3: What’s In My Pockets?

It’s a super fun game my bestie and I used to play: What’s in my pocket? Back when I used to do art installations, what was in my pocket was anyone’s guess. We often used very unconventional materials to build our creations therefore it could have been just about anything. These days my pockets have fewer things in them (and never a goddamn hair tie), but my apron pocket, woooo boy! When I hang that thing over a chair and the contents spill out… so many fun surprises. And “missing” items, too! (“THAT’S where it was!”)

I have something that I’ve coined “The MacGyver Complex”, meaning that I love finding myself in a situation where I have to come up with a solution but using only what is in my pockets, my backpack, or whatever is readily available wherever I am. Sometimes there are way easier paths to take that would solve the problem but why on earth would I do that: I have a piece of plastic, an over-aged rubber band, a strip of fabric and 6 different screws. The challenge is where the fun is at! Though my dad has been gone for almost 20 years, he would be so proud. He was the classic DIY dad. I’m betting he would also supply me with additional random items and together we would MacGyver the shit out of it, whatever “it” happens to be. 

This approach to making things has deep roots in The Makery. Here is a list of the top most important items in the studio:

Metal cocktail skewers

This is legitimately my absolute favorite tool, hands down. It’s just a simple cocktail skewer, but that’s only on the surface. I originally ordered this from Amazon back when I was A Paper Florist and needed to make paper flowers that could be reused on cakes. But it’s so much more than just a skewer: it’s a scraping device; it’s a cutting device; it’s a curling device; it’s a cupping device. I mean, honestly, when I’m looking at a project and I need some sort of tool, the first thing that comes to mind is my metal skewers. 

Lily’s backpack

The Makery wouldn’t be The Makery if it didn’t have Lily so being able to locate her when she scurries out the front door into the garden makes that backpack essential to my shop. Not only is it a super stylish leather satchel that elevates her fashion sense, it’s her air tag holder. I’d almost say it’s as important as the metal cocktail skewers but it doesn’t have as many functions: 2nd place. 

Dry shampoo

Now this one is less about how I use it unconventionally - it’s used as intended. But it is most certainly the third most important item in The Makery. 

The remaining items can’t be ranked, but they are all crucial to my existence:

• Silicone molds

• Plaster of Paris

• UV resin AND 2 part epoxy resin

• A roll of construction floor protecting paper for the tables - makes clean up so much easier

• Spray paint

• All of the glues

• All of the tapes

• Scraps of wood. If this was ranked, scraps of things would 100% be near the top. 

• All the knives/cutters

• My impact driver

• My 4 sewing machines

Ok, this list is about to get boring, so I’ll spare you. The point is, you can make anything with just about anything (plus a little or a lot of ingenuity). “Thinking outside the box” is a stale phrase, yet it’s true and important. Unless that box is full of materials and tools that are insanely random and fun, obviously. If we only exercise our brains in a confined space of creativity, we can’t grow, we can’t move forward, and we can’t MacGyver. 

Check your pockets, my friends.

P.S. Now our fun game is “what’s in my hair?”.