The Salvage Show: Letter Writing Boxes

It's been a while since the Salvage Show, but I never shared my final pieces.

Last year for the same exhibition, I had wanted to make a bunch of boxes out of salvaged wood, paint parts of them, and display them in a big heap on the floor.

Then I realized how time consuming making one box is (and how I like the idea of building, but not the reality of it); I only made one for last year's show.

This year, I wanted to veer from the same idea. I still wanted to make boxes, but I wanted them to have more significance.

I've been writing letters lately and aspire to write more, so I decided to make my boxes about that very thing.

I made five boxes out of old bead board. I painted them different color schemes I enjoy- gold and black, maroon and red, red and black, etc. I sanded one and didn't paint it at all. I didn't add lids or covers to them. I like how the bead board has slits in the edges to that you can place papers in them. I wanted the contents of the boxes to be exposed, to remind the owner not to neglect its contents. They are boxes made for pencils, envelopes, stationery, letters from friends and family...

Here is my artist statement from the show:

“Sometimes when I put things in drawers and boxes in an effort to be more organized, I tend to forget all about them (until I move). I designed these boxes out of salvaged beadboard to display stationery I’ve been collecting and (my long lost friends) No. 2 pencils. My motive is to entice myself (& you) to write a faraway friend a letter. I want to honor this lost but magical form of communication, just as I wanted to give this wood a new beginning.”