We had friends visiting over the weekend (Hi friends!), and we dragged them all over Seattle.  We had lunch at Pike Place, we explored local parks, and ate and drank our way across the city.

And we visited the EMP, a weird pop-culture museum in the shadow of the Space Needle.  It’s full of movie and music memorabilia.  It’s an odd collection, but a pretty fun way to spend the afternoon.  (Want to see Princess Buttercup’s gowns from The Princess Bride?  A collection of phasers from Star Trek?  Nirvana’s old set lists?  Then the EMP is the place for you.)

This summer, the EMP is hosting a traveling show of “clothes” from the World of WearableArt Awards Show.   This show/competition is apparently held every fall in New Zealand, and now I need to visit New Zealand.

The “clothes” are only clothes in the sense that you could put a person inside of them.  They’re really wearable sculptures made out of plastic, leather, metal, wood and every other imaginable material.  They’re truly stunning.  If you ever get a chance to see the exhibition, definitely take advantage.  It’s really amazing.

One piee particularly piqued my interest, and (surprise, surprise), it featured wool.This is “Totally Sheepish”, by Sarah Peacock (whose website I couldn’t find, so if you can find more information about her, I’d love to see it.)

OK, it’s a little weird, but look at the craftsmanship!  Most of the wool for this piece was harvested from the artist’s pet sheep, High Jump, and processed by hand.  Some was spun into yarn, which was then knit and crocheted.  The teardrops were wet felted, and the corrugated pieces woven around the waist were hot-molded (a process that I don’t know much about).Can you imagine all the work that must have gone into making this thing?!  It must have taken months and months, maybe even years.

Be sure to check out the WOW website, or just Google the World of WearableArt to see the amazing creations.  And if you happen to be in New Zeland in October, go to the show and tell me all about it!