2018 #8 Boxes: The Man in the Door in the box with LPC {by Dounia Large}

2018 Topic 8: Boxes

Is it a box...is it a niche? It's all that and more! Dounia has lots of great ideas to share in this post! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Dounia with you and tonight, I'll try to offer a few tips and ideas on how to fill boxes, based on my own process (so humble!).

Boxes are amazing! They're so versatile; they can be useful or "just" pretty; depending on your needs and mood you can them about the exterior, the interior, or both! I love modular boxes, shadow boxes and printer trays where you can mix everything you love and play with dimension. However they can be a bit daunting so here are a few ideas to get started!

An easy way for the finished piece to have coherence is to choose a limited color theme and stick to it. Here I went with blue/green/gold with vanilla and black as neutrals. Then I gather all the materials and bits and pieces that match that combo.

I'm a bit of a magpie so I have way too many tiny scraps and elements for one project... I therefore decide on a additional theme to further bind the niches together, here my idea was "architectural elements". My mind went directly to Lynne Perella's stamps as they are often full of buildings and ornamental details. LPC011 is an oldie but a goodie, one of my favorite sets!

I love the details, the collage constructions and the stark black spaces. I am particularly fond the bottom left stamp, that I nicknamed the Man in the Door, as it breaks all the rules of perspective and logic (he makes me think a bit of the Doctor!). The stamp was the perfect size for the main niche, it was obviously meant to be! As often with Lynne Perella, he also appears in LPC012 but alas, I could not fit it in my project...

In my opinion, boxes are the perfect opportunity to play with depth and dimension. A classic way to do that is layering. I like deconstructing stamps into separate layers and using different materials or techniques for each one. It brings so much life to the image and makes every project unique.

Here I emphasized the man as the main focus by isolating him in his own layer. As he is mostly in the center, we tend to see him as the front element. However I put him in the bottom layer (logical, as he is in an open door) reversing the dynamic and adding more depth to the image. To go with the slightly surreal feeling of the stamp, I separated the main plane in two layers: the details stamped on acetate and the colors beneath it on card. That way, when you change point of view, the alignement between the two mooves and makes the image look alive.

I like how, just by itself the niche frames the stamp, repeating the rectangular pattern and bringing even more dimension. Also the stamped acetate casts gorgeous shadows!

I like for the frames to look as  complex and worked on as the inside of the niches so I took all my blue Fresco paints and went to town with the amazing Crackle Glaze, and some Pearl too! Considering how busy, and somewhat dark, the main image is, I kept the other niches relatively simple and brighter.

I like having the niches on different planes: some where the focus is at the back, some where the focus is at the front, some in the middle. I find it really help create dimension even when the niches are not very deep.

And of course, let's not forget the sides! Ribbons and  associates are the best for an easy clean and finished look.

A whole project like this one certainly takes time a patience, but brings so much fun and satisfaction! I just love sifting through my bits and pieces and trying combinations, sparking so many happy accidents. For something less involved, the layering techniques can be used in any type of project. Look at your collage stamp, separate it into layer and do not assume you know which one is at the top and which one is at the bottom. Mixing it up is when magic happens!

Dounia x

Blog: Doudoulina (for another example, try this)

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