Links

Home     About     Contact     Press     Yellow Skirt     SKETCHES

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Thinking in the forest in the box

It was late and the woods woke her up. They were calling her - the elves, the gnomes, the fiery sprites.
She tiptoed through the brambles into a moonlit clearing (as much as one can tiptoe in glitter platform shoes). And dang those picker weeds, snagging her Vegas sparkle onesie all to heck.
"Okay, ya wise guys, you've got me here, now what the heck do you want?" she called into the darkness. "Don'cha know it's Christmas?" Soon critterly giggles filled the green air as her motley crew of geeks and ghouls joined her on a rotting log for eggnog toasts to another holiday got through. "I'm glad all the stores are closed," she sighed. They sighed with her as they helped pick those pickers off her divine palazzoed legs.


Now that it seems everyone is thinking outside the box, I decided to go back in, where the quiet and solitude of the vacated space set my dreams in motion. There's far too much commotion outside and I'm not convinced that the change of scenery will have the major impact those hopeful migrants counted on. I'm just glad they took the clutter with them when they left.


It's best to keep the lid open. But a lid on your head will help keep your ideas fresh. Maybe instead of moving in and out of boxes, we should all simply wear fabulous hats.

I'm a cardboard-backed cut-out, oh so two-dimensional, about 8cm (4in) tall, of my post for Mis Papelicos' Share-in-Style Christmas link-up. Other than resizing or desaturating or blurring, the camera did all the work. As it turned out, one of the pieces of scrap paper I grabbed for lining my box was dialogue ideas about colour, imagination, and freedom for warm-up exercises at one of my Painting Big workshops. 

In the first images I used printouts of shots I had taken of trees at a local park as the box lining. Spooky. The shadow cast by the cut-out creates an illusion of three dimensions in the surroundings. Uh-oh, I think O's small work is contagious!

And then below is the turtleneck I chopped off and showed you in a previous post but now with a little sausage kitty embroidered on it. Much better. 


In the box, out of the box, straddling the box?! In or out of your sphere or your mind? One thing I am sure of is that our paths usually seem to intersect at different points like a crazy spirograph life. This box project is fun but maybe I'll have a quick peek to see what's going on outside - rain no doubt. 

Make sure you get the proper amount of hydration and solids in the days to come. For those of you who had holidays from work, I hope you are enjoying them. Suit up (armour up) for BOXING DAY BLOWOUT GATECRASHER MADNESS!!!! I think I'll stay at home and play more with cardboard and paper. 


19 comments:

  1. Your embroidered cat is so cool! I might just have to "borrow" that idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now that's one kind of onesie I do like.
    At this time of year it's definitely safer to stay in the box until the madness subsides especially if ideas that beautiful are the result. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy holidays my creative friend.
    Greetje

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your Vegas onesie, in the box and outside too, your cropped sausage kitty turtle neck is also divine - I am staying in the box today, all day, thank goodness for that x x x x

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love how you express yourself, whether inside, outside, or doing a Schroedinger's cat with the box, Melanie. And the sausage kitty is fabulous. Is today a holiday *too*??? I may need a box. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm staying in the box today for sure, i leave the madness to others!
    I was wondering what you did, I wondered if it was photoshop but no! you cut out a pic of you ! Brilliant idea!

    Hugs Mélane

    Arianexo

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's really some amazing imagery, Melanie. Very cool. And how appropriate for Boxing Day! Alas, I need to leave my box today and head back to the bigger box (aka The Job).

    ReplyDelete
  8. you are often outside of the box my darling, the woodland setting suits you more...there is magic within the whispering trees that suits you well! Keeping a hat on to keep ideas fresh instead of closing a lid on the box will be my inspiration for 2014....need to buy me some hats and rip up some boxes! How i have adored meeting you this year. thank you for the magic you conjure amongst the trees xxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'd say you're more of an out-of-the-box kind of woman, but you look stunning either way!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This post brought a much-needed smile to my face!! Melanie you are a treasure!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Crazy Spirograph of Life. Ain't that the TRUTH!!! XXXXXOOOO

    ReplyDelete
  12. another mad wonderful post. Boxes are taking over around here, can't get to my crafting supplies!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ooh, I like the idea of creating a cardboard figure of yourself, and placing Little Melanie against whatever backdrop you choose, boxes or pages or stages or anywhere! In or out of the box, I hope your Christmas was grand, but on a small scale, that sounds just right to me!
    Boxing Day madness was indeed mad here, since I was working and forced to participate in it. I cannot BELIEVE how many people choose to go shopping the day after Christmas; bonkers, the lot of them, for loving the Retail Box that much. Thankfully there was a large Bombay Sapphire and tonic awaiting me when I got home, which mollified me a little...
    Sausage kitty is cute! Here's to many more Spirographic adventures in 2014. xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have spent most of the holidays in my own little box, and am quite satisfied with it. I like your little Melanie - it would be cool to have a smaller version of ourselves that we could arrange in different tableaus and photograph!

    Sausage Kitty! Potential cartoon character with her own show, I'm thinking. Enjoy the rest of the holidays, I'm taking a few days off from blogging to hibernate.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I stayed away from Boxing Day madness, but did venture out today (bad idea).

    I need to destroy the box I've been living in the last few days, and find a new one. The old one smells.

    ReplyDelete
  16. "Critterly giggles" love it!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Box on, box off. All very Zen, Melanie 1 & 2. Spirograph away!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I just love this! I want to make a paper doll of myself and put myself in surreal situations. Maybe I would make myself a doll house and live a vicarious life in two dimensions.

    Your creativity is infectious!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...