Early On:

I began the, then termed Permanent Bag Project, during a figure sculpture class my senior year in college.  Previously in my art I created sculpture that depicted very literal renditions of the female figure often times poised in flight and layered with armor. As with the natural progression of art making, we don’t always initially understand where the inspiration is coming from or why there is a draw or need to make something of a specific nature.  I believe that my underlying drive to create such work was not to specifically empower women, as the figures may have suggested, but to empower people and more specifically to empower the individual or self. The inspiration for the Permanent Bag Project is parallel to this concept. I want to encourage people to instigate their own variety of change.

I was moving away from the desire to create literal figurative forms and now felt compelled to concentrate on the inner humanist tendencies of people-our strengths and our weaknesses. I don’t remember making a conscious decision or even searching for an answer as to how I might create visual art from this concept I just remember a sudden draw and excitement for using art to affect people; art as the driving force for change-a commitment to individual accountability.

This concept materialized into a simple plan for the Permanent Bag Project. I began by creating these hastily woven sacks that I intended to heap in a pile in the middle of a public park and just give away to people. The sacks were created from collected plastic bags that were cut into strips, clumsily knotted together, and then loosely woven. To be frank, they were fairly unattractive and minimally utilitarian. I found that getting someone to use a woven plastic bag was no easier than getting someone to use a simple canvas bag. I came to the conclusion that in order to reach the individual I would have to understand how to speak to the consumer.  I came to understand that the individual and the consumer are one in the same, though occasionally, more accurately defined by the later. The bags have since become quite a bit more refined.

Today:

In creating Permanent Baggage and evaluating and reevaluating what it is to be a product that I create I’ve become increasingly aware of the state of consumerism. I see the excessive packaging and shake my head knowing that it will out live its hastily made product buried deep in a landfill. I see that people purchase things based on immediate gratification rather than need or quality. I see that products are created without consideration for the origin of materials, assessment of longevity, or concern for final destination.  I see numerous products intended for convenience and disposability when in reality little of it is truly convenient

or safely disposable. I see the sales gimmicks and the ridiculousness of planned obsolescence. And I see that people love it, because that’s what we’ve been programmed to do.

Tomorrow:

My mission isn’t to “Change the World” that is a feat that is far beyond me. I just want to do my part by helping to spread the word and by providing people with alternative options. I am passively active. I aim to create things that are exciting, fun, and fashionably recycled, so that it isn’t such a social burden to be a “tree huger”. And I aim to live my life in a manner that is respectful and grateful to our host. I truly believe that is the main component for changing the world-people taking responsibility for themselves.

As Permanent Baggage develops, I plan to make donations to environmentally conscious organizations. I also plan to give support to animal welfare groups.