This deep and delightful workshop is a creative expansion of an article I wrote for Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine several years ago.

Like so many of my workshop, this design came from experimenting with simple materials and adding serendipitous touches that result in a figurative work.

I have always loved secret hiding places and little cryptic notes hidden in books and tree trunks. Perhaps that’s why my work has always been strongly influenced by the idea of “shards” as a metaphor for human communication across time. A shard can be a found fragment of clay, a rusty nail, a scrap of handwriting – any little clue that becomes a “secret handshake” between the maker and the discoverer. I am perpetually drawn to visible traces from the passage of time that suggest story fragments.

If you have taken my workshop called Wanderers, you will see that these Spirit Boxes are true cousins of those constructions. They can be personalized and adapted in so many ways.

My workshops have several signature features that I am proud of – they use simple, often recycled materials, they do not rely on complicated skills or a degree in fine arts, and the instruction is informal, friendly, and easy to follow. One more thing about these workshops – they show you techniques and ideas that you can adapt to other projects that you are working on.

Here is what the back looks like with its "secret compartment."

And here is the front of a Spirit Box in progress.

The video below will tell you more !