Remembrance Box

This is a 24″ x 30″ lit shadow box. It is designed to be interactive with the viewer.  The base, sides, and top of the box are made of hardwood that has been covered with heavy canvas. The inside of the box is lined with vintage-replica wallpaper that has been made by the same company for over 100 years.  Copies of family photographs have been color and blemish corrected using Photoshop®, and then cropped and arranged to form a collage background.  The pictures are either mounted in antique frames or they stand alone and are framed using acid free decorative card stock.  I have varied the height of the pictures as they relate to the background in order to give visual dimension to the piece. The pictures are then embellished with family mementos such as military or organizational pins, jewelry, old buttons, etc.  Finally, I’ve attached small vintage-looking glass bottles throughout the box that contain reduced size copies of family histories, letters and documents.  These can be taken out of the bottles and read by the viewer.

The central focus of the box is a family tree, hand cut from high grade plywood, painted and then covered on the front with hand-made rice paper.  The tree extends approximately one inch from the background and is removable so that the viewer may get a better look at the photos behind the tree.  Each tree is embellished with vintage-inspired antique gold cabochons which feature the name of the family member and vital statistics on the front and an abbreviated biography of the person on the back.  All are touchable and designed to be read, front and back.

The sides of the box are decoupaged with newspaper articles and other family memorabilia. A small antique gold magnifying glass hangs from a chain on one side of the box to help with reading small print.

On the bottom side of the box there are two built in straps designed to hold a copy of a vintage 1907 map of the United States by Frank Bond of the U.S. General Land Office.  This map shows the major migration routes used by explorers from 1501-1844.  To this I’ve added color coded “pins” showing settlement places and dates of the families featured on the tree, if known.

The top, or front, of the box is constructed of high grade, quarter-inch plywood covered on the inside with heavy canvas and the outside with lincrusta® wallpaper.  The wallpaper is painted with a metallic paint to resemble daguerreotype photo cases of the 1860s.  The center oval is bound with a filigree metal strip.  The outer edge of the box top  is finished with decorative wood trim that has been painted and them antiqued to complement the piece.

In each interior corner of the box is a push button, battery operated light, which adds an extra element of interest to the artwork, especially at night.