passion project

As I walked through a college campus during a vacation I found a collection of small little libraries. That was what started my interest in the little wooden box full of books. This is what started my parents and I to want to make one for our own neighborhood. When coming up with the plans for the box, everything sounded easier and felt like it would all just come into place. That was not the case where even the simplest sections of the box took days to be made just for it to just be a little off and need to be fixed.

Memories of the past will always be a sweet thing to look back on. I fondly look back to one day during a trip where my family went to Maine. That one afternoon is what inspired my tote bag. When we made a collage using cyanotype I added an additional piece of fabric which I cyanotype, which was the foundation for this project. Using the idea of a collage was how my tote bag started to take on more of a patch work style. 

Finding materials that complemented the dark blues of the cyanotype, I went with a beige canvas tote bag that I made, which included navy handles which came from an old pair of jeans. As the bag became more patch-work-like I added visible stitching which differentiated each section. Those decisions led me to add items like beads, chains and safety pins to give the bag more texture and made it stand out. Throughout the process of making the tote bag I wanted to symbolize how even the smallest memories can spark joy, and how that one afternoon at a park in Maine would be the catalyst into one of my favorite sewing projects.