Box of Secrets 15.12.2023

BRIEF -Part 1

Identify a precious artefact, memory, secret, idea or thought.Using your sketch book develop ideas for lidded boxes/containers that would be appropriate to contain your precious object or secret.

Explore a wide range of design ideas as possible.Your box should involve decorative textual embellishment and some form of knob or finial detail.Your box should involve reflect or hint at its content .Apply free hand perspective to some of your design details.

I started by brain storming ideas around what a precious artefact ,memory would look like or mean for me…I then revised 2 point perspective but became very frustrated ,confined by the box shape.

I explored a lidded box made from bricks to hold objects inside .This relates to the house being a home holding memories and represents safety.

Books have always represented a space to escape to that evoke lots of thoughts for me so I explored the area of a box presenting books containing ideas inside.

Trees and the outdoors have always allowed my mind to wander and develop ideas and projects related to work and creative ideas. I explored the box becoming a tree and encompassing it gradually growing out of it. Inside the box there would be ideas.

I explored the house theme again creating windows allowing people to look into the building. The form would hold special memories in the windows.

As previous drawings illustrate I was increasingly becoming hemmed in with the box design so explored a cylinder shape with a lid morning into a figure shape. On reflection the form is almost fairy tale/folk law…ish which could relate to dreams.

I explored a slab cylinder and the effect of adding coils to again create a figure.

I love walking along the beach and find I reflect about different things so explored the box morphing into a beach theme consisting of drift wood legs topped with seaweed and a whale knob.

Nature and being outside again hold special memories so I experimented with a flower theme with coiled tree stumps.

Whilst exploring my ideas with my fellow students and lecturer I explored what memories are very special to me …It became evident childhood memories of time spend with my father whilst he worked as single handed GP in the community in a large rural practice promoted me to tell animated stories to the group!.These memories resonate with me as I then continued to train as a nurse then leaving the profession to train as a teacher and spend the next 30 years teaching and eventually becoming a Head Teacher. As a family we have many generations of Doctors and surgeons and it was a very strong influence in my formative years …ironically I have married a Neuro Surgeon and our daughter is now pursuing a career in medicine. I also revalidated my nursing qualification during covid 19 to support the NHS as I was experiencing the damaging affect on my close family.

The images above are rough sketches of brain storming after the group tutorial. I have always been surrounded by medical instruments and anatomy and been fascinated by use . One of my clear childhood memories is looking through medical anatomy books and publications finding the illustrations very beautiful and compelling.

I have explored bone structures and the shapes they form adding spinal vertebrae.

I have explored the bone structure shape exploring how to add to slabs using a coil pot and coils to add decorations. The lid is skin pulled back with sutures holding the bone like forms together. Inside the bone shaped forms are medically related instruments that each hold childhood memories.

I explored the bone structure and using slabs of earthenware Mark Wright clay created a form based on bone structures. The bone imagery evolved from exploring my family history and how medicine has had a defining impact.

I added feet which added a human form narrative .

Adding slip trailing and sgraffito I created signatures on one box and contour lines on the other one. The signatures act as reminders of marks a generation of Doctors have made and the contour lines the many walking journeys and happy memories both past and current.

signatures!

Contour lines and feet.

Green and white slip with transparent glaze on top.