The Wildcrafting Our Queerness ProjectMain MenuThe Wildcrafting Our Queerness ProjectMain PageArtExplore the art of queer AppalachiansTheory BlogSome major theories grounding queer Appalachian artQueer Appalachian Reading ListResources for further learningAboutLearn more about the project, oral histories, and the project's creator, Maxwell CloeMaxwell Cloed8840c620fc20aeee2b1f40a1e54c0e3967fa30d
1media/MME-Headshots-104.jpg2023-03-13T20:43:50+00:00Rae Drotleff6Fashion Designer and Fiber Artist from Columbus, Ohiostructured_gallery2023-08-07T14:48:55+00:00Rae Drotleff is a fashion designer and fiber artist originally from Columbus, Ohio. Through a combination of piecework, pastiche, and comical reappropriation, Rae Drotleff's garments highlight the awkwardness, the humor, and the joy of young trans identity. And though their work is centered on the experiences of young queer people in Appalachia and rural areas, Rae Drotleff nevertheless maintains a depth of historical and cultural references that ties their artistic practice to the long histories of rural queer people. In doing so, Rae Drotleff's pieces and their humor serve as a kind of flashlight into the fog of rural queer history and contemporary culture - a point of introspection and joy amidst uncertainty and hardship.
Click the title of each piece to view the full image and listen to an audio recording of Rae Drotleff describing their inspiration and process behind the work of art.
