More box making with Andrew Huot

Left: tray to store small bits of collage papers, based on corrugated clamshell box. Right: one tray in place.

I am almost done with the Preservation Enclosures class with Andrew Huot. This class has been more useful than I expected. From the title I thought some enclosures would be good for librarians, and hopefully I would get some ideas for artist's book enclosures. I had seen some enclosures friends made in a class of Andrews, so I had faith it would be a good investment. Most of what we have done has turned out to be potentially very useful. In the last post about this class I mentioned that I could adapt the corrugated clamshell box to make trays for storing collage parts. I have made nine trays so far and am very pleased. In the image above on the right you can see my old funky make-shift system with one new, lovely, perfectly fitting tray in place. (click on all images to enlarge)

Insert in cigar box. I wanted to save time and try the insert without making the box.

We also made two inserts that I think will have a lot of applications. I made the first one, above, in a cigar box to save a little time. But wouldn't it be a nice way to present a small book? A nicely made box would have a lot of presence displayed in a show, and would make a good enclosure for storage. Or of course if you have a box appropriate for the book subject, an insert like this would be perfect. Small books often disappear in a show in a large room. Maybe the book could stand up on the open box somehow? 

Insert in corrugated clamshell box.

This second insert also has potential. It occurs to me that you could present an interesting object in the insert area, place it higher in the box, and leave a space below to house an artist's book. It's also faster to make, so a good choice if you want to find a safe way to store something.

Soft sided slip case - holding a set of paper sample booklets.

We also made a soft-sided slip-case. It was pretty quick and good for holding a set of paper sample books. I have stacks of them and they tend to be in a messy pile. Mine is a little funky, but you get the idea.

Next week we will make a wrapper with a hard case. I know this will be useful. Then the class is done, but in the meantime I am starting the Clamshell Box class with Andrew. I know this one will be harder, but undeniably useful.