Shadow Box
Intro
For my Art Culture class at George Brown College, we were tasked with making a shadow box. The shadow box could have been based on three different subject. It could be based on something in your past, something you wish to happen in the future, or a dream or nightmare that you once had. Almost anything can be used to make the box.
Materials
Wood
Nails and Screws
Hand Saw
Exacto knife
Wood Filler
Ruler
Scissors
HB Pencil
Construction and Canson Paper
Blue String
Coloured Pencils
Toy train
Tape
Glue and Wood glue
Popsicle sticks
Computer
Christmas decorations
Thumbtacks
Creative Process
When coming up with ideas for the box, two popped out to me. My first idea was a dream that I had when I was a kid. The dream I had was about these jellyfish in the blue sky. They were following or chasing businessmen that were running in a green field. Then a giant leap happens and it changed the setting to the tracks of a train. The train starts to come closer and the dream ends. The second one was my trip to London, England and everything that happen there. I decided that I would do the dream I had because I felt that there is a lot to work with there and it was going to be unique and different.
First Thumbnail
Second Thumbnail
Production
The first thing I need to make was the box. I made the box out of wood. I measured and cut the right size that I needed with a ruler and hand saw.
Piece of wood that I'm going to cut
14 x 5.5 inches
12 x 5.5 inches
Then I used nails and screws to assemble it together. Any holes and cracks was filled with the wood filler and sanded with sandpaper to make it smooth.
Box completed
I then covered and glue white cloth around it.
White cloth added around the box
Then I started measuring and cutting the sky, grass field, and the jellyfish out of construction and Canson paper. The jellyfish is made with different shades of red and different sizes to show how far and close they are to the front of the box. The pink body, red eyes, and magenta spots.
The pieces
Next were the businessmen. I found a few pictures of businessmen running on Britannica IMAGEQUEST and printed them out. I cut a few pieces of them out, like their head, and replaced them or just left it. Then I glued to Popsicle sticks together and glued the businessmen on top of it.
Top men
Then I started to glue those pieces in the box. I also added a tunnel for the train.
The train was a bit small so I added a piece of wood under it and glued it. I also put black tape around the piece of wood as well.
Choo-choo
Next I added a blue string to the jellyfish so I can hang them from the top of the box. I had to poke holes in the jellyfish and put the string through it and tie a knot.
I added those pieces in and parts of a Christmas decorations to add more grass to the bottom. Last, I added a cover to the front.
Final
Conclusion
Overall, I did not like making it but I think it turned out great. I learned that shadow boxes are quite hard to make and to have your vision appear in it. I really like making the box out of wood. It was satisfying make it than finding or buying a box. If I were to do it differently I would add more to the box. I think it looks a bit plain in certain areas. I also make the box a bit shorter and change the blue that I used.
