wood boxes for assemblage project

pile of boxes

A week ago Monday, I lugged home a (clean) trash sack stuffed with ten (very clean, empty) cigar boxes all the way from Pasadena.

It seemed like a good idea at the time because I’m excited about collage and assemblage right now and sturdy wooden cigar boxes are a handy size for small assemblage pieces. Like a proud mama, I photographed that pile of boxes stacked on the living room carpet, I photographed them in my studio, I even tweeted the photos. And then I conveniently “forgot” them.

Dontcha know it, an empty box is just as intimidating as a blank page or an empty canvas or any other thing that needs to be begun from scratch with “just” an idea. And I didn’t have just the one empty box staring back at me, oh no, because I have to go-all-out-full-tilt-right-over-the-edge when I do things, so it’s:

TEN EMPTY BOXES STARING AT ME.
AND THEY ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY.

By coincidence, I noticed this creativity queue challenge happening over at Tammy’s Daisy Yellow blog. It felt tailor-made for me – and my collection of wooden “Pandora-boxes” I was less and less willing to open.

header as drawn in red and white

header before neon treatment

(Even better, I enjoyed Tammys index card a day or “icad” project last year, which eventually lead to the “colorful” header on the blog now. Which bright new header was a step toward coming out of my recent ahem blog hiatus. Because tiny things really do make a difference. Believe it!)

So for this challenge today, I love Tammy’s list of suggestions on starting:

START
RESTART
KICK START
KICKOFF
BABY STEPS
TO DO LIST
GETTING THINGS DONE
JUST DO IT

I love the concept of working separately, yet in community.
I love the idea of publishing my work – it’s all good, in theory.

the studio hot seat! camera is ready!

But we all know “begin” can be a tough switch to click. Isn’t it “funny” how having a publication deadline can be helpful – for me, I’m due to publish this tomorrow. Also, photos are better taken during daylight because flash messes with the colors.

So here’s how it went down, step by step, with those
TEN STINKIN’ LITTLE BOXES:

#1. I can’t decide which box to start with, have been hemming and hawing over that all week. But the clock is ticking and I have to do something and do it quick. I make the BIG decision to start with a matched pair of boxes because “twins” seem less threatening than just one. Maybe because it feels like there is a spare? Voila: Specific Boxes!

Deciding WHERE to start is HUGE. It gives me a focus, which in turn streamlines subsequent decisions. And suddenly, it doesn’t seem that hard.

#2. I pull out pieces of paper and supplies: tissue paper, crumpled and stained drawing paper, bubble wrap, water color paints with glittery sheen, glimmer spray, acrylic medium and a scraper made from a plastic card….. Voila: Starting Colors!

adding color to the boxes

playing with color

This is beginning to feel like a fun adventure I can’t wait to get my hands on. Suddenly, I have a “brain wave” thought and

#3. I dig out the fortune cookie fortunes I’ve been collecting. I only find 3. I don’t let that stop me, but I start to dilly-dally, wavering over which 2 of the 3 fortunes to use. Nooooooooooooooo time for that! I solve the problem by grabbing another box and then I drop a paper into each box without looking at what the papers say. Voila: Themes!

messages from fortune cookies

instant themes

This feels like solid progress, like things are beginning to take shape and come together. It’s really sort of a relief, now that I’ve gotten started. The problems I had been wrestling with, the questions about materials, colors, theme(s), and even which size and shape and how many boxes have all been sorted out in one quick session.

#4. I stop to take pictures and congratulate myself on the flurry of progress I’ve made so far. (And mostly resist the temptation to wonder why it has taken me over a week to actually do this.)

But wait. I know I’ve been stewing over it all week while I went about my daily life and seemingly “did nothing” about the boxes. I know that in the background my brain has been mulling it over and trying on this and that to see what might work…so today the answers seemed to pop right up like magic.

Best of all, going forward is easier because I know what to do next: use the papers to line and/or cover the boxes, color more paper if needed (I set out the sea salt and isopropyl alcohol toys to play with)

sea salt and isopropyl alcohol

art materials: sea salt and isopropyl alcohol for paint texture

and then ponder what to add to the boxes to transform them into that series of assemblages I had in the back of my mind when I snatched up that serendipitous pile of boxes off the sidewalk in front of the fancy shmancy (and smelly) cigar store in Pasadena last week.

In other words, I have no clear idea (yet) what they will turn into. But no longer do I have (scary) “empty boxes” staring at me. These little boxes are now a project in process; I am free to play around and see what happens next.

I am kind of in love with them. I’m calling them #Boxettes.

Boxette #1 (Don’t do something, just stand there!)
Boxette #2 (Dreamer’s Destiny aka DoubleD)
Boxette #3 (r a I n)

And ya know what? The leftover boxes are just pinching and shoving and squiggling, they are so eager to get off that shelf. I hope they can wait their turn like civilized little boxes should. If not, that’s OK too. There’s plenty of room on my table, now that there’s some forward momentum.

p.s. If you happen to have any spare fortunes in your junk drawer, I’d really appreciate it if you could send them my way?

Creativity Queue Challenge at Daisy Yellow blog

p.p.s. Do check out the rest of the posts and participants in this fun creativity challenge over at Daisy Yellow!

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Walking to Infinity

by Barbara Martin

in Try This

I’ve mentioned how I “pace” by walking in a pattern to trace out the shape of a figure 8. I do it to relax and settle my mind when puzzling through a knotty problem or when I begin to panic am scrambling for last-minute inspiration on a deadline. Turn it on its side and this “8″ shaped pattern becomes the symbol for infinity. Nice! No wonder it’s so effective as a walking meditation.

If circumstances prevent you from walking, you can still apply the concept by slowly and deliberately drawing it, or by tracing the shape using your finger.

Or you might like this dandy video! (Amazing what you can find on YouTube.) Complete with spoothing meditation music and a woowoo ladyvoice and yes, the animated line equivalent of a bouncing ball to follow with your eyes.

I find it mesmerizing. How about you?

And here is the direct link to YouTube… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buPrtSr0m6A

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Spinal Secret

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How to Succeed by Failing

When a creative project seems to fail, what do you do? Many times we take an initial failure as a sign that the project is not meant to be, or that we are not the person who is meant to carry it out. This is self sabotage at its sneakiest. Do you let frustration and [...]

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When Your Mind is Blank

What do you do when you are backed up to a wall, a deadline looms and you’ve “got nothin’” — no muse, no idea, no concept, no nothin’ — and that all-too-familiar panic is about to set in? What are you gonna do? If the idea of “positive vibes” sounds abhorrent, listen up! Here’s the [...]

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Do you have a big hairy deal exciting creative project languishing in the back of your mind because it’s too big, too bold, too overwhelming to contemplate in detail? I know you have a project like that, because we all do! This week’s creativity tip and experiment will help you get started on it — [...]

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Modified Labyrinth Exercise for Creativity

Get this week’s all new “free, quick and easy” creativity tip now! I just updated the tip line with this week’s creativity experiment and I hope you will listen to it. It introduces another simple yet surprisingly powerful creativity-enhancing exercise; this week’s activity is based on the age-old practice of walking the labyrinth. As always, [...]

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Play this Creativity Enhancing Game

Get this week’s all new “free, quick and easy” creativity tip now! I just updated the tip line with this week’s creativity experiment and I hope you will listen to it. It introduces a simple yet surprisingly powerful creativity-boosting game you can play alone or with friends. As always, no special tools or equipment needed [...]

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Free Quick and Easy Creativity Tip Line

You are invited! I  have just founded the Reptitude Center for Creativity. Please try out the inaugural activity: A simple creativity boosting experiment you can complete in three minutes or less, no special equipment or supplies required. All you need to do is listen to a short recording! Also, it’s free. To listen to the [...]

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Lower the Bar to Get Started

Do you allow your perceived limitations to stop you from starting? I do it, all the time. The other day I had an absolute bolt of inspiration about how to begin the first of  a series of recordings I have been wanting to create for about two years. I have had the tools to make [...]

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