From billboard to bag

Emily Westenhouser surrounded by her handmade tote bags | Photo by Sittikiat Saelim

Emily Westenhouser is a Columbus-based artist who recently created 100 handmade tote bags (soon to be shared with Weinland Park residents by the Columbus Foundation) by recycling the materials from Stephanie Rond's Weinland Park billboard. Below she offers a brief look at the project and process.

I handmade one hundred tote bags for the residents of Weinland Park with the support of Columbus Foundation and the Wexner Center for the Arts. I have spent many years of my life sewing useful and functional objects with the intent that they bring a bit of the handmade into everyday life. I hope the tote bags are well used and loved. The tradition of sewing household items and clothing has been passed down to me from my mother. Growing up, she made most of my clothes and I can still remember that book bag she made for me when I started elementary school. Sewing is my trade that has sustained me many times over. It is part of my life, my craft, and my art. When I see items that I’ve handmade and sent out into the world in use, it is the greatest compliment. I hope to someday see the tote bags in use at the farmer’s market or library or the park.

Pieces of the billboard being readied for their tote transformation | Photo by Emily Westenhouser

I was initially drawn to the project by the idea of recycling an entire billboard, a symbol of neighborhood pride, into tote bags that will be given out to the neighbors who inspired it. The project posed some interesting challenges as the billboard was a 14 foot high by 48 foot wide sheet of vinyl. We cut it into eight large panels in the lobby of Mershon Auditorium. Then I cut the individual pieces for the bags by hand from the billboard, one by one, in my small studio. The slightly wrinkled pieces were soaked in hot soapy water and scrubbed clean. The vinyl was in good shape considering the time it was on display.  Several months of cutting, piecing, and sewing resulted in one hundred tote bags. The image on the billboard up close is very blurry and abstract since it’s meant to be seen from very far away. I love some of the color shifts in the print. The Parks and Recreation sign up close is almost purple but from far away reads as brown. Each bag highlights a small and abstract memento from the original image.

One of the 100 final bags | Photo by Emily Westenhouser