The Unlocked Box

I’ve been on an enjoyable ‘journey’ creating a piece I’ve named ‘The Unlocked Box’.  This has been in response to a design challenge by an online beading group I belong to with the theme Gothic Pandora’s Box.   The piece was required to have at least two techniques used.  I looked up the Pandora myth and came up with a bit of an idea, to create a piece using a Book as the analogy of the evils of the world, having nothing left on it’s pages after the opening of the box except the single word ‘hope’.  So a bit of research then, as I wanted the book to be anatomically correct, properly bound, stitched with headers bookmark etc.  I also created a couple of trial runs as I wanted to make sure I could make a book small enough to be housed within a metalwork box and still be able to be worn.  I’ve got some images which show some of it, however I did get a bit carried away and then forgot to take pictures as I went.

I’ve used raw brass stampings and also vintage brass combined with the metalwork box I made with hinges and all.  The necklace has three strands of dragonscale agate and some antique bronze spacers some chain and a three strand box clasp.  It sits fairly high but not so high that the peak of the decorative backing hits the throat!

One of the parts of the story that I hadn’t known was that the evils once released, turned into moths and flew out into the world, so I’ve stretched the image a wee bit and used moth-like charms taking flight from the box.  The tricky bit was fitting the book within the box so that it could look out of the keyhole I’d cut within the lid of the box.  I solved it with a little shelf beneath which I placed the scroll with the story of Pandora.  I’m happy with this now.

I made a few books to do a trial run

This is the first of the evil eye books I did, but it was too big for the purpose

showing the construction etc

starting work on the construction of the final book

binding

I’ve put in the little eye made by a talented friend Natalie Monkivitch

I signed it inside where it will be glued over

here is the header

bookmark went in too

almost finished still need to decorate the end of the bookmark, I’ve used staining around the eye

edging put onto the ends of pages

hand decorated end papers

I think I’m done here

I’m pretty pleased with the eye looking out at me

The box, before I’ve soldered the moths onto it, still in it’s raw state

complete

this shows the little key which secures the lid on the box

This shows where the scroll and book fit within the box. The book needs to align with the keyhole

I typed out the story and printed it out as small as possible and then treated the paper with linseed oil to create a parchment look for the scroll