A secret commission.

Wed 28th Mar 2012

Just before Christmas I got a call from the father of my best friend from primary school. He wanted to commission a special, but very secret, 'thing' to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary. That was the only conversation we had. During January and February I worked on what has become known as the Jubilee Box. It was both exciting and daunting working on this piece. I just had to hope they would like it. Luckily they did, in fact they both seem genuinely thrilled with it. It was a real surprise for both of them, even if one did know 'something' was on it way. It was a lovely to kick start the year by working on a self-contained piece that needed to be out of the door before the end of February. From the printed wood of fruit boxes I cut shapes that represented aspects of their marriage; work, children, travel and homes. These I attached to the interior walls of a vertical wooden box like scenery or props in a child's toy theatre. I cut their initials in the sliding lid to reveal glimpses of its hidden treasure and then covered the whole box in 1970s maps of London. I am assured by my commissioner that the front and top dimensions conform very closely to the Golden ratio of 1.6180399:1. 

I love working with the fruit boxes again. Years ago I made a whole series of art pieces from fruit boxes, reconstructing them and stretching tissue over the top. Working with a fret saw and cutting the wood into shapes has inspired me to play more; my desk is now covered with cut wooden trees and shubery. I have also been experimenting with overprinting using lino. More boxes and theatrical scenes to come I think.