Day 61

This was a Valentine's Day purse. It is red felt with fluo-pink webbing arrow.

Day 60

I don't know what to make of this one- it definitely does not glamorize the war. The war is inescapable and by making a statement purse drawing attention to it- is my way of not letting anyone forget...even in the context of fashion...the reality that is occuring every day in another part of the world.

Day 59

Happy Belated Halloween! I'm back. Yes, I have been slacking on the blog- not because there aren't enough purses but because my priorities weren't straight and I let school take the lead...will try to post more often... This purse is made out of inside-out black nylon canvas with safety-orange neon nylon under neon mesh. Houndstooth is already a breaking up of the grid- so putting houndstooth on a purse that droops is deconstruction to the next level!

Day 58

A second in the Nascar-Rascal series!- Pom-pom style

Day 57

This bag is all about the idea of the zig zag- in other words two things made out of the same idea (material) going in opposing directions...the top is notched to look like a zipper.

Day 56

This is a purse from my pirate-punk phase (2003 onwards). It uses neon construction tape (from my assemblages), digital fabric transfers (of me wearing a homemade silver dress and a hat knit out of neon-orange-polar-fleece), and an embroidered neon chartreuse lightening bolt!.

Day 55

I didn't mean to slack on my blog...I'm back! This blue leather purse was inspired by Elvis' blue suede shoes. It is a bag that is formed by how it slacks- when it's straight, it's just a rectangle- maybe that means that slackers are more interesting!

Day 54

This is one of my first purses..a fake-fur-ball. I was trying to make a purse that looked like some kind of an urban pom pom.

Day 53

This purse is an assemblage of my "love" for Nascar with my love for Rascal (who was my cat since childhood, until he passed away at age 23). Rascal was a very special cat who lost his tail in a car accident (do you remember Toonces the driving cat from Saturday Night Live?) and was left with a tail nub that gave him attitude.

Day 52

This pink net bag - is inspired by the idea of urban fishing. It expands to fit different treasures.

Day 51

Fish net and glitter black leather-love it! love it! love it!...with a touch of neon yellow embroidery.

Day 50

More zippers.!.!.!

Day 49

Even at the end of a long day...there is a neon glimmer of tommorrow

Day 48

This purse is a tube that can roll in and out of its neon handle strap.

Day 47

If there was a time for the fanny-pack to re-emerge that time is now!...in the manifestation of a lightening-bolt-shaped N!

Day 46

This purse is red felt- warm and cozy for Fall. There's nothing that feels better than sitting in the crisp air. Today at Starbucks, I was thinking about Paris...the weather this summer felt like our Fall. The main reason I wish I was there now is the macarons! This purse would be the perfect macaron-carrying-case since it is rigidly shaped- their perfect shells wouldn't get smushed! Dee-lish

Day 45

The inside and the outside of this purse is the same leather...but underneath lies the beauty in the imperfections.

Day 44

More zippers! Doesn't this purse look like a purple piece of sushi!?

Day 43

Ruler + Webbing = Purse-a-holic! This purse has to do with the idea of process and product. In this purse, the two are the same...you can measure the material for a purse with the material itself. What if you could bake a cake with edible bakeware? and the cake would taste better for it! That would be progress.

Day 42

This is one of the first purses I made with leather.
Black leather + neon orange webbing = cool

Day 41

This purse is leather with stings and grommets. Today was a late day at school. We were building a bridge out of FedEx triangular tubes. The bridge is long and skinny, I have no idea if it will succeed or fail. This purse has long strings- they are like wire- very thin, but very strong.

Day 40

Neon-cowgirl purse...to put pep in your step!

Day 39

This purse was inspired by the Matthew Barney exhibit that was at the Guggenheim a few years ago. It contains a patch from the Cremaster Series. The exhibit was controversial- either loved or hated. A lot of people believed it was a flash in the pan...only art history will tell. One thing I do know is that the show had an impact on me and what I think about art/artworld. Barney, used the Guggenheim Museum in his art- he climbed it, thus appropriating the museum as his own and conquering the artworld. The question isn't whether to reach the top or not...it's what do you do once you've reached it? It's a beautiful day outside- I'll go enjoy it!

Day 38

This is another hand-made felt purse...first I knitted chunks of raw wool and then I felted the whole lump of a purse. It is the type of bag that can substitute for a sweater since it emanates warmth- perfect for winter afternoons when you are on the way to Starbucks to get a tall hot cocoa with whipped cream.

Day 37

This purse was inspired by my "All Real All Steel" campaign for my sculptures (ongoing )...more about that later.

Day 36

TOdAy I went to a construction site for studio. This is the construction worker purse that I made after being inspired by an SNL skit with Cameron Diaz, where she caricatures an artist who says that she assembles her works and is actually a construction worker...you have to believe me the skit was funny...maybe because I could totally identify with it.

Day 35

rock n roll, rock n roll, rock n roll

Day 34

A more recent purse...Purple metallic leather carry-all. Big bags are the most telling signs about people. They say that people carry their baggage around. The bigger a purse and the more filled it is, the more baggage a person has. What does it mean if someone wears a really big bag but fills it with nothing?

Day 33

This purse is another cocktail-party-purse. Made with fluorescent-customized plastic flower parts and black nylon canvas- infused with a utility black zipper.

At school, in studio, we are designing superficial facades- no building exists behind them, no site, no context or connection to anything...the (Roman) classical orders were all about surface and copying elements out of context- that is why the Coliseum stands as a technologically advanced concrete structure, wrapped in a stone veneer of the "orders". Wouldn't it be more orderly if the structure and the facade were the same material?

Day 32

Another bolts 'n bonez purse...for a skull and crossbones kind of day (aka my thoughts about school).

Day 31

Poga Sushi Lunch Hour!
This purse was done as a campaign to promote doing yoga at lunch and then having to-go california rolls (w/roe). Poga stands for Pop-yoga, a philosophy, which means both that yoga should be popularized and that it should be done to a sound-drop of popular music!
I had sushi tonight and ate the salmon-roe sushi for the first time. It was wrapped with shiso leaf on a bed of rice and then double wrapped in seaweed. I was expecting not to like it but it was surprisingly tasty in a 'different' way. Then I had the best orange chocolate ice cream at Larry's in Dupont- highly recommended!

Day 30

It's almost Friday, so I thought I'd post a party bag (goodie bag-remember! those were the days!) I think it was Karl Lagerfeld who said that purses are one size fits all (not sure so if anyone knows the quote let me know). The idea being that no matter who you are or how you look, you can use a tiny little bag to define your look (even your attitude)!

The person is the backdrop to the bag- not the other way around. (The difference between reality and fashion is that in fashion, people are the backdrop/hangers for the clothes...whereas in the street, clothes serve as backdrop to the personalities of the wearers). I believe that people should be rooted in reality and purses should float with fashion. fabooloos!

Day 29

Yeah! Zippers are rock 'n roll!
The great thing about zippers is that no matter where you start to zip each side of the zipper, it will zip up- even if it zips up askew. The life lesson I take from the zipper is- it is important to start on the right foot. Dance away!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Day 28

FYI I designed this metallic duffel before duffels let alone metallic duffels became popular (aka american apparel).

Day 27

More photos of Sunny Cotton!!!
It's obvious that he is smiling as he holds the chestnut!
Sunny Cotton may be a misfit, but he's definitely not maudlin.

Day 26

This purse is nature-y. Green leather with safety-orange layered nylon mesh mess, with turquoise web strap. It's photographed thrown on the sidewalk cause I thought that looked the most nonchalant and natural.

Day 25

Since I got complements on the previous houndstooth post (from Eliana!), here is another (dipped in safety orange!)

Day 24

Today my cousin is in town from Philadelphia. I looked in her purse and guess what I saw- one of my purses! I've only given away like three bags total- ever, so this was a rare siting. The purse itself is one of the firsts. It is used as a make-up bag and well worn. xoxo

Day 23

Houndstooth heart satchel with a zesty fluo-pink detail on strap.
I chose this purse to highlight because-
a. I'm in love with houndstooth.
b. I'm in love with the yoga and sushi combination
(which needs a purse to go with it).
c. I'm in love with houndstooth.
The exciting thing about houndstooth is that it's a pattern which is in control and out of control at the same time. It is both a checkered grid and chaos at the same time. This reminds me of the top of napoleon desserts which have stripes of icing that have been dragged into each other to form a deviation of unlikely beautiful chaos- in other words, making something new out of something classic.

Day 22

I officially made it past the three week mark! According to John from my class, this means that I am officially a blogger! Today was the longest day ever- but now I can finally relax. The purse of the day includes a burst of sun (made from construction tape). According to my favorite cliche proverb - "the sun will shine brighter tomorrow" Can't wait!

Day 21

This is how I feel right now- deconstructed.

Day 20

As promised, here are the pictures of Sunny Cotton eating a walnut- from this morning. He is the cutest!

Day 19

Has football season started? This purse was inspired by my admiration for the dramatic antics of Terrell Owens, ex-star of the Dallas Cowboys. I remember watching him leap like a panther ballerino across his field-stage, his diamond studs acting as mini stadium lights sparkling him on.