Don't Throw Out That Box!

'Winter Creek'               10x20              pastel             ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $165

Just call me the Box Lady.  I can't seem to pass up a box.  I am always trying to figure out how I can repurpose a box.  Most often it revolves around pastels.  The more my pastel collection grows the more I find uses for a good box.

I have my 'real' pastel boxes...my Heilman Box for classes. My Gogh Box for plain air.  But I also have my homemade boxes. I collect medium and small wood cigar boxes. Lined with foam they make perfect boxes for the pastel sets I don't want to separate.  When I do break up a set I save the box and use it for duplicate pastels.

The other day I almost threw out a good box!

It was a nice sturdy cardboard candy box that held chocolate coconut caramel grahams ( a delicious treat). It had a plastic tray with good size sections.  I finished the candy and was about to toss the box when I stopped myself.  I could use this box. It was a GOOD box.  And it was red! So into my studio it went.

My Work In Progress Box

The other day I found the perfect use for the box....a Work inProgress Box! I had a tray of pastels I was using for my winter landscapes.  I was packing my supplies for class and thought it would be nice to bring along my winter palette but i didn't want to deal with  carrying an open tray.  The BOX!  It was perfect for the job.  My limited palette fit perfectly in the little sections and they stayed safe on the ride to class.

Any kind of sturdy candy box would work well to use for transporting a palette of pastels for paintings in progress to and from classes!

So Don't throw out that box....at least until you think about how you could use it for your art supplies!

About today's painting:  This is 10x20 pastel on Uart 800 paper with a red value block-in.