I've been working on a new line of handbags. Here is the first one, based on a collage done on Polyvore. Yes, Yes, I know, its Photoshop Extremely Lite, a kind of cyber way to dress up dolls, but I got turned on to it by a friend of mine who does the most amazing, lyrical, Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau meets cyber culture collages on Polyvore. She does them as her form of art escape, a vacation from the drag-em-downs of life into the creative imagination. I love her work and here's a sample of what she's up to:
So, inspiration in hand, I did my first Polyvore collage and then thought, "Hmmm....What else can I do with this?" The answer came from Staples. Yes. The Muse speaks to us in mysterious ways! On a hunt down the aisles recently, looking for an easy way to add a product label to my creations, I met Karen, Staples Associate and all around genuine, friendly human being, who schooled me on the latest in iron on transfer media. I walked excitedly out with a package of fabric that can be run through an inkjet.
The collage was transfered on and then applied to fabric. Not just any fabric mind you! Fabric sourced from Interior design samples and vintage upholstery fabrics and finishes. Don't you ever wonder what happens to those Interior design fabric sample books, once the designs go out of season? Well, here's one thing that happens to them: they get recycled as found objects into Art!
The pattern was cut and sewed into a bag. Here's work in progress:
Here's the finished product:
And here's the Marketing blurb from my Etsy store, freelion.etsy.com:
"The Aries Classis Tote is a bag you can use every day, with plenty of room for all your necessities.
Our Classic Tote:
* has a 9 1/2" wide X 4"deep base
* is 13" wide at the top and 13" high
* closes with a zipper adorned with a matching pull tassel
* has 2 long shoulder straps
* is fully lined in a matching cotton fabric patterned with a subtle design.
That's the basics! What makes each bag appealing is the Original Art Collage that celebrates each Astrological sun sign, use of novelty fabrics, coordinating trims and colours and selection of linings that complement either the colour or the theme (or both!). These bags are not mass produced. We make each and every one in our studio and each one is unique."
So that's the news from the design table. The next project involves taking images of my paintings and sewing them into bags! That'll be coming blog-way soon!
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