The Box Project...

...is done, and ready for the show happening the first weekend in March here in Creston, BC, Canada.

'Valley Fortune' will join a host of other pieces, in disciplines ranging from drama, music, poetry and more.  I've included a description of the evolution of Valley Fortune  at the bottom of this post, so you can perhaps understand how and why this particular format came into being.  You can find the parameters for the 'Call' at the end of my previous post in case you're just coming in on this story.

Here are the boxes I've prepared for the show in no particular order:

Berrylicious, exterior approx. 4" square x 1 1/2" deep, created in a disused wooden box

Berrylicious, interior and contents

Grape Dance exterior, approx 3" x 4" x 2' deep, created in a Gelli-printed paper box

Grape Dance, interior and contents

Heritage Tomatoes exterior, approximately 6 1/2" x 7" x 2 1/2" deep, created in a cigar box 

Heritage Tomatoes, interior and contents

Man and Machine, exterior, approximately 6" x 3 1/2" x 3" deep, created in a disused wooden box

Man and Machine, interior and contents

Nuts to You, exterior, about 2" cubed, created in a painted paper box

Nuts to You, interior and contents

Orchard exterior, approximately 3" x 4" x 2" deep, created in a Gelli-printed paper box

Orchard interior and contents

Red Delicious exterior, approximately 7" x 2" x 2 1/2" deep, created in a cigar box

Red Delicious interior and contents

Red Hot Pepper exterior, approximately 3 1/4" x 4 3/4" x 2" deep, created in a disused wooden box

Red Hot Pepper interior and contents

Valley Fortune carrying case for all eight boxes

Valley Fortune

Designed for Call & Response 2017 - ‘The Box Project’

February, 2017

Medium:  Mixed Media/Acrylic

The ‘Call’ to this particular project had me at the sight of the guitar pick, fashioned from a credit card that secured my secret note, along with the delightful fortune cookie.  They took me immediately to the concept of abundance, an ongoing mind-meandering of mine for the last five decades or so. 

We are geared to consider abundance in the form of money and possessions, and I’ve been considering other forms particularly around family, moral values, surroundings, community, and our daily bread.  How fortunate, then, that we were asked to consider whether we could incorporate the Canada 150 theme of the local ‘Full Plate’ committee.  The raw potato in my box was yet another catalyst.

We live in a community that is bound to the fertile land and moderate climate which makes the growing of fruit, vegetables and other foods such a strong focus. For the last ten years, I’ve been reveling in the local bounty of fresh fruit, dairy products, nuts, berries, and vegetables, and couldn’t wait to work on a project that incorporated some of these in a visual way.  Each of the eight boxes (Berrylicious, Nuts to You, Man & Machine, Red Delicious, In the Orchard, Heritage Tomatoes, Grape Dance and Red Hot Peppers) in the Valley Fortune box includes the following:

-  A photograph or two (most taken by myself, with a contribution in Man & Machine by husband John, and       an outright steal from the net when I couldn’t find a source for the Red Delicious apple photo I coveted)

·         -  A recipe related to the subject

·         -  A poem (Could it really be twenty five years since I’ve attempted poetry writing?  Yes it could.)

·         -  A coin (gifted by world travelers, and relating both to the abundance factor of money earned and spent, as    well as to the fact that much of what is produced in the valley goes out into the world)

·         -  A three-dimensional piece, either a found object or crafted from paper mache 

·        -   A ‘fortune cookie’ fortune

One of the concepts I like to incorporate in my work is that of the 4 R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose.  You’ll find a wide range of these items in this project; from a cardboard box, dryer sheets used to mop up paint, left-over painted papers, reclaimed buttons, credit card guitar picks, wine and beer bottle caps I’ve reused to the maximum.  Many of these items have been found in Gleaners, another area of abundance in this wonderful valley.  The repurposing that is done through Gleaners is a massive boon to the locals and we are indeed lucky to have such a large number of volunteers involved.