Tiled In-Box
Title:Tiled In-Box
Materials:
Size:
Art Type:
Artist:Lena Shore
Date:2018
Categories:Artwork, Polymer Clay
I wanted an inbox for my desk, but couldn’t find anything that inspired me. A few months ago I started making unique clay tiles. All the base colors are the clay, but I did a lot of shading with translucent mica powders. Some tiles have inclusions of glass and swarovski crystals. I created a few each session until I had almost enough to cover the bottom of a wooden inbox I found at an arts & crafts store. I arranged the big ones first and then started filling in the smaller areas with the smaller tiles. Eventually, I had a handful of spaces and left and created tiles to fill in the holes.
The box was unfinished. I sanded and painted it with green, purple, and gold metallic paints. I did a little wet sanding before the final coats. I considered coating the whole thing with a clear coat to make it all shiny, but decided I liked the natural look better.
I like functional art and I think it is practical enough to be used. At the very least it will encourage me to keep it empty.
Like all of my favorite art, this is one you can just stare at for a long while as you take it all in. It is just fascinating in detail and color, and extensive enough to make looking at it a fun activity in its own right. The fact that it is also a practical, functional object is simply icing on the cake. 😀
Thank you for taking the time to comment. It’s much appreciated. (:
It’s ABSOLUTELY SQUEE!!! So beautiful!!! So many happy elements: hearts, keys, dragon flies, seahorses, crowns, angel wings, bees, and more and more and more! The detail! I lurves it so much!!! I’m adding it to my favorites list!!! (Somewhere in Time beetle bug, all beetle bugs, (all my pieces), and this box … there’s more, but these are the super standouts!!!)
BTW: you said you got a box from the craft store. Was it unfinished wood to start? Did you stain the outside green? And how did you make the interior base that metallic sheeny purple?
Aw. Thank you! I am surprised more beetles didn’t make their way into this one. I updated my entry to include more information about the box. (: