BECKRAHUL

Beckrauhl is “a mixed-media artist, focusing mainly on upcycle fashion design,” as well as, “a musical artist, songwriter and producer.”

Whether it is through showcasing her art pieces or dropping music on Soundcloud, Beckrauhl has been on the scene since she was a teenager. Her vivid attention to environmental issues and upcycled materials has led her to create a fun, gay and environmentally friendly fashion brand, EartH Show World. She uses letters from thrifted t-shirts to mix and come up with phrases to sew onto a new item (shirts, shorts, bags). Beckrauhl has a clothing line but will also do commissions. I commissioned her to make a shirt that says “Weezy Dan” because I wanted obscure merch combining Steely Dan and Weezer. It is one of my most prized possessions and I greatly appreciate how open and willing Beckrauhl was when I approached her with the idea. Beckrauhl is a great friend, talented creator, and has a genuinely sweet soul. Since this issue is being released during the same month as Earth Day and we are all gay af, I decided to interview Beckrauhl to get some more insight on EartH Show World, what it means to be environmentally conscious, and dive a little bit into her music career!

You can find her work on Instagram: @earthshowworld

“I live everyday like it’s Earth Day.”

INFLUENCES

What was your relationship with art growing up? Do you have family members who dabbled in art mediums? 

“I would say growing up I didn’t have the most artsy-ish family members, but I feel like that definitely is what made my style what it is. I was always jumping from medium to medium, and not ever really sticking to one thing. I remember in like fourth grade I started to draw and design sneakers and clothes on just regular lined paper, and then by sixth grade I was trying to figure out sewing so I could start bringing my drawings to life. 

Although I wasn't around her often growing up, my grandmother worked in a textile company in former Yugoslavia, and she would sew all types of garments from jeans, bags, belts, jackets and more. So I feel like that definitely had some influence on why I picked up sewing. My dad is also in a Yugoslavian Rock band so I’m sure I get some of my love for music from him, but everybody loves music!”

I admire how Earth conscious you are with your art and even with day to day habits/routines. What does being an environmentalist mean to you and what are some of the ways you try to lower your carbon footprint? 

“To me being an environmentalist is simply just doing what feels right, and/or doing what you can. Learning the consequences of certain actions and then realigning your actions with your values. 

Some simple ways that I try to lower my carbon footprint is always carrying around a reusable water bottle! Sometimes even an extra. I also always carry around in my bag, a reusable bag for shopping. 

When it comes to art, I am for the most part always working with thrifted clothing and fabrics. Making new clothes from old sheets and tablecloths, and also trying to adapt a zero-waste method of using ALL of my scrap material for other projects.

For the sake of my carbon footprint and many other reasons, I have not eaten meat in over ten years. Not that it needs to be cancelled out all the way, but I do think even just consuming less animal products is a good way to lower your carbon footprint.”

When was EartH Show World conceived? Could you tell us a little bit about what it means to you and your goals for the brand?

“EartH Show World was started in January 2021. For me it is all about spreading the message of saving our earth, and realigning our actions, and realizing that even small things we do matter. I love creating upcycled art and I love when people support it, but I would also say a main goal for me is to just inspire people to be more kind, go out for a hike, bathe in the sun, draw a little doodle, honestly just anything to reconnect back to our true humanness and our planet.”

ART & ADVOCACY

You are a musical artist as well! What genres inspire you to make music and does your music sound similar or different to those genres (Sometimes I will see artists who love David Bowie but will make dark trap music so clearly very different yet still inspired by a glam rock artist.)?

“Growing up my parents played a lot of Balkan music, so I had to discover all the American music on my own. I still remember the first song that I heard in English being “Barbie Girl” By Aqua and I would literally sit on the laptop and play the lyric video on loop. Genres that I would say heavily inspired me are definitely Pop and Rap. Specifically Hannah Montana, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga because it was what I found on Disney channel or MTV. I also loved Wiz Khalifa because my neighbor next door downloaded it on my iPod. In fifth grade I discovered SoundCloud and immediately wanted to post a song. I feel like you can definitely hear the inspiration from these artists in my music, but due to them all being so different, it makes this new weird sound.”

What is one environmental issue that you find is very important to you and your personal life? (could be textile waste, pollution, climate change, etc).

“Although there are many, an environmental issue that I find very important is the decreasing wildlife population. A few years ago, I read a statistic about how the wildlife population has decreased almost 70% since 1970. 

I feel as though that is a very large amount in a short period of time, and since I read that a few years ago, I’m imagining the percentage has grown. Not that I know what can be done to solve this, but it is why I feel even our little actions matter.”