Little Boxes

 Small-scale treasure chests– they sit amidst our furnishings, keeping safe our possessions. Beneath the lids may be valuable jewels or sentimental keepsakes. Sometimes they are places for homeless parts that are missing their objects; lost but now found buttons; foreign coins or for old cards. Myself, I even have a box for deceased but still beautiful beasts: a dragonfly, a bumble bee, a few butterfly wings.

Even more fascinating are the boxes where others keep their hidden treasures. A box always invites you to lift the lid, often without giving any clues as to what might be inside. Regularly the only clues are the size of the container and the context of its placement. Very few hints indeed, so there always remains a sense of anticipation before the lid is opened and its ingredients are revealed.
When I visit other people's homes I am always drawn, Pandora like, towards these little hiding places and it is only the inhibitions of adulthood and learnt social niceties that prevent me from lifting the lid... most of the time.

I have begun to experiment with miniature paintings, to decorate these much-loved wooden pockets.
This is a first attempt, and one from which I have already learnt a lot. I may need smaller paint brushes and a magnifying glass to get the detail I really desire, but it is a step towards a much bigger project that, for now, is cocooned and waiting for the right time to emerge.

The original image is only two-and-a-third inches (6cm) in diameter.

A Simple Shelter