Statement:  

As children we experience exercise as a game, a way of playing with our friends and interacting with our environment. With age our relationship to exercise shifts. It becomes a chore - an obligation we have to schedule for our bodies. When I think back on the physical activity of my childhood, my least favorite school subject comes to mind: gym class. I resented the pacers, warm-up jogs, and mandatory pull-up tests. The gym days I looked forward to were spent outside in soccer games where the class was divided by pulling colored pinnies out of a bag, or the parachute play day where the whole class would collectively disappear under a big red and blue nylon dome. These memories are linked by bright colors and a collective experience: a day when a group of students used their bodies to interact with others. Field Day explores my personal relationship to exercise and incorporates fun into physical activity for adults. My objective is to infuse exercise with more enjoyment so physical activity becomes something we want to do rather than have to do. By constructing partners of garments I am creating uniforms as a way of associating two people together, while creating a support system and game.

Bio:

Regan Dunleavy is originally from rural West Chester, Pennsylvania. She is a textile designer, costumer, aspiring circus performer, and Fiber Senior with a concentration in Experimental Fashion. Dunleavy intensifies textures and patterns found in nature through color and construction. Raised by a personal trainer and a historical roofing contractor, her practiced is deeply informed by physical activity, discipline and meticulous craftsmanship.