Little Boxes

This work is a visual representation of the "boxes" that we sometimes hide away on our mental shelves. Whether we box up feelings, parts of ourselves, or experiences, we all have boxes lying in wait. I created these boxes as a way of meeting the viewer where they were at. Since we all come to view and understand life or things based on our own lived experiences, I gave numbers instead of names to the boxes. This allows everyone to connect with each one in their own way without the filter of where the box came from as the artist. 

What do your boxes look like, feel like? Do you open your boxes and try to integrate them into your being, or even know that they're there? With each box being different, representing no one meaning, have you found any of your boxes here?

Little Box #22

2023

fired clay, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$200

Little Box #5

2023

fired clay, polyfill, tea light, acrylic paint

5.5"h x 5.5"w x 5.5"d

$250

Little Box #15

2023

fired clay, barbed wire, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

SOLD

Little Box #18

2023

fired clay, string, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$200

Little Box #13

2023

fired clay, moss, acrylic paint

7"h x 7"w x 7"d

$250

Little Box #23

2023

fired clay, cobwebs, acrylic paint

5.5"h x 5.5"w x 5.5"d

$200

Little Box #20

2023

fired clay, wire, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$220

Little Box #25

2023

fired clay, wool, acrylic paint

6"h x 6"w x 5.5"d

$220

Little Box #14

2023

fired clay, modeling foam, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$220

Little Box #12

2023

fired clay, acrylic paint

5.5"h x 5.5"w x 5.5"d

$200

Little Box #11

2023

fired clay, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$220

Little Box #6

2023

fired clay, newsprint, acrylic paint

5.5"h x 8"w x 5"d

$250

Little Box #17

2023

fired clay, modeling foam, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

SOLD

Little Box #24

2023

fired clay, paper, pen, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$200

Little Box #1

2023

fired clay, modeling foam, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

SOLD

Little Box #9

2023

fired clay, acrylic paint

5.5"h x 5.5"w x 5.5"d

$250

Little Box #8

2023

fired clay, glass, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$220

Little Box #2

2023

fired clay, acrylic paint

5.5"h x 5.5"w x 5.5"d

$220

Little Box #21

2023

fired clay, modeling foam, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$250

Little Box #7

2023

fired clay, paper, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5.5"d

$220

Little Box #3

2023

fired clay, acrylic paint

5.5"h x 5.5"w x 5.5"d

$220

Little Box #19

2023

fired clay, wool, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$220

Little Box #4

2023

fired clay, mixed media, acrylic paint

5"h x 7"w x 5"d

$220

Little Box #16

2023

fired clay, tape, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$200

Little Box #10

2023

fired clay, glass, flowers, acrylic paint

5"h x 5"w x 5"d

$220

This piece's concept is about returning home to ourselves and our bodies. While we are all different in many ways, we are also all connected by the bodies we were born into and inhabit everyday. Return is here to remind us that we are not alone, and to ask ourselves what it may look like for one to return to themself or their own body.

When working, I often reflected on what it had meant for me to feel safely at home with myself and in my own body. I smoothed wet clay into a form that represented the neverending journey of returning to oneself. I made gestural figures, so as not to dictate who gets to see themselves within the piece by getting lost in specific features. I returned to repeat the process of pressing clay slabs over and over into a mold to create each new body. After trimming and firing, I wrote an intention and then painted a small reflection of the world we live in on the surfaces.

Return Series 1

2022

fired clay, acrylic paint

(dimensions vary depending on number and arrangement)

$75 a piece, $1800 for entire series

Return

Release

The Release is built as a maquette for an idea that will be closer to life size. The idea of a human form stepping out and releasing a hand me down garment of generational trauma is reference to a part of healing that occurs after reaching a state of awareness. An awareness of stitched together emotions and experiences that may not be yours but have been handed down to you like an old coat. Once you reach this state of awareness, you can bid it farwell and move forward.

Release

2021

fired clay, acrylic paint

12"h x 7"w x 20"d

NFS

Resculpt

2019

fired clay, acrylic paint

11"h x 4"w x 4"d

NFS

" An individual cannot resculpt themself without process, for we are both the medium and the creator."

Choose to treat yourself like clay. Soft and malleable. Like the push and pull of a subjectless block, transformation can be painful at times. But, as you begin to knead it into a form recognizable, along comes purpose, intention and understanding. So, carve away what no longer serves who you are becoming. Build up forgotten or hidden parts that had been longing for integration. Make mistakes, change your mind, unlearn, relearn. See yourself for all that you are. Let go of perfection or expectations. Be gentle with the difficult truths you may need to swallow. Be curious with your journey, including how you got here. Be open to the necessary changes that come your way and how long the process may take. Be honest with yourself and where you are.

Resculpt