Intertwined Dragons

During a dreary, overcast day of confinement at a relative's house...with nothing but my notebook and college text books, I was left with little to do but...um...draw, I mean...study...

INTERWINED DRAGONS
Mechanical pencil on notebook paper 8.5" x 11" (2005)

This original design was intially drawn as a shield concept for my beloved friend, Julie. It was revisited two years later when I woodburned the drawing onto keepsakes box for my (now) ex-boyfriend as a Christmas gift.

Redrawing the design based upon the original (displayed above). The wooden box was premade and can be purchased at Michael's Crafts. If I had more time, I would've made one myself. Alas, spare time is a commodity I cannot easily waste nowadays.

Still not quite finish redrawing the design...but almost there.

Going over the lines with a woodburning pen (also purchased at Michaels). It is the same tool I used as a soldering iron during High School in order to melt metallic surfaces when creating stained glass pieces.

For the interior, the intent was to create a mixed-media collage consisting of photos and objects that best reflect or symbolize the people, experiences, memories and interests that we found significant in life.

A "nearly finished" snapshot of the interior before metallic trinkets and other objects were added to the collage. Three layers of varnish and glaze were used to coat the interior and exterior surfaces of the box for added protection against wear.

Frontal view of the finished product.

Frontal view of the finished product. The text has also been woodburned onto the surface. Sorry for censoring out the last three lines---they basically consisted of a personal message to the recipient that I suppose I don't necessarily mind sharing here. Oh well, too late.