Creating wearable art with Dakota Noot

The artist held a workshop showcasing art and teaching students how to create face masks

By Jasmine Alejandre

Melissa DiTommaso creates a wearable art piece to stick to her body at the Dakota Noot workshop. (Violett DeJean | Valley Star)

Dakota Noot hosted a wearable art workshop at the LAVC Art Gallery in collaboration with the Rainbow Pride Center and Jenene Nagy, the gallery’s director. This exhibition is part of a series outlining social programs on campus like Umoja and the Guardian Scholars.

“Art empowers students to be creative and take risks,“ said Nagy. “This is a space for them to express themselves and try some stuff out, in a non-judgmental space.“

Noot is no stranger to Valley College. Back in 2021, he hosted an “Art Is Good For You” workshop online when the Art Gallery was still remote because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had originally done his wearable art through Zoom, and when he was invited back for an exhibition, Nagy thought it would be a great idea to have the same workshop, but now in person.

The exhibition walk-through was on display for a full month for students to get a chance to look at the work. His artwork consisted of cutouts made on stands, along with full-body murals.

“A lot of my stuff is fantasy-like. I like stuff that is spooky, funny, weird,” said Noot. “That's what I want to recreate in my art and get that kind of magic.”

The artist draws inspiration from his upbringing around farm life and interests in horror movies and mutations, including his personal favorite: Courage the Cowardly Dog. Growing up in a family full of farmers his work is naturally animal-based as he creates metamorphosized cutouts of colorful farm animals.

The workshop took place at the patio next to the Art Gallery where the artist’s work was on display for students to view. At the workshop, Noot showed students wearable art they could craft and even created a few examples to inspire them. The wearable art was made on paper and there were many art supplies, including colored pencils and markers available for participants.

Rainbow Pride Center counselor coordinator Natalie Guerrero, created a pair of eyes and a bowtie using crayons. One student, Melissa DiTommaso, had previously attended Noot’s lecture and exhibition and was inspired to create a whole bikini set with hands with long nails.

“I saw a flier and thought his work was cool,” said Melissa DiTommaso, an animation major. “I went to the opening gallery and I liked it and thought it was really fun.”

After creating their wearable pieces, students got their picture taken by a photographer with a Polaroid and were able to keep the shot. There was coffee, fruit and other snacks available for students to enjoy while they relaxed and let their imaginations guide them.