The Box

The Box, a wonderful tool, and sometimes a surface.

I think the box can be a very good surface to work on. You have six flat surfaces to do whatever you want. You have a 3D object which automatically demands interest in a given space. You have the wonder of what's inside or what it's for. You have the boldness of a cube, taking up space and physically affecting you and objects around it. You have the question of what it could be covering. You have commonalities with some very emotionally impactful objects; coffin, tomb, cell, treasure chest. And then, at the very least, it's usually usable, as long as you can still access it. Or maybe it's not...and that's another readily available tool. Basically, it's a simple object loaded with concept, emotion, and possible tangents. When canvases got you down, try using an object like a box to work on, you never know what will come out of it, and sometimes that's the best part of art.