Fabric as a Medium

Today I thought I would give you a small art lesson and what would this Blog post be if we didn't consult Webster. So let me take a brief moment and define "Medium," which is a "material or technical means of artistic expression." Knowing what you know now, most would consider paint, pastels, and clay a medium in which to create artwork.

However, there are two dynamic artists who use fabric as a medium, and the artwork is stunning. From my short amount of research I conducted, since the 1960's Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been creating large artistic fabric installations worldwide. Some of my personal favorites are the "Valley Curtain," actually installed here in Rifle, Colorado and "The Pont Neuf Wrapped," installed on a well-known bridge in Paris, France. Essentially they use fabric to transform both natural and physical elements: buildings, monuments, trees, walkways, structures, islands, coastlines, and rivers. In fact through my research I also discovered they will be installing yet another piece of artwork along the Arkansas River between Salida and Canon City, Colorado. Something I am eager to see once completed!

Valley Curtain :: Rifle, Colorado

The Pont Neuf Wrapped :: Paris, France

I present this short art lesson because I have been reflecting on the beauty of each handcrafted Heavenly Handbag that is "united or fastened by stitches," and it occurred to me that FABRIC IS OUR MEDIUM. I have already boasted on the talented seamstresses that sew the handbags, but we must obtain the fabric, our required medium, in order to produce each handbag.  An artist or seamstress must have the required materials to create a work of art.  Each handbag is unique and thoughtfully created, a true one-of-a-kind gift donated to underserved women.  It is apparent that with the proper medium a true artwork is crafted by matching wonderful fabric patterns together, which create an elegant handbag. 

When Heavenly Handbags started Giving in August 2010 we had to purchase the required fabric to sew the first ten handbags, but with the desire to continue giving we needed to identify alternative ways to gather and acquire the necessary fabric. I contacted a few local upholstery shops, shared our desire to give to underserved women in this community and a partnership was formed. We are able to gather and use the scraps / remnants of fabric not needed by the upholsterer. With this fabric we have artfully crafted and created over 150 Heavenly Handbags.

It is through these dynamic and caring partnerships within the community that Heavenly Handbags can accomplish our required production needs to donate ten handbags every other month.  We are SO thankful for the continued partnerships with supportive and kind businesses within the community. 

          

So Basic :: Life Essentials

If something is essential, than it is something that is needed.  I referenced Webster once again and a synonym for essential is "Basic."  There are some basic things / items we need or use on a daily basis, and I believe help us to feel some sort of normalcy.  I am sure there might be some who may argue that lotion or perfume are not essential, but consider your life without these little luxuries and understand that when you are facing homelessness or violent / abusive environments, I would imagine that anything that brings back some normalcy is desired. 

This is the other aspect of the Heavenly Handbags mission, to provide Life Essentials that are stuffed into each handcrafted handbag.  Imagine having few possessions or just the clothes on your back, and the gift of shampoo, body wash, perfume, a toothbrush, and chapstick can be an amazing blessing.  I am not Webster, but Heavenly Handbags defines Life Essentials as: basic items or small necessities that provide some encouragement or relief to underserved women facing life trails.   

  

When Heavenly Handbags hosted the first Give in August 2010 we brainstormed a list of 17 Life Essentials that would be placed in each handcrafted handbag.  Some Life Essentials fulfill the basic needs of a woman and others essentials provide a little luxury in their time of need.  ALL Life Essentials are donated by this Community who Cares, supportive, giving, and caring women who contribute to Heavenly Handbags.  In fact, we have partnered with some very gracious Subway owners who donate gift cards for a free 6" sub as part of the Life Essentials.  All the Life Essentials are gathered and collected during the bi-monthly Heavenly Handbags Gives we host, then packaged nicely, and placed into each handcrafted handbag - ready for delivery to the local shelters. 

Below are all 17 of the Life Essentials that are donated and stuffed into each Heavenly Handbag.  As you read over the list just consider your life without some of the products or items, and you can decide for yourself if these items are truly Life Essentials:

Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Loufa, Lotion, Chapstick, Hair Brush, Perfume, Deodorant, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Kleenex, Face Wash, Nail File, Hand Sanitizer, Hairspray, Subway Gift Card

We are always accepting Life Essential donations.  I would like to invite to join our email list and discover opportunities to give and contribute these Life Essentials to Heavenly Handbags.  Simply email heavenly.hb@gmail.com and leave your name and email - Thank you! 

SEW Amazing

"Sew" as defined by Webster Dictionary is to "unite or fasten by stitches." It seems that there was a time when many women sewed.  I think of my grandma and great aunts who sewed all things and all the time: outfits for me, matching outfits for my dolls, blankets, stuffed animals, Santa Clause suit, and I am pretty sure that my grandma sewed a majority of her own clothes.  As her memory creeps back into my mind she always looked so pretty in those personally made and designed outfits.  Sweet memories!! 

If a woman sews today it is a rare and sought after gift.  So when I find a talented woman who is good at sewing, I kindly implore her to sew a handbag or two for Heavenly Handbags.  We are nothing without the handbags these women create and craft.  Our whole ministry revolves around the production of handcrafted handbags.  It is with the handbags that we encourage and empower underserved women as part of our mission.  A gifted handbag may not seem like much when these struggling women are facing huge life trials, but these donated handbags become uniquely personal for each woman.  Think of your handbag, it is the one place in the world that is personalized for your unique needs.  These photos show the variety of beautiful handbags that were crafted and given to the women we serve.    



April 2011 Heavenly Handbags Give

October 2011 Heavenly Handbags Give

Women's Resource Center Fundraiser

June 2011 Heavenly Handbags Give
Given to Widows in Guatemala

Heavenly Handbags is blessed to have three core women and other contributing women who have stitched, sewed, fashioned, and created over 150 handbags since we started in August 2010, each handbag stuffed with Life Essentials and given to the local homeless shelter and domestic violence shelter.  Every handbag is stunning and beautifully crafted.  It is an honor to serve next to these women, each one donating their time and talents to help other women in the community.  These talented women are moms, hard working community employees, friends, sisters, daughters, Durango residents, and grandmas - everyday women making a difference.   

We are always searching hi and lo for these talented women who "unite or fasten by stitches," so if you know of anyone who would be willing to sew handbags please invite them join this amazing ministry.  Please send them to this Blog to discover more and they can contact Heavenly Handbags.

An Introduction

The last couple of weeks I have been reflecting on Heavenly Handbags as a ministry that continues to give to underserved women.  In this state of mind, I consulted the Webster Dictionary to determine if the last few weeks were truly a time of reflection and to my delight “reflect” means: to think quietly and calmly.  That is exactly what I have been doing!

This all started when one simple thought entered my mind, “Heavenly Handbags has been operating for two years come August 2012,” and that stunned me.  My immediate response was “WOW,” followed by an onslaught on other questions and thoughts that continued for weeks.  This was an inner monologue that I tried sharing with others, but I could not articulate my thoughts or my desires.  The only analogy I can provide to depict the last few weeks is me standing in an ice cream shop clueless on what I want to order.  Enticed by the delicious smells, knowing what I want is in front of me, but overwhelmed by the options - sprinkles, banana split, hot fudge, chocolate ice cream, waffle cone, sherbet, cup, or Oreo toppings.  Do you understand what I mean?     

So I sorted, categorized, planned, redirected, cut, organized, challenged, and prayed over every thought.  Through all this I came to an overwhelmingly simple conclusion: I love this ministry and I want to do more!  That’s it, after weeks of endless thoughts.  The only way to accomplish this is with a humble heart and a proactive charge.  With that I realize that although we have been giving the last two years, only a small fraction of the Heavenly Handbags Community may know what we do and how we go about giving to underserved women.

I am taking the next several weeks to enlighten the mighty Community who Cares, the group of women who support and donate to Heavenly Handbags.  I will post on the this Blog every Friday and frequently update and ask quirky handbag questions on Facebook in order to create a more engaging platform.  I hope you will join me on the journey!  Please know before you embark on this journey with me I am not a writer, Facebook scares me, I am clueless about good web design, and I am leading with my heart – so it could be a wild adventure.  I promise to keep giving, keep encouraging, and keep loving underserved women though it all. 

The tangible ways you can participate in this journey are FOLLOW this new Blog, LIKE us on Facebook, and SHARE what we are doing with others.  At the end of it all I hope to have over 100 Likes & Followers.  I hope through this journey of discovery that you will consider joining this growing ministry and become a dedicated member of the Communicate who Cares.