This is the last of my "art" boxes, as boxes of this size, shape and wood are no longer available in the market. To make this special, instead of painting directly on the top of the lid, I created the mandala on a watercolor aqua board. The mandala is based on the Indian "rangoli" or "kolam".
The design is drawn on a background that was first painted with India and acrylic inks. Over this background, I hand wrote several sanskrit verses: (1) invoking Ganesha, the elephant god, known as remover of obstacles, (2) couple of verses from Yoga texts, (3) a verse from Bhagavat Gita. I scrubbed the board to give it a weathered finish. Typically kolam or mandala is drawn on washed and scrubbed mud floor and I wanted the same look on the board also. Finally, I drew the mandala over this background with black and white inks.
The aqua board was anchored on top of the box with strong gel and nails (they are invisible). The top of the box was painted a lovely shimmery peacock green using Jacquard's Lumiere paint.
The sides are painted in coordinated colors. The inside of the box is layered with foam.
The inks and the aqua board are archival. Several layers of varnish have been added to protect the paint and the design.
The box measures 7"x7"x3". A capacious box, it can be used in multiple ways--to keep your journals, prayer beads, jewelry, photos etc. It would also make an excellent gift.
You will find more hand painted, decorated boxes in my Etsy shop
