It all started with a box. A plain box which was simple and somehow both empty and full at the same time. A small box full of big potential. That box was an idea from which the Plain Box Society was formed. The Plain Box Society is a collaboration featuring a community of artists worldwide. We were each given one extraordinarily plain cardboard box which was filled only with potential. Our goals were to transform our box, dressing it up with our own unique creative idea. The only other parameter was to utilize Stencilgirl ® products to help with the transformation.
I was invited to participate by Tina Walker ( a columnist for the Stencilgirl® blog and my long time creative aquaintance). I have been a part of Tina’s other collaborations before and was honored to be a part of another one. I knew I wanted my box to have substance and not be something I would toss out after completion. It needed to have character and beauty. Paper mache would be the perfect medium to reinforce my box but I was unsure about the overall design. I did feel a strong pull to base the box off of my expat experiences.
Earlier this year, I took a few art classes in which I learned more about Islamic geometry and art. My box is not full of precise design measurements but it is loosely based on the motifs and colors that I observed. I started a Pinterest board for inspiration and immediately began to notice several recurring color palettes. This guided me to choose white and teal blue as my base design and red, gold and navy as accents. I chose a stencil which reminded me of the floral designs hidden within the geometric patterns.
Now that I had an idea for the plain box, it was time to start the transformation.
The finished box is perfect as a small gift box. You can add chocolates, a gift card or jewelry inside. The box itself can be used as a home decor piece. I am really pleased with the final result.
For more inspiration, visit the other artists who participated in this collaboration:
