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AssetID: 31789664

Headline: Artfully Aware: Woman Dresses As Artworks To Cope With Grief

Caption: PICTURE SHOWS: Ariel Adkins with artwork by Francis Kéré .... A woman dresses up like her favourite artworks. Ariel Adkins, 31, from Brooklyn, began making clothing inspired by art pieces as a way of coping with the loss of her mother. Her Artfully Aware project has seen her take inspiration from artists including Frida Kahlo, Henri Matisse and Jackson Pollock. Highlights have included Ariel dressing up as Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, and reproducing the eye-catching work of Yayoi Kusama; including one of Japanese artist's signature pumpkins. Ariel explains: "When I started Artfully Awear seven years ago, I had recently lost my mother to cancer. Her creativity was my biggest inspiration, and dressing up like artwork, and ultimately making my own art-inspired garments, became a means of recording her influence in my life; a project that helped me to channel my grief into colorful expression. "I'm always looking for new inspiration, and try to see as much art as possible, whether in my hometown of New York City or by traveling to other countries. I aim to learn something new with each project - whether it is a technique I haven't yet tried, or a type of art that I don't know much about. "When you create your own art-inspired clothing, you learn to appreciate each artistic decision made by the artist, and I've found that it's extremely exciting to discover something about myself in another artist's work, and to assimilate it into my own style. "Over the years, the project has come into its own and is no longer only about my mom, or me, but is also about each person who has been inspired to create their own art-to-wear and to engage with art in this way. I now teach classes and workshops, and lecture on the topic of "How to Dress Like a Work of Art and Create Your Own Masterpiece." I hope I continue to inspire others to create wearable art!" Ariel documents her work on her website artfullyawear.com

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