Adult Makerspace
Sunday, September 20 | 10:00am–12:00pm
Attendance capped at 20 guests | First come, first served
Sliding scale $5-15 | Adults 18+

Olive Gawlik’s textile drawings on shirts bring together traditions of personal adornment, commemoration, and self-expression inspired by Purdue senior cords and tattoo flash sheets. By selecting song lyrics, small motifs from domestic arts, familiar comic characters, and other personally meaningful images, they create a wearable collection of visual mementos that help make sense of their own identifiers. 

Using simple thinking routines and close-looking strategies, you will identify the signs and motifs that feel most connected to your own story. You’ll then translate those ideas into a wearable patch or onto a piece of clothing from home. Think of your finished piece as a collection of personal symbols or an archive of things you want to remember, celebrate, or share to the world. 

No drawing experience is required! Come prepared to think about your memories, interests, and the things that make you who you are.

About the Artist
Olive Gawlik (formerly known as Boy Nirvana) is a trans visual artist, writer, and museum professional newly living in Midcoast Maine. Their work is deeply inspired by close-looking practices, using “queer” as a verb, and semiotics. Put simply, they are interested in sustained observation, asking questions, and the signs and signifiers that help us make meaning. Their work is heavily inspired by a life spent in New England, from its landscapes to its domestic and vernacular arts. Olive can often be found walking at dusk around the harbor, headphones on and listening to Nine Inch Nails.

Photography Policy: By participating in ArtLab programming, I understand my child or myself may be photographed by CMCA staff for general documentation and publicity. I also understand that no royalty, fee or other compensation shall become payable to me by reason of such use.