Memory Boxes

I found 4 20×30 beautiful wood framed glass front boxes that were about 6 inches deep at a local bargain/discount store called Marc’s several years back. Each one contained what I can only describe as a mold of what resembled one of King Kong’s toenails inside. I bought them for $40 each with money I really didn’t have to spend at the time, knowing that someday I would populate them with memories…and I did.

When you live life with passion, the tiniest of physical objects have a tendency to take on immense meaning. Am I a hoarder of memories, YES. Do I regret this position in life, NO. I get much of it from my Mom, who has many absolutely gorgeous collections of artistic miniatures and creative decorations to put out for every occasion…and then some! These memory boxes took about 3 months full time to populate with the background collage and foreground objects, including the intricate lighting in each one. Naturally, each one got more deliberate in it’s planning and lighting schemes as I went along, and I look back to the first one and wish I would have known now what I didn’t know then, but love them all just the same for their place and time along that magical ride of creation.

Each Memory Box has 5 distinct lighting elements that can be switched on or off by the viewer, or all on or off at once. The lights target specific zones of each box, creating particular moods meant to highlight particular elements within. The Carnival and Music boxes both have a randomizer rainbow color effect switch that creates the feeling of a concert/amusement park ride atmosphere, as well as individual color switches that capture the subtle essence of what these memories symbolize. Not every memory of an event is flush with strobe lights, and nor are these pieces. They can be viewed in natural lighting just the same as any moment of life at high noon would be.

Each box contains a highly detailed and curated collage of content authentic to its theme. There are original buttons, stickers, ticket stubs, coins, photos, fliers, maps, magnets, pins, plates, spoons, handwritten notes, handmade jewelry, rocks, dirt, sand, and dust for starters. Fortune cookies, plush toys, wind chimes, and yo- yos. Ceremonial confetti, banners, and ribbons. Rusty nails to crystal gems. When they’ve been on public display the one time before, viewers would get lost in one of the Memory Boxes for extended periods of time.

Memory Boxes

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