I tried needle pointing straight into these canvas Vans and let me tell ya, these shoes are built to last! I ended up with bloody fingers trying to pierce through them! Yet, after watching every episode of The Crown and patching up my scabbed nailbeds, I ended up with this unlikely pair that I'm SO happy with.
With funding for arts programs in high school, kids would be able to experiment more and sooner allowing them to find their path at a young age so that by the time they're my age they could be inspiring and teaching people new methods and ideas.
I love being part of this project and can't wait to see what these students create with their blank vans.
Registration & more info at vans.com/customculture
