“Where’s my uniform?” That’s what my cousin Freddy would be yellin’ if he knew what was going on.

When I was young my cousin Freddy used to come to our house any time he was on leave in Key West.  Freddy was about ten years older than me and it would puff me up as he came through the door in his Navy uniform. He looked so handsome with his jet black hair against all that white.

He would take me with him on the bus to downtown Miami. Cousin Freddy bought me that first “hot fudge sundae.” Oh yuuum, to this day it’s my favorite.

I baked my first cake just for Freddy; it was a square marble cake. He said it was delicious, but I’m not sure. The cake was gone when I went to get a piece. That’s the way it is with seven kids in the house.

We lost touch after Freddy moved to New York. Still, I wonder what he would think of the vets turning their uniforms into works of art. Knowing him, Freddy would join the exhibit.

The vets have personalized their military service, made it special in their own way. There is more in this article:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/art-360779-muckenthaler-artist.html

Photos: Lou Ponsi—Orange County Register

For the “Combat Paper” exhibit, military veterans converted uniforms into a canvas; which was used to create artwork

This art is titled “We are All Free Now,” it was made from Iraqi currency. It’s one of dozens created by military veterans and on display at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center.

Patches are cut from the uniform to be converted to paper.

The patches are cut into small squares and soaked in water.

A machine beats the wet squares of cloth into pulp.

The pulp is pressed into sheets of paper which become the canvas.

When held to the light, you can see fibers from the military uniform that was converted into a canvas and then used to create art for the “Combat Paper” exhibit.

In this piece, titled “Hard Bound Journal,” the artist, an Army veteran, converted his old uniform into a journal.

Have any ideas what you would create with a uniform?

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
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