Secret Inside - Sculpture Outside

"There is something about a small keepsake box that I often found attractive as a child. Having a receptacle for something special gave me a little shiver of excitement when I placed the box in my room.

When I was a little girl, my family had firm traditions around Christmas and birthdays that dictated that each gift had to be treated with respect and had to be wrapped specially. Rarely would two gifts have exactly the same wrap. That wasn’t in the spirit of gift giving.

Apart from the beautiful papers and special ribbons, bows or other decorations, a proper box to was a must---although that might mean boxes within boxes.

Over the years, I have become less strict about the gift wrapping. [With my loving husband, parents and in-laws, 4 children, 3 siblings, 13 grandchildren and an ever growing number of great grandchildren, the motivation to observe strict wrapping rituals has weakened. And, those clever gift bags definitely shorten the task.]

But now, I have envisioned the lowly box elevated to an elegant level by using sweet little wooden boxes and enhancing them with steel sculptures.

The boxes whisper of secrets, even as they pose on a desk top or hall table. I imagine them housing small but significant things in one of their little compartments. I fancy their becoming heirlooms. In short, the boxes possess a presence and mystique all their own."

Barbara McDonald

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Collectors will soon be able to enjoy Barbara's work in a new form of sculpturally-enhanced keepsake boxes. Enhancing every day life with sculpture, these boxes add an artful touch to a desk, coffee table or entry hall shelf. The steel elements lend visual weight to the boxes, which measure 6" by 12" by 2" and are moderately priced.

If there is a graduate on your list, you can be the one to give an elegant specimen of sculptural art with one of these practical little boxes.