Alice Theater Box Creation

I thought I'd show how I put Alice's theater box together for the Alice piece I did For the Duirwaigh gallery show.
In all my piles of stuff I save, including some really cool old antique boxes,...I did not have one single box that was just the right size and shape I needed... Wouldn't ya know! But I did find a box that some ancient treasure I purchased from ebay came in. Now, how to make it cool and old looking.
I reinforced the seams with archival linen hinging tape and attached the box to a wooden block..new problem the blocks not as wide as I like so have to solve that problem by later adding wooden trim moulding.

Here I rounded out the corners to give it an arch shape using cardboard and linentape.
Inside I cut watercolor paper that I glued in and then gave it all a good coat of Gesso to protect.
(I really have no clue what I'm doing at this point and I'm beginning to wonder at my sanity!..Now WHY I'm I making this box???.!! Oh yeah..I think it will make the Alice piece much more interesting)!!
I added pages from an old Alice book to the sides and back and aged it. I was planning on a black base but it all started getting to dark. So to lighten it up a bit I repainted the base a yummy sagey green.I added curtains made from an old masonic lodge collar. Then cut, gessoed and painted foamcore in an arch for the top.Sculpted a Cheshire puss face,painted the banner. Added the quote "Were All Mad Here"By this time I really did think I was mad!Thats it in a nutshell....but in actuality it took me about a week and a half to complete it.Drying time was some of it but, Mostly, due to the fact that I had no clue what I wanted! So it was a slow step by step process.




Here is the finished Theater box..minus Alice....as Miss Pennythistle decided SHE should be the STAR of the show, and told Alice that she was due in court!
Dark & slightly crazed Blessings,
Gail