Box and Book Presentation

For the past couple of weeks I have been making items to present in a few upcoming shows, the first of which will be this weekend in Dryden, Ontario.  Since I wasn't in the Sioux Narrows Arts Festival this summer, I hope to see some of my friends in Dryden, which is about an hour drive (or so) away from there.  The weatherman is forecasting sun and slightly above normal temperatures so the drive through the Canadian Shield should be wonderful.  Of course we will be taking chaperone Bichon Molly, who will accompany DH during showtime and perhaps they'll explore some of their favourite haunts that they've come to love in and around Dryden. Since she is now totally blind, I am hoping that she will use her other senses to recall her familiar places there.  She loves being out of doors with us, and I think she can still sense the sunlight because yesterday when I was out buffing beads, she just wanted to sit on her cushion on the chaise lounge. 

As for my polymer work, it has been extremely varied of late, as is usual for crunch time just before a show.  I've made several new items that haven't been in my usual repertoire, including many mixed media pieces.  This one, for example, includes a bit of needle felting, a covered box in luscious turquoise, blue and purple, a little handmade journal with an organza drawstring bag to keep the book inside the box.  There certainly were a lot of elements that went into the creation of this little collection.   It required a fair bit of planning and crossed fingers, to make sure that all the colors in the grouping went well together. 

I began by painting the interior of the papier maché box in a deep blue with Lumière Paint, and then adhered the collage of blended polymer on the outside.  You can't see the impressions on the sides of the box in the photo, but I think you can see the little metal scrollwork (thin strips of polymer with gold leaf) on the sides. The book covers also carry on with the colour theme and the Coptic binding is finished off with a mixture of beads made from the blended clay, separated by glass beads. I opted for a blue binding for both the bag string and the binding which I fashioned from 6 strands embroidery floss that I waxed heavily so that it would be strong.

The bag and book fit nicely inside the box.  At first I was just going to fold the organza and nestle the book in it, but I thought it looked a bit untidy when the book was out, so I chose to make  the little drawstring bag.  I just happened to have some organza in a subtle blend of teal and ultramarine, and it goes together so nicely with the colors in the book and box. 

The top of the box is festooned with a couple of needle felted balls that I had made in the spring.  I threaded them onto some purple wire which kinda looks like the box might be able to receive satellite signals from who knows where.  All in all, it is quite a project.