I love to divide my time between projects, going from one to the other. I've found that this not only breaks up the overall monotony and prevents you from becoming too "bored" but also you will complete more this way than if you were just working on a single project.
Keepsake boxes hold a particular fondness for me. Each one can be completely different from the other, as simple or as complicated and intricate as you like. I've created a lot of them over the past ten years, using discarded candy boxes, cheese boxes, resin containers and whatnot. Currently, I've revisited the mini "coffin" keepsake because they are just so much fun to do, especially since they have metal hinges. What can you use them for? To store just about anything that comes to mind. Old jewelry, Grandma's beloved family recipes, baby teeth, you name it.
Because I love autumn and Halloween so much, mine typically reflect that design, as you see in the two styles I've posted here. All are wooden boxes with hand-sculpted polymer clay items, and painted with acrylics.
One
is titled, well, AUTUMN, complete with a trio of ripened corn,
mushrooms poking up from the forest floor, grasses, vines, and - of
course! - a big grinning Jack O'lantern at the top, all of which are set
against a fake wood grain motif that I made out of polymer clay. The
box itself is painted and lined with a very colorful Halloween-colored
leafy vine border piping that I found at a store last fall and fell in
love with.
The
other one I've dubbed ASHES. It's more Dia de Los Muertos-inspired,
with a decorated calavera (skull) surrounded by a wreath of colorful
satin roses, flowers and black bow tie, with an ornate framed glass
heart, all set against a hand-worked polymer clay background that I
impressed with a floral stamp for added depth and texture. The box is
lined with a very pretty red lace, which pops against the deep black
underneath.
More projects await me, which I feel pressed to complete because it feels like COVID put a damper on being creative, let alone the simple joy of being included in any sort of art festivals. Two years and counting now, and you know what? I NEED to have some Halloween fun this year. Two years of staying indoors, avoiding crowds, wearing masks, washing my hands and maniacally wiping down surfaces with bleach ... no regrets in doing so, as I truly believe it was all for the better and good so we can stay healthy and happy. But you know what? In spite of my natural hermit-like tendencies, I'm more than a little stir-crazy and ready to get out (safely and with great caution, of course). I aim to have plenty of Halloween goods at the ready, and hey, maybe even participate in an actual art show again! Wow, that would be just lovely.
What are you working on right now? And what are your plans for making Halloween 2022 the brightest and best ever?
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