Holly C. Karolkowski
Don’t you love where art can take you? It’s a journey to a brand-new place. My small assemblage shadowboxes, which I call Art for Small Spaces, become worlds in strange lands. They capture a feeling or moment in time and hopefully tell a story about which the viewer wants to know more.
I usually start the process by laying out several square frames on my art table and then the frenzy of flying papers begins. I start to sort through the saved images and patterned papers I’ve created or collected. I like rummaging through the pile knowing I can always find a good background in there. I begin to experiment to see which papers will work with each frame. This can be a long process for me when there’s a wonderful paper I really want to use, but it just doesn’t work with what I’ve got.
Next is a treasure hunt through drawers, boxes and jars of found objects I’ve gathered. I like to play with these objects, just to see where they take me. One idea can quickly lead me in a new direction. Because I work on multiple pieces at once, ideas are constantly changing and bouncing off one piece of artwork to another. It’s great when I stumble upon a long-forgotten finding. I become inspired to create a way to display and show the subject in a new light. I like using items that might be overlooked in everyday life—a decorative pull on Grandma’s window blinds becomes transformed into the perfect vase! That rusty hubcap bolt is a natural perch for that red-feathered cardinal I pulled off Aunt Tillie’s Christmas card last year. Looking at things differently is a necessary part of creativity.
SQUARE FRAME, DEEP ENOUGH TO ACT AS A SHADOWBOX
ARCHIVAL MAT BOARD (SAME SIZE AS FRAME)
SMALL UTILITY KNIFE
DECORATIVE PAPERS
FINDINGS AND NOTIONS
TACKY GLUE
FOAM CORE 1/8” (3MM) (DOUBLE THE SIZE OF YOUR FRAME)
RULER
GLASS (SAME SIZE AS YOUR FRAME)
GLASS CLEANER
PAPER TOWELS
DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE (FRAMER’S ATG WORKS WELL)
GLAZIER POINTS
SCREW EYES
WIRE
GLUE STICK
PAINT, CHARCOAL AND STAMPING SUPPLIES
THE LAST PRINCE OF THE FOREST
-1- USING A UTILITY KNIFE, CUT A PIECE OF MAT BOARD TO FIT YOUR FRAME; LET THIS BE YOUR PALETTE. PLAY AROUND WITH DIFFERENT PAPERS AND OBJECTS. LOOK AROUND FOR INSPIRATION. I FIND SOME OF MY FAVORITE ITEMS ON THE GROUND, LOST AND WEATHERED. OR MAYBE YOU ALREADY HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND. PERHAPS A PAIR OF OLD EARRINGS CAN BE REJUVENATED INTO SOME WILD WALLFLOWERS. FIND A STORY OR FEELING YOU WANT TO CAPTURE IN YOUR WORK AND THEN GO WITH IT, OR TRY WORKING ON A FEW THEMES AT A TIME. KEEP IN MIND THAT SOME OF YOUR DESIGN ELEMENTS WILL REST ON THE FLOOR OF YOUR SHADOWBOX.
-2- ONCE YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH YOUR DESIGN, START LAYERING ON YOUR BACKGROUND PAPERS AND THEN LAYER OVER THOSE WITH PAINT, CHARCOAL, OR STAMPING TO GIVE MORE DEPTH AND SHADING.
STILL LIFE WITH TOMATO
-3- WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY WITH YOUR BACKGROUND, YOU CAN START ADHERING YOUR FOUND OBJECTS AND FINDINGS. (I LIKE SUPER TACKY GLUE FOR HARD-TO-HOLD ITEMS!)
-4- WHILE THE GLUE IS DRYING, IT’S TIME TO MAKE THE SHADOWBOX SIDES. EACH SIDE THAT LINES THE BOX IS REFERRED TO AS A SPACER. THIS CREATES THE DEPTH OF THE PIECE. MEASURE THE DEPTH OF THE DEEPEST OBJECT ON YOUR BACKGROUND. ADD 1/8” (3MM) TO THAT MEASUREMENT. THIS WILL BE THE WIDTH OF YOUR SPACERS. MEASURE THE WIDTH OF THE INSIDE OF YOUR FRAME AND SUBRACT 1/16” (2MM). THIS BECOMES THE LENGTH OF YOUR FIRST TWO SPACERS. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOUR FRAME MEASURES 5” (13CM) INSIDE AND THE DEPTH OF YOUR DEEPEST OBJECT IS 1” (3CM), CUT YOUR FIRST TWO FOAM-CORE STRIPS, 415/16” × 11/8” (12.5CM × 2.8 5CM).
-5- COVER YOUR STRIPS WITH DECORATIVE PAPER; YOU CAN USE THE SAME PAPER YOU USED FOR THE BACKING, OR TRY SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
-6- AFTER THE FIRST TWO SPACERS ARE COVERED, SET THEM IN THE FRAME ON OPPOSITE SIDES. THEN, MEASURE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO STRIPS TO DETERMINE THE LENGTH OF YOUR FINAL TWO STRIPS—THEY WILL STILL BE THE SAME DEPTH AS THE FIRST TWO. CUT AND COVER THE REMAINING STRIPS. CLEAN THE GLASS, USING GLASS CLEANER, AND THEN SET IT INSIDE THE FRAME. ADHERE THE FIRST TWO SPACERS, USING DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE ON THE BACK AND THEN THE OTHER TWO SPACERS.
-7- NOW THAT THE FOUR “WALLS” ARE ALL STUCK INSIDE THE FRAME, IT’S TIME TO ADHERE ANY DESIGN ELEMENTS TO THE BOTTOM “WALL” OF YOUR LINING WITH TACKY GLUE. ONCE THOSE ELEMENTS HAVE DRIED IN PLACE, REST YOUR DECORATED MAT BOARD, FACEDOWN, ON TOP OF THE SPACERS (BEFORE ASSEMBLING, YOU MAY WANT TO GIVE THE GLASS ON THE INSIDE OF THE FRAME ANOTHER CLEAN). ADD A PIECE OF FOAM CORE TO THE BACK OF THE MAT BOARD, AND SECURE WITH GLAZIER POINTS.
-8- ATTACH SCREW EYES AND WIRE TO THE BACK OF THE FRAME FOR HANGING.
WHEN PIGS FLY
Once you create one of these assemblages, you’ll want to do more! It’s amazing what you can do with so much depth.