18" X 5" X 3" Wood, copper mesh and hardware.

Ellen Gibson provides this insight into her creative "Pocketbooks"

"I've collected objects and materials for years.  I look a shapes, functions and textures of machines, buildings, common materials, discarded junk and natural forms.  My studio is full of searched for, discarded, donated and in general "collected" stuff.  It started to feel like a burden to have all of these things tho' they were a vital part of the work.

I started to throw the "stuff" out.  If it went our before trash day (Thurs.) it invariably came back into my studio.  One of the collections I was attempting to get rid of was a bunch of change purses.  I started thinking about what we all carry around with us in pockets, purses and backpacks.  All essential items that just seem to multiply.

I decided to make "pocketbooks" for my collections, or portions of them.  After honoring the stuff with artistic credits, I can now throw the rest of it out, and most likely start again.

Ellen Gibson studied art at Boston University and received her MFA in sculpture from Mass College of Art. She has been an Artist-in-Residence in Illinois, Georgia and Vermont and has exhibited extensively throughout the country. Sculptures from her unique tool series are featured in several collections, including the John Hechinger Tools as Art collection at the National Building Museum in Washington, D. C.