What We Carry

config.style.page.font: "Iowan Old Style/Constantia/Georgia/serif 18" config.style.page.color: "gray-9 on white" config.style.page.link.font: "underline" config.style.page.link.color: "gray-9" config.style.page.link.lineColor: "cyan-3" config.style.page.link.active.color: "cyan-6 on cyan-1" config.style.page.header.font: "16" config.style.page.header.link.font: "small caps" config.style.page.footer.font: "16" config.style.page.footer.link.font: "small caps" -- <center> WHAT WE CARRY {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/lil_bag_2.png'} [[Enter]] </center>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Carolyn+Lewis.jpg'} [[LinaLewis|CAROLYN LEWIS INFO]]: The Dog Ate My Lipstick AI Enhanced Drawing [[BACK|ERIN DENGERINK ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|DARCI DAVIS ART]] </center>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Jen_Cohen.jpg'} [[J. Cohen|J. COHEN INFO]]: Clouds in a Bag AI Enhanced Drawing [[BACK|KELLY MARSHALL ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|RICKIE WOLFE ART]] </center>

j. cohen collects clouds in Port Townsend. @porttownsendcloudcollective on Insta. <footer>[[Back|J. COHEN ART]]</footer>

I am always looking for new ways to create. It's an obsession. "I used to keep lots of lipsticks in my purse. I only wear it seldom now so it’s ok that the dog ate it." <footer>[[Back|CAROLYN LEWIS ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Jessica_Stone.jpg'} [[Jessica Stone|JESSICA STONE INFO]]: Frog Bag Polymer Clay, Acrylic Paint [[BACK|DARCI DAVIS ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|ALANNA RISSE ART]] </center>

Jessica is primarily a polymer clay artist who makes little animal figurines. "Frog bag is a bag that's a frog to carry your frogs. When I saw the prompt I knew I wanted to do something with polymer clay and animals. Initially I was thinking about a more traditional bag structure, but then I thought "what if frog?"" @boxingfoxesshop on Insta. <footer>[[Back|JESSICA STONE ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Kelly_Marshall.jpg'} [[Kelly Marshall|KELLY MARSHALL INFO]]: House of Gucci Plastic Grocery Bag, Red Thread [[BACK|Enter]]| [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|J. COHEN ART]] </center>

Kelly is a person who lives in Seattle, works a lot, takes care of people, and makes art sometimes. "My bag carries nothing and resembles a shelter. If you exhale near it, the house will blow away. " <footer>[[Back|KELLY MARSHALL ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Darci_Davis.jpg'} [[Darci Davis|DARCI DAVIS INFO]]: Mood Ring Backpack Photoshop [[BACK|CAROLYN LEWIS ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|JESSICA STONE ART]] </center>

Darci is UX Designer constantly working to make the world a more (user) friendly place. "Several years ago I was introduced to color personality science - an easy way to identify an individual’s communication & mood by color association. As a UX designer, giving people a way to express themselves without verbal communication was something I knew would benefit most. What if your every day backpack could change so that those around you knew how to approach you? Or is it wise to wear one’s heart on their sleeve?" <footer>[[Back|DARCI DAVIS ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Stashia_Cabral.jpg'} [[Stashia Cabral|STASHIA CABRAL INFO]]: Vintage Mink Bag Vintage Bag, Photoshop [[BACK|IO ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] |[[ FORWARD|DAVID DAVIS ART]] </center>

Stashia Cabral is a multidimensional weirdo who makes art in Portland, Oregon. <footer>[[Back|STASHIA CABRAL ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Erin_Dengerink.jpg'} [[Erin Dengerink|ERIN DENGERINK INFO]]: Handbag for the Heartbroken Burnt Sugar, Rice Paper [[BACK|DARIN MCADAMS ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|CAROLYN LEWIS ART]] </center>

Artist,organizer, handbag designer Erin Dengerink lives and works in SW Washington. Dengerink did not partner with a major luxury band to create the Handbag for the Heartbroken, but she is very interested in collaborating with a colony of ants to help deconstruct her creations. "Don’t hide your broken heart, accessorize it! This unique and beautiful bag was designed for the broken hearted. The exterior resembles a tortoiseshell lucite purse from the 60’s but is entirely burnt sugar. The sugar brings a sweet smell and a bitter taste. The top flap and interior have exposed soft rice paper for a smooth comforting feel. Run your fingers around the inside of the bag for a soothing experience. You may carry whatever you feel you need in this bag, but it will not hold forever. With time the materials will deteriorate, break, dissolve, and your items will be lost. When it is no longer useful to you, compost it, or leave it out in the elements to melt. It will disappear. This handbag is designed to let go." <footer>[[Back|ERIN DENGERINK ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Rickie_Wolf.jpg'} [[Rickie Wolfe|RICKIE WOLFE INFO]]: Blue Smile Jacaranda Pod [[BACK|J. COHEN ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|DARIN MCADAMS ART]] </center>

Rickie Wolfe teaches printmaking and is the coordinator for the Print Department at Pratt Fine Arts Center. In her studio, she investigates structures based in nature using metal, paper, and ink. Her artwork is at rickiewolfe.com Rickie also has a collection of small handbags. "This pod is from a blue jacaranda, commonly found in LA where I grew up. For me, pods and seed heads epitomize beauty and decay, every stage of life holds something of beauty and value. Decay and age are not valued in our society. A pod carries what will be needed most for the future; Seeds to be planted, seeds of imagination." <footer>[[Back|RICKIE WOLFE ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Lou_Gibson.jpg'} [[A. Gibson|LOU GIBSON INFO]]: The Gibson Bag Watercolor, String, Paper [[BACK|DAVID DAVIS ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|ADELAIDE BLAIR ART]] </center>

I have spent about 15 years each in 3 areas of training and work: philosophy, psychology, art and art history; a kind of knowledge-or-question-braid. My studio practice: mostly painting, hard and soft sculpture, writing. Abstraction, experimentation. Learning is living, for me. To seek to know is to frame and reframe. Answers are elusive. Process and paying attention are what move us. I think. This bag is a tribute to a favorite artist: Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015.) I have been grounding first moments with brush or pen via some gesture towards this little work most of my life, though that is just a way to let go and begin. Kelly’s simplicity and beauty, achieving so much with color or line, slay me. Would I actually make or contribute a design to the highest-end designers in the world? Artists can rarely afford to hate money, AND I am of a strain of artist that has a critic bred or wired in. I do NOT want to contribute to more copied stuff in the world, especially when I value the handmade so much. But dang, art materials cost MONEY man. I am left with Wittgenstein’s early conclusion: whereof one cannot speak one must be silent. So I offer this. And just hey, corporations or individuals, and whatever your politics, support artists who put their souls into their work. You know how to find us, though you often only look a few select places. Stop that! Today what might be in it is a puppy, a kitty, a tiny, tiny live horse, free and compassionate people. Some wit and humor to go with tears. Enough money for a really good coffee. A few brushes, Maybe watercolors or ink and a small pad of first-rate, cold-press wc paper. Only bc they are the easiest art supplies to carry. You don’t want to see my studio! (Unless you do.) <footer>[[Back|LOU GIBSON ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Darin_McAdams+.jpg'} [[Papa Bing Bong|DARIN MCADAMS INFO]]: Style Sack Garbage Bag, Paper, Powerpoint [[BACK|RICKIE WOLFE ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|ERIN DENGERINK ART]] </center>

Rarely seen, never heard, Papa Bing Bong has been producing the world's most luxurious sacks since 1937. "When traveling in the car, I sometimes pack my stuff into a trash bag. I think this is perfectly acceptable. This is my riff on that." Note from Papa Bing Bong's wife: I made him get a duffle bag. <footer>[[Back|DARIN MCADAMS ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Adelaide_Blair.gif'} [[Adelaide Blair|ADELAIDE BLAIR INFO]]: Trick or Treat DALLE*2, Laser Printer, Photoshop, iMovie, Giphy [[BACK|LOU GIBSON ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|CREDITS]] </center>

"HALLOWEEN IS THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR. CANDY. STABBING MOVIES. SCARY BOOKS. DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT COSTUMES. DID I MENTION CANDY? CANDY BAG IS THE ONLY BAG." Adelaide Blair lives in Seattle and does not eat as much candy as she would like. <footer>[[Back|ADELAIDE BLAIR ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/David_Davis.jpg'} [[DAH|DAVID DAVIS INFO]]: South African Water Crisis Photoshop [[BACK|STASHIA CABRAL ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD |LOU GIBSON ART]] </center>

DAH is a professional complainer. Aspiring Clown. "The rich have no taste. That’s why they pay people to have it for them. They’re not interested in what they can buy. They’re interested in owning what other people cannot. The more taboo, the better. My concept is a canteen bag made with supple leather from the hide of a South African village’s only cow, purchased for next to nothing - nothing to the ultra-rich anyway. After assembling the bag, it will be embroidered using the hair of children from the same village - to create a scene of many hands reaching up toward flowing water. The water will be flowing from a golden spigot, embroidered using the silk from the golden silk orb-weaver spider. The water will be a transparent vinyl cavity filled with the dust of lapis lazuli. The clasp will be the faucet handle, in 24k gold. Finally, on the back will be a scene depicting the village locals carrying water from their well. It will be limited to a production of 13 units. Each one will come with a bespoke Baccarat Crystal decanter with water from that well, which is likely running dry, (purified, of course.) Not a single dollar of the $123k price tag goes to the villagers. **But they will get a photo of you with your purse**" <footer>[[Back|DAVID DAVIS ART]]</footer>

Welcome! Sparkle Online Art Gallery would like to welcome you to our first show, What We Carry. Inspired by artist licensing deals, participants were asked: "If you were going to do a collaboration with a luxury brand, what would your signature bag look like, hold, or represent? This is a chance to explore the commodification of identities - artistic or otherwise. You can view this as a good or bad thing, have fun or be super serious." How To Navigate Catalog Restart will take you back to cover. Scroll down to find Restart. Click on artist's name for info about artist and piece. Navigate through book with back/forward. Index will take you to a list of artists. <center> [[OPEN CATALOG|KELLY MARSHALL ART]] |[[ARTIST INDEX]] </center>

This show is part of Adelaide Blair's MFA thesis project Welcome to Business School. For more information, please go <a href="https://pretty-sparkle-genius.neocities.org/thesis_project/thesis_project_home">here</a>. She would like to thank all the participants who choose to make art with her and everyone who follows the project on Instagram or subscribes to the newsletter. She appreciate folks showing up. This catalog was built with <a href="https://twinery.org/">Twine</a> using the chapbook story format. <center> {restart link, label: 'START OVER'} | [[GO TO INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] </center>

Old bits and bobs Fluff and stuff Partying together in the seams at the bottom Crumpled receipts Folded up pieces of gum Still in the wrapper but sticky 2 Pen caps, an asthma inhaler, a solo glove Lip balm A pocket for returning receipts back into trees A slot for ironing out wrinkled papers of importance A robot arm to retrieve keys and wallet <center> [[Alanna Risse|ALANNARISSE INFO]] [[BACK|JESSICA STONE ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|IO ART]] </center>

As a latch-key kid, growing up in the Silicon Valley in the 1970s and 80s, with no personal sense of cultural heritage, my identity was formed from a saturation of imagery from the technology and media that pervaded my life. As my surrogate parent, television, music, and movies shaped aspects of my personality indelibly. <footer>[[Back|ALANNA RISSE ART]]</footer>

<center> {embed image: 'https://adelaide-blair-images.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/What_We_Carry/Io.jpg'} [[I. R. Blair|IO INFO]]: The Darling Io Digital Drawing [[BACK|ALANNA RISSE ART]] | [[INDEX|ARTIST INDEX]] | [[FORWARD|STASHIA CABRAL ART]]

Ms. Blair is an art nepo baby and got into this show through her connection to the gallerist. "The Darling Io is a representation of my personal brand - bright, fun, mobile, and unique. But the bag is also designed to be loud (imagine all those sequins fluttering around by your ears), cold to the touch, and a tad overdressed for the occasion." <footer>[[Back|IO ART]]</footer>