futch; femme-butch. not necessarily the middle ground between, but a new(&old) thing altogether (n.,adj.)
plarn; plastic-yarn or any recycled material that could be woven or used in fiber arts. (n.; a piece of plarn) (v.; to plarn)
bio...Molly Thayer (any pronouns) is a Philadelphia-based recycled fiber artist and art educator focused in weaving, fashion, and sculpture. Their work seeks to decompose, soften, and adorn by playing with familiarity and reconfiguration. Molly teaches kids and adults at the Arts League and Spiral Q Puppet Theater. Their individualized studies at Oberlin College earned them a BA in Environmental Studies, concentrating in Innovative Community Recycling. Mainly self taught in art, Molly also holds a Fashion Certificate from Paris American Academy and studied Metal Sculpture at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts through continuing education. Molly’s fashion collection Plarn Ecologies was shown at New York Fashion Week in 2023.
practice... molly makes and mends clothes, costumes, shoes, hats, looms, weavings, games, furniture, rugs and more from found materials. molly works primarily with colorful discarded plastic and fabric as well as wire, rope, yarn, metal, wood, and anything interesting he finds on the ground. molly's practice centers play & experimentation, queerness & neurodivergence, anti-capitalism & environmental justice, as well as embodiment & community care. molly is mostly self-taught in art and prefers to work outside of institutions in vernacular spaces: community is inextricable from their work. they dream of having a team and running a fully functioning community recycling studio for fashion, furniture, and fun! they are ever-searching to be a cobbler's apprentice. all collaborations, trades, and scheming are welcome through dm or email.
upcoming show:
Transcendent Mess at Vox Populi Gallery
Opening Jan 5, 2024
Running 6 weeks
I will be showing 3 sculptural pieces, one fiber, one plastic, one metal at Vox in Janurary. Curated by Lane Speidel.
- molly is a freelance artist in West Philadelphia where they do customs & alterations and teach classes from their home studio.
- teaching artist partnerships:
- Spiral Q Puppet Theater (after-school elementary - Grids, Maps, and Weaving, Puppets,
- Arts League (adult classes, summer camp, and afters school - Upcycling, Sculpture, Fiber, Rug Braiding, Plarn)
- Salamander Arts (after school elementary Fiber Friends)
- volunteer with the Philadelphia Trans Oral History Project (William Way Center)
- contracted artist work: Climate Justice Initiative (previously Trash Academy) within Mural Arts. Interactive fiber apparatuses for direct EJ action & education.
tip jar: $futchplarn on cashapp
links:
Talking Trash artist interview by Alicia No
Trash Academy at Waste Free Philly press conference
everywhere is queer worldwide map of queer owned businesses 
