Monday, November 2, 2020

The Future is Open

 

This might look empty to you, but it's a harbinger of great things to come in the future. Soon. Like, 2021. I've had enough of living in The Co-Void already.

The project started in my imagination when I saw these in a wholesaler's warehouse two years ago. They were hideously expensive but I coveted them from the moment I set eyes on the boxes. In January, the company had a closing down sale and six were left, priced to go. A bit battered but still sturdy and at $2 per box, you can't buy the materials to construct your own.

I feel a cat-like attraction to hollow things. My thinking isn't 'Will my bum fit?' though, it's 'What can I put in there?'. These boxes were screaming miniature display.

The first order of the day was getting rid of Michael Jackson.

It needed many layers of paint but eventually, I could say, 'Bye-bye Michael'. This happened in June; you can see that we're in the middle of winter and the garden is quite dull. It was also the middle of lockdown here in South Africa and I had nothing to do except to watch paint dry.

Next, I made some neat liners for the box and the lid. Being unable to scoot out to the craft shop for inspiration, I found a wallpaper sample on the internet, rescaled and tiled in Word, and printed it on ordinary paper in grayscale.

I added some little shelves and sealed all the surfaces with matt varnish for durability.

Fast forward a few weeks and back to the exterior of the boxes. I glued Velcro to the spines and outside edges of each box.

This way, many boxes can become one. 

Stood on its side and opened up, I have 80cm x 90cm of display area with 36 little shelves the perfect size on which to display miniatures.

It breaks down in less than a minute and stores in a box light-weight and ready to transport to a show. Now all I need is a miniature show. And stock. And customers would be nice.

I hope that you're doing what you need to do to stay safe and that this year hasn't been terribly unkind to you. My heart goes out to the people I'm in contact with remotely who have suffered everything from misfortune to outright tragedy in the last few months. I carry your sadness with me and I think of you every day.

Personally, I've never experienced so many awful things crammed into such a short time. My family has been visited by setbacks, sickness, and death and it's been a trial for all of us but I will tell you about it in another post.

Right now all I can say is that despite the hardship, I'm being extraordinarily creative and productive. I'm studying, experimenting, making things. 

I'm looking forward to a day when life can move forward and I can start growing again instead of lying dormant waiting for this season to pass. I hope that on the day when you see this display bursting with miniatures at a show, you will celebrate with me. Even if we have to wear a mask and hugs are not allowed. The way we do things needs to change but humanity is robust; we can hold on to hope and adapt. We're going to get through this!

14 comments:

  1. Una idea fantástica, y muy buen reciclaje.
    Todos esperamos con ansia el final de esta horrible pandemia.

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  2. I am looking forward to seeing your boxes full of miniatures at a show! Glad you have been busy in spite of everything.

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  3. Well aren’t you clever! That is a good looking display and it should serve you well. That is, once we all find our new normal. I’m with you, I think our creativity helps guide us through these troubled times. So sorry for your hardships. Take care.

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  4. Hi Megan. Good to see your post! And great to hear you are feeling creative and productive despite everything bad going on. I am sorry to hear though that you have had illness and death - we have had a bad year too but no deaths in our family. Keep taking care of yourself and making minis for all those shelves. We want to see what you come up with!

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  5. Hola Megan, que alegría leerte de nuevo! Lamento que tu familia haya pasado duras pruebas además de la común pandemia.
    Pero me alegra que sigas adelante con la esperanza puesta en un nuevo espectáculo y hayas preparado esas preciosa estanterías que cobijarán tus maravillosas miniaturas.
    Siempre adelante, con optimismo, creatividad e imaginación!
    Manteneros a salvo!
    Besos.

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  6. Great idea Megan! I have a box fetish too, especially if the box in question has miniatures inside.
    Like you, I've been more creative in lockdown, and as we move into another here in the UK I'm hoping that my muse will continue to visit.
    Hopefully next year will be better for us all. Sx

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  7. I'm sorry to see your sad news and glad to know you are creative again.
    What a clever idea to combine a packaging/display/travelling unit from the card boxes. I wish you to use it very often.
    Take care, stay safe and creative!
    Hugs,
    Drora

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  8. I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through a lot of worries about family members - my best wishes and on top an extra dose of strength for you. But it's good to learn that you're still creative and having plans... of course after getting rid of Michael Jackson. ;O) Your display turned out stunning, what a great idea and so handy. This will be perfect for a fair... which will some day happen again - and customers won't be a problem. So you better should start to work on miniatures to fill it - they will be needed... one day!

    Hugs
    Birgit (who had to smile all over after learning that you're able to read my posts in German now - if you're able to follow my silly stuff you can be really proud of yourself and your German skills *LOL*)

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  9. It looks wonderful! The wallpaper turned out so pretty!

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  10. Lovely to hear your voice, Sheila! I have you in my thoughts.

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  11. How creative you are! You did such a wonderful job on the boxes!
    Just love it!

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  12. What a brilliant idea! I like that they travel and store well. So they are not only practical but pretty inside too!

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  13. Sorry to hear you have been going through some sad times Megan. As you say "Humanity is robust" an excellent phrase, we certainly are. Your display boxes are lovely, I love the wallpaper. I hope it won't be long before you are able to take them to a show.

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  14. This is brilliant! My displays have to be so much bigger--I have a few small pieces, but my dolls range from 8 to 24 inches. But for tiny things, this is, well, brilliant. Well done!

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