So technically this isn’t painted on a cigar box lid, but it’s a board that came out of a gift box my parents received. Close enough. Sometimes it feels like sacrilege cutting up this book, but I’m enjoying myself too much to stop. Plus, this way everyone gets to enjoy a little of the book. […]
This is the Neuschwanstein castle, near Füssen, Germany. It’s located in the foothills of the Alps in the very south of Germany, close to border with Austria. I’ve been here twice, once as a kid and then as an adult. Would I go back? I’m good. The actual inspiration for this box is the route […]
Apparently this turned out to be my nod to Cillian Murphy, who stars in the movie Oppenheimer. I enjoy his work. I wanted to see this movie, but I also went into it looking for fodder for art. I assumed that I would be able to find a word that was in my NASA dictionary. […]
If I could be anywhere, it would be somewhere on a tropical island listening to the waves lapping the shore. It’s been 28 years since I was fortunate enough to visit Kauai, but the memories are still as vivid as the sunsets. I sculpted the mountains using paper clay, then blocked in some color I […]
Palau is an island country in Micronesia, it’s located seven degrees north of the equator and back in 2002 I was privileged to be able to visit this gem. I have a stack of photos two inches thick all from Palau, but I’ll spare you that and only share my favorites. I started with background […]
This cigar box was inspired by the Mercer Botanic Gardens, where I fell in love with a staircase that disappeared into the forest. I really enjoy sculpting rock structures using paper clay, it’s so easy to create the effects I want. I used polymer clay to create fern fronds and baked them on rolled up […]
I made this cigar box for my aunt in Germany. I wanted to make a very Texas scene for her and one of the first things that comes to my mind are the blue bonnets and paintbrushes. Then of course a barn with a Texas flag on it is a very Texas thing. We’re proud […]
This cigar box is inspired by Sunny Beach in Galveston, TX I used to enjoy going down to Galveston to spend the morning on the beach. I would get there at first light and would have my hula hoop and feet in the surf by the time the sun poked her face over the water. […]
Some of the cigar boxes had slide lids and I didn’t want to waste them, so I’m painting on them. My inspiration for the lids has been the Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use from NASA. I’ve been going through the book and cutting out the definitions that speak to me. Sometimes I find […]
I was inspired by the box itself for this piece This one isn’t actually a cigar box, but it was nice enough to make it into the collection. The box came from Spain, filled with food items. I like that this one came with it’s own acrylic cover. I painted the inside with foliage to […]
The nautilus is a marine mollusc that is able to dive over 2000ft deep. I wanted this cigar box to reflect the dark depths to which they go. I was inspired by an aquarium enclosure I saw long ago where they used a deep purple light to illuminate the nautilus inside. What do you call […]
The nautilus is an ancient animal. Considered to be a living fossil, it has survived millions of years mostly unchanged. For some in the spiritual realm the nautilus symbolizes growth, expansion, and renewal. Not so much for others like the Palauns in Micronesia, where the nautilus can be found on the slopes of the coral […]
Houston, Texas was built on oil. Well, technically it was built on a swamp, but it’s oil that brought life to this town. Houston was born on August 30, 1836 when founding fathers Augustus and John Kirby Allen put an ad out with land for sale. They boasted that it was well-developed and steamboats were […]
Most cigar boxes come with an insert of a thin sheet of cedar wood to help protect against pests. I used these thin sheets of wood to create this piece. I cut out each of the buildings, the freeway and the vegetation. I then used wood stains and some gouache to paint on the details.
Sometimes an image captures my eye and I feel compelled to recreate it and that’s how I felt when I saw a picture of the Houston Water Wall in our local newspaper, the Houston Chronicle. I used illustration board for the structures. I like it because it’s thick and sturdy enough for walls, but it […]
There’s a hike and bike trail down the block from me that I like to walk on. One spring day I was venturing on my favorite trail that goes around a small lake. I was lost in thought and not really paying attention when suddenly saw this tree full of yellow pom pom blooms. I […]
