It’s always fun to make wraps that look like real things in the world. But the wrap story on this piece, and this purse, is improvisation. Improvisation is, of course, the heart and soul of Wrap Art. The wrap artist arrives at the moment of wrapping with little or no vision of what the wraps will look like. There is no burden of program or planning, just a time of pure play.
I began this wrap by taking the gift, a small garment, and rolling it up. I had no small boxes at the service office where we were wrapping. So I picked up a scrap of cardboard and molded it around the gift. It made odd shapes as the cardboard corrugation began folding. I wondered if I could find a real box somewhere, but the voice of improvisation said, “No. Keep on inventing with this cardboard!” Finally I had a nice shape, square on one side, but rounded on the other. I taped it shut.
Next I grabbed a beautiful shopping bag which was made of very thick red paper with silver foil-stamp snowflakes. I chose it purely for its material beauty. I still had no idea where this wrap was going. After removing its silver handles, and slicing it into flat paper, I wrapped it around the cardboard package. Using scissors, I made multiple cuts into the part of the red paper extending past the cardboard inner container. The round top required multiple cuts to maintain the curve that gives the wrap its purse shape. Then I folded the ends and glued them shut.
I had been thinking about what this wrap might be thematically: abstract or literal, and I began to imagine another animal wrap, with legs and antlers. But these thoughts were vague. Just then Jennifer, who had told me of this volunteering opportunity last year, looked over from her wrapping and said, “It’s a purse!” I grabbed the silver bag handles, clipped off their knotted ends, and glued them in place. I used some snippets of silver ribbon to clean up the ends and suggest the leather techniques of real purses. And I was done.
No real planning. Just openness to the materials and feedback from all directions.