Boxed Out
April 11th, 2007[-art, alterations-]
by Nancy S.M. Waldman
I have boxes on my mind.
This week, I covered a small cardboard box in old photos and gorgeous, vintage gold paper I found in my late father’s art supplies. I lined the inside with beads and feathers. Fun!
That little project got me going on containers. Now I’m working on making a box out of a couple of my paintings that have been in a drawer for a decade or more. In bed last night, just before sleep, I came up with an inspiration for a see-through lid so that the painting-lined interior won’t be hidden. This is fun stuff and all inspired by our recent issue on Alterations.
Our image today is from assemblage artist Mary Bogdan. You can see more of her work here in our on-going look at Alterations.
Mary collects boxes and more boxes to use in her constructs. This piece, entitled “scroll/reset” is 19″w x 14.5″h x 6″d. This is what she has written about it:
Religion, the meaning of life, spirituality as opposed to religion. These are the themes of many of my pieces. The New Testament with a rusty nail through it. FIT FOR LIFE (diet) book torn page by page and inserted one by one into a wooden box, the whole book stuffed as I have often stuffed myself. |
Well, Mary, I wish I could touch it, look in that cigar box, ruffle the pages. It’s so *FULL*.
I ran across a fun site yesterday called Box Doodles. Whoa, is this ever right down The PCQ’s alley. On this site, people are encouraged to make quick things out of boxes, but that hardly begins to describe the outcomes. Take a look. You won’t be sorry. The box doodles and Mary’s decidedly more sophisticated box assemblage can’t help but inspire!
Here are photos of the boxes I mentioned above. The first is a craft store box that I covered with vintage paper and old photos and lined with beads and feathers.
This one is literally made from one of my paintings (acrylic) bent into shape and glued. The lid is made from a web of machine-sewn threads (done on tissue paper and later removed) sewn onto more of the painting paper with embellishments of beads and lots more thread in the corners.
thanks, Mary.
See all our Alterations articles
See New Again, an Alterations Challenge
- with more photos of my boxes -
See more of Mary Bogdan’s art: The Tide Series
See all our Collecting articles and surveys
Originally published March 2006 in the Practically Creative blog; edited slightly for re-publication
